Halloween!

susiestar

Roll With It
Halloween is almost upon us. What plans do you have for the holiday? Are you having or going to a party? What costume are you planning? what costumes do your kiddos have their hearts set on? Lisa, are you having the grandkids and kids over for a party again this year?

This is one of my favorite holidays. This is the FIRST year that I have not purchased almost every magazine with craft/decorating/food/costume/kid halloween ideas. I decided that I could get the ideas online and spend the $$ on fun stuff. Not sure what I will spend it on yet.

I have been doing a ton of halloween theme cross stitch Favorites are an odd looking goblin/bat thingy done in overdyed bright green (overdyed means it has different shades of the color), a little cat wearing a skeleton costume and holding a skull shaped candy pail, and a skull stitched with tie-dyed blue/pink/green floss.

From 4 pm on, Chipotles is again having Booritas. If you wear a costume into the store, you can get a burrito, bowl, salad, or order of tacos for just $3. This is a great deal and LOTS of fun as long as you don't end up in a huge line. All proceeds up to $1,000,000 go to the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation. Here are the details: http://www.boorito.com/

While they last, Wendy's sells coupons for a free frosty and at 10 for $1, these are a nice treat. I often get a couple and keep them in the car for times we are out and want a small treat. They are the very smallest size, but at ten of them for a dollar, who's complaining. You don't have to be a kid to redeem one.

Many restaurants offer free kid meals if you buy an adult one on Halloween.

One thing to remember with our kiddos - they do NOT cope well with change and big events on empty stomachs or lots of candy/cake/treats. I have found that by making sure they have a protein rich lunch and dinner first, trick or treating/parties/etc.. are TONS easier on the difficult child and the rest of the world. I used to take energy bars with us as we trick or treated. When Wiz wanted candy, he got the bar. He loved the so he scarfed them. Then we didn't have the huge sugar crash at a party or out trick or treating. Often we didn't even have a bedtime meltdown.

What are you planning/plotting? Your tips and tricks for a special celebration that won't tip over into difficult child-wreck?

I just ADORE Halloween!!!
 

LittleDudesMom

Well-Known Member
Well, for those of you who have been around for awhile, you might remember that Halloween in my neighborhood is HUGE :jack:

Years ago a young boy had his candy stolen as he was making his way back home. He lived on the next block. His father decided to fight back but not in the way you would think. He made an offer the the neighbors on his block (I live in the city in an old neighborhood that was the first suburb of my city) - he would buy all the Halloween decorations and put them up all over the block if they would pay8 for the materials. He then asked everyone to come outside and sit on their porches to give out candy. The neighbors agreed. This was 25 years ago!

Now our block and their block (and he moved as his children were grown moved away and he and his wife retired and moved to a 55 plus condo) go all out! We all (80% of us) go all out with tons of decorations, strobes, music, fog machines, wondering "monsters". We all set up outside our homes. The first year we were here, I had no idea! I ran out of candy within 30 minutes
:frankenstein:!!!!

Kids come from all over and tons of churches and civic groups from government subsidized neighborhoods and economically challenged neighborhoods
visit us. It's tough to even drive down the street as folks are parked everywhere! We have to plan on at lease enough candy for 300!!!!!

difficult child has gotten into the habit the last couple years of scaring the girls! He dresses all in black and then leans up against a big oak in our front yard. Folks walk by him thinking he's part of the decor. As they are leaving, he moves. He might raise his head, or put his arm out -- but they run screaming!!!! He's really good at reading his prey - no little kids....easy child and I sit at a table and give out candy.

We try to "warm" the new neighbors so they are prepared for the crowd
:pumpkin:
 

Wiped Out

Well-Known Member
Staff member
We like Halloween but this year didn't even get our decorations out. Some years we go to costume parties but this year we plan to just sit home and watch horror movies. husband loves horror movies and likes to watch one each night throughout Oct. This year he hasn't been able to watch as many so I guess, all in all Halloween this year is not as exciting as other years.
 

1905

Well-Known Member
Halloween is my favorite! October 31 2000 I had surgery removing cancer, I feel like it's a special day. We have parties at school and a parade. The other 5th grade teachers and I dress in a theme, last year I was Snow White and they were the dwarves. I have this awesome Disney Store costume that I try to wear, but this year we may do Minions. I always drink my coffe out of a Halloween mug each morning.....reminding me about surviving. I decorated the house to almost insanity. Tonight husband and I are going to some haunted hayride. difficult child and easy child went on a double date there last night. They said we would like it.
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
As long as I can get this virus under control............Nana's Halloween party will go on. Perhaps even if I can't get it under control......just have the girls doing most of everything while nana sits in a chair feeling like crud. lol Hate to disappoint grandchildren and the Halloween party has become as important an event in our family as xmas.

But at this point I've not yet even decorated. I can't decorate the inside anyway in any real depth due to Rufus still being a pup. He'd be good while I'm here........but I don't want chewed up decor happening while I'm at work. Party is planned for the 27th. You reminded me I've got to start putting pressure on my girls to get the menu nailed down. We found so many fun ghoulish recipes that we're having issues deciding. I don't want kids smothered in food to the point where it won't get eaten.

This year, weather permitting, there will be bobbing for apples and pumpkin carving.
Pumpkin bowling was an enormous hit and so will be done again.
Egg toss was another favorite. (I didn't let anyone but parents know they were hard boiled until AFTER the game lol )
If I have enough eye ball rubber balls we'll play the eye ball drop game again, also a favorite. (last year Maggie kept snatching them up so I don't know how many I have left)
I'd love to have old fashion sack races........but can't for the life of me figure out where to find burlap bags like the old seed bags we used as kids.

I'm making up my shopping list while writing this post. lol I even picked up 3 really nice carving pumpkins for decor......which can double as Katie's kids carving pumpkins if needed. But I do have to get out and get straw bales.

Since turning on the furnace tonight totally unnerved Mr Rufus...........to the point where he stood guard in front of me and barked / growled hackles up at the register........I can't wait to see his reaction to the halloween decor. :rofl: In the poor dogs defense.....my house has been rather "active" with paranormal occurrences over the past couple of years. He has reason to be jumpy, being still a baby.

I can say though.........this party has been attended by difficult child children young and old.......with success. I expect a child to be "good" but I don't expect perfection. Holidays excite and gear up any child into a frenzy and a difficult child child even more so. If you expect it......you deal with it better. Party is planned after naptime, between meals on purpose. Foods offered at the party are snack type foods not meant for a meal. Kids will be too excited / wound up to sit still and eat. Activities are to keep them occupied and entertained. Game "rules" are semi-flexible given age / ability. Like often the littlest ones need extra turns and some help from bigger kids. While there are winners for the games I don't go overboard with it.

The party is planned for the children, the focus is them having FUN. But usually we grown ups spend a lot of time laughing and having fun too. So far it has worked without an issue.

Gawd I hope I feel better in time to clean and decorate. :)
 

Mattsmom277

Active Member
I'm used to decorating, handing out treats (except the sad years when I lived where kids didn't tend to go door to door). Even last year with easy child being 13, I did a party. Her school friends came by. Tons of fun food, I dressed up etc.

This year, provided i get over my current sickies (Cold/chest infection), I've been invited to a adult halloween party at a girlfriend's sisters house. Apparently they go all out. I have had to think way outside the box in terms of costume. I have a date and he happens to be 6'9 (to my 5'3 or 4). Costumes for him? Not so much when he has to custom make his everyday clothing or shop online and still it is a nightmare). So I'm going as a marrionette complete with strings etc. He will be the Puppetmaster, which is easy to just put him in a suit of sorts outfit that he owns already, with a top hat (although I'm not sure he can wear the hat long, as it will likely hit the ceiling of the hosts home!!!).

I have the feeling it's going to be hilarious. I mean, how can one NOT see how funny it is to be so height different? And I mean, that is some insanely tall height!! Compared to my short stature even more so. He'll be easily able to look like I truly am a puppet since he towers over me. I'm tickled he'll sport the hat and poke fun at our height difference, he's got good humor about it.

We are starting off our date night before the party by going to a haunted house nearby that apparently one man has been growing with his family for over 25 years. It's supposed to be a pretty huge deal and super well done. Should be a fun night! The party is this Saturday, leaving the 31 for me to hand out in candies and enjoy all of the door knocking kiddies in their adorable costumes. I'm looking foward to it!

Happy haunting everyone!
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
husband loves Halloween... So does Belle, even though she's not celebrating with us this year. We made plywood "tombstones" years ago with stuff like "Edgar Allan Poe... Nevermore" and "U R NEXD" on them... They haven't been out in several years but this time I had Pat help me.

Speaking of Pat... In years past, husband and Belle would volunteer at a haunted trail run by a friend of Belle's mother's boyfriend (no longer friends, no longer boyfriend but he is a great guy). This year? PAT is out there with husband, and has been voted "best scarer" by the regulars. :bigsmile:

We put up black plastic to hide husband's bio diesel setup (it's on my side porch, GAH!) and I put up cheap Wal-Mart caution tape. Also on the front door. Why when we haven't for several years? Well, we had Rose's birthday party. And it looks better with the black plastic, go figure.

But... We don't get many kids. Maybe 3-4. So each year we now turn off all lights, and LEAVE. We take the kids (Rose, now) to BFF's for T-or-T and, since it's on a different night, my parents', too.

Last year Toys R Us had a moving sale and Mom picked up a bumblebee costume for Rose, for $5. Looks warm, which will be good as we are supposed to get snow flurries this week. Ugh. Rose also has a skeleton sleep n play that glows in the dark... But it's not very warm, so it will probably go under the bumblebee! Pat isn't dressing up this year... :sigh: And me? Well... I'm thinking my long gypsy skirt and top and boots again. It's warm!
 

scent of cedar

New Member
Got the Halloween decorations up! No kids in our neighborhood, which is pretty sad. husband and I will watch something spooky like 'Salem's Lot (or Ghostbusters, which is husband's choice even though I told him that movie isn't even spooky). We'll probably eat pizza.

Yum.

What does everyone think is the scariest movie ever?

And what is the most Hallowe'en-compatible food ever? When the kids were little, we would make pizza mummies out of strips of pizza dough, mozzarella, pepperoni and pizza sauce. I think we put green olives in the stomach part too, to represent something gross.

Here is a cool idea for a kids' party: So, we blindfolded the kids, brought them through a scary-music hallway, and had them put their hands into containers of various things that we told them were really gross. Things like the insides of pumpkins, semi-hardened jello with dogfood in it, slimy, lukewarm spaghetti, peeled grapes for eyeballs, that kind of thing.

I really like that idea of wrapping things in black plastic and then, caution tape. Wish I had thought of that one!

And I can just picture the puppet-master/marionette. Are you going in whiteface, like mimes? So pretty!

:O)

Cedar
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
AnnieO, Rose will match Maggie. :rofl:

I've yet to find something for Rufus.........and frankly I'd rather not spend money. I'd picked up Maggie's bumble bee costume thinking it was for a child at a yard sale. Maggie loves it, oddly enough. Rufus is also huge, so fitting him for anything would be more difficult.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Although I have no grandkids around (Julie is trying to give me one...lol), I just enjoy the neighborhood kids. We put up enough decorations to know t hey are welcome and I keep the door open a crack so I don't miss anyone. If they bring a dog with them, I have doggy treats too!!!! Although I just wear an orange shirt that says, "This is my costume" I do dress my dogs up for the holiday...lol.

The first time I saw the Halloween movie with the kid named Michael who killed (can't remember if that is Friday 13th or Halloween), I was scared silly. All the other following ones....borrrrrrrrrring. I am hard to scare, but really freaked out at the oldie movies "Play Misty for Me", "The Other" (wonder if anyone else remembers this one) and "Carrie" when her arm flew out of the grave. I was three months pregnant and started screaming and ex made me leave. He thought I was going to miscarry...lolol.
 

Lothlorien

Active Member
I am not a big Halloween fan, but our church has paired up with another local church and we have been doing Trunk or Treat, which has gotten bigger and bigger each year. Last year, Hurricane Sandy cancelled Halloween and postponed our Trunk or Treat. Since Halloween didn't happen, our Trunk or Treat, the following weekend, was so huge and it was overwhelming! I'm looking forward to it and I'm even going to decorate my car this year. I haven't in past years, because I'm usually running something inside.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Man, I miss the psychological thrillers. They're all slasher flicks anymore... Anyone else remember The Seventh Sign? Man, that one gave me nightmares for months. And the waterbed scene from Nightmare on Elm Street - I had a full-wave waterbed. I couldn't change the sheets after dark for years... I was afraid of what I'd see.

But... Christine was awesome. Just awesome. As was Misery, but that was 100% because of Kathy Bates.
 

Lothlorien

Active Member
It's where a group of people organize a trick or treat event in a parking lot (ours is in the church lot). You decorate your car for prizes and hand out candy. We also have crafts and games for the kids. Pinterest trunk or treat and you'll see lots of cool ideas.
 

Lothlorien

Active Member
It's probably just as cold in NJ. You can't decorate your car's trunk if you hold it inside!!! People are very competitive...especially when there are prizes involved! It's good fun!
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
You can't decorate your car's trunk if you hold it inside!!!
Welcome to the frozen north... I've heard about these kinds of events "in these parts" but not where I am. It's mostly smaller towns, where the ice isn't up for winter yet (i.e. hockey rink or curling rink)... and they drive the cars inside for the party... so at least it's out of the wind and/or rain and/or snow.
 

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
I love halloween. It's my favorite holiday next to Christmas. We are doing our annual halloween party here at work. We are all going to bring in yummy treats and have a little luncheon in the staff lounge. As for later, we don't have any plans yet. My mom usually invites us over for trick or treating at her house and we order pizza, but so far this year she hasn't mentioned halloween. Her neighborhood usually makes a big deal out of halloween and houses are decked out in outlandish decorations and there's usually a few haunted houses in the area as well. We live in an apartment complex so we don't get trick or treaters where we are. If my mom doesn't invite us over, I guess we will be doing our own thing. There's a nice neighborhood by my work, so we can go trick or treating at the houses around there. I am hoping my mom does invite us over though because we already know her neighbors and we feel safe there. In any event, we will be going costume shopping this weekend. I don't usally dress up, but my kids do and I look forward to it every year.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
Halloween Eyes in the Bushes: Draw eyes on the roll and cut them out. At dusk on Halloween or trick or treat night, put a glowstick in the roll and hide it in a bush. It will look like animal eyes in the dark. Lately Michaels has had a 50 pack of glowsticks for about $5, and Dollar Tree has a 7 pack for $1 this week.

DIY Glowsticks: single serving bottle of Mt Dew with about 1/4 of the soda in it. Add a pinch of baking soda and 3 capfulls of peroxide, shake and it should glow. I intend to try this with sprite today to see if it works. I don't drink Mt Dew so I don't know if it will really work, but it sounds worth a try.

Glow int h Dark Cupcakes - http://hoosierhomemade.com/glow-in-the-dark-cupcakes/ Pretty much you make lime jello with 1 c boiling water and 1 c tonic water, then dip frozen cupcakes in the jello 4-6 times and it glows under a black light!

Super easy scratch cake recipe - great for cupcakes and not too sweet - 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 4 eggs, 1 T baking powder, 1 c flour, pinch salt, mix until smooth, fill 1/2 to 2/3 full, bake at 350 approx 20-30 min until toothpick comes out clean. No mixer, little time, amazingly good.

Fast easy fun food? I take biscuits (I use homemade but any will do) and put ham and cheese in the middle (cut horizontally using sharp knife or dental floss) and on top I use triangles of cheese and ham to make eyes, nose and mouths for jack o lanterns. I use the cheese to glue on the ham after they are cooked (takes maybe 3-5 min back in the oven to melt the cheese/ham onto the top). I firsst did these as a last minute thing for a church party and they were the very first thing eaten - a tray of four dozen gone in less than five min and people clamoring for more!

You can serve worms by cutting hot dogs into long thin slices and heating in boiling water for 1-3 minutes. They get all curled up. serve with ketchup or BBQ sauce. Or make sloppy joes or burgers and put curls of hot dog heated in boiling water for legs to make a spider. Or make octopi by cutting the long strips but stopping 1 1/2 inches from the end so they stay attached. Heat these 1 or 2 at a time in the boiling water.

Make worms at the party for a cool, sweet treat that will gross out some kids. Melt a bag of chocolate, white, or any other flavor chips (or chopped candy bark or wilton candy melts). Use 50% power and stir after each minute until almost smooth, then go to 20 second intervals. If the heat is too hot for your finger, it is too hot for your chocolate. Mix 2 bags of chow mein noodles (the crunchy chinese noodles), peanuts, raisins and other similar things. Pour the melted chips over the noodles and stir well. The noodles will move like they are worms wiggling around when the chips are added. It is creepy looking (at least to me!) and usually the kids think it is super cool. Package in small bags for kids to take home.

Enjoy!
 

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
I just talked to my mom and the reason why she hasn't invited us over this year is because she thought my teenage kids might be too old for trick or treating. I said of course they aren't too old! Most of my students are going trick or treating and my kids are no exception. So now we are invited over, and we are going costume shopping on Sunday. My mom offered to pay for one of the costumes if I pay for the other. I am looking forward to it. And I just talked to two of my student helpers today, and they confided in me that halloween this year is senior ditch day! So it is going to be a very busy day for me at work with all of the phone calls I'll be getting, then it's going to be a late night at my mom's. My lucky kids don't have school the next day. The day after halloween is always a non school day in our district, so they get to sleep in and enjoy all the candy they will have gotten. I am going to my autism workshop that day, and I will get to sleep in an extra hour, thank goodness. The closer it's getting the more I'm looking forward to it.
 
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