Posted on Feb 1st 2016
An
Old Fashioned Halloween
By
Brenda Hyde
It's Halloween and you want to stay away from the big
parties and door to door trick or treating with strangers.
What do you do? Give an old fashioned party that will
please everyone and get the whole family together!
We can take some hints from The Modern Priscilla Magazine
issue from October 1915. They advised the hostess to
invite family and friends that are close to each other
so everyone can feel comfortable dressing up and joining
in.
The Invitations and Decorations
Invitations and menu cards should be adorned with witches
on broomsticks, owls, black kittens and such things.
Menu cards aren't used much for family gatherings, but
they are a fun memento for guests to take home. Simply
cut cards out of stiff paper, decorate and neatly print
the occasion, the menu, date, and even a little poem
or quotation. Place one by each guest, or hand them
out at the door.
Decorations in the early 1900s were simple but fun.
Jack-o-lanterns peeking from every corner, dried corn
with branches of colored fall leaves would be suspended
from chandeliers. Pumpkin shells can be scraped clean
and used for soups, dips or casseroles. Dye cheese cloth
yellow and attach autumn leaves, string popcorn spray
painted orange, or a modern touch of black plastic spiders
can be added. Faces were also painted on gourds and
turnips to decorate the entire house.
Festive Food
The food was rather light and easy, which fits in perfect
with our busy lifestyles today. Egg, chicken or tuna
salad sandwiches, cut into fourths with additions of
thinly sliced cucumber, herb butter, tomato or watercress
could be served on platters with colored toothpicks
holding the bread in place.
Nut sandwiches were a suggested treat. Bake gingerbread
or poundcake in loaves and thinly slice. Toast nuts
for a few minutes in a hot oven, then chop or crush.
Mix with whipped cream or honey and spread on the slices
of bread. In addition to the sandwiches serve
brownies, fruit compote or salad, hot cider and salted
nuts.
Hot Spiced Cider
2 quarts cider
1 cup brown or white sugar
2 sticks cinnamon
6 cloves
1 tsp. allspice
nutmeg
Add the sugar and spices to the cider in a large saucepan.
Simmer, do not boil, for 15 minutes. Strain and serve
hot
in small glasses or mugs. A little grated nutmeg may
be sprinkled on each glass before serving.
Halloween
Bars
Ingredients:
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
2 well-beaten eggs
1/3 cup molasses
1/2 tsp. orange extract
1 cup flour
1 cup crushed nuts
Cream sugar and butter, add eggs, molasses, extract,
flour and nuts. Mix and turn into a buttered and floured
cake tin and bake in a moderate (350 degrees) oven for
30 minutes. Cut in fingers and serve warm or cold.
The Halloween Games
Bobbing for apples, dancing, and door prizes were some
of the simpler activities in the early 1900's. We can
add some modern touches too. On the bottom of each plate
tape a number. After everyone finishes eating draw numbers
and give away adult and kid's door prizes. Bean bag
animals, marbles, and card games are fun and inexpensive
for the kids. Adult door prizes can be boxes of herb
tea, jams, coffees, fancy cookies or crackers.
Be sure to have some fun music such as the Chicken Dance,
The Hokie Pokie, or songs from classic musicals
like Oklahoma or The Sound of Music. Besides dancing,
musical chairs is a great game to encourage the kids
and
adults to play together.
A game of Pin the Stem on the Pumpkin can be fun for
all ages! Draw and color a large pumpkin without
a stem on
poster board. Using another piece of cardboard or construction
paper cut out a stem, and attach a tack to it with tape.
Tape the pumpkin onto a cork board. Blind fold each
guest during their turn while they try to pin the stem
on the
pumpkin. The kids will love seeing the adults playing
right along with them!
Old fashioned Halloween parties are a great alternative
to door to door trick or treating. It's fun, and safe,
plus it
brings together family members of all ages to share
in the memories.
Brenda Hyde is a wife, mom to three, a freelance
writer
and editor. Visit her at http://www.seedsofknowledge.com
where she brings old fashioned traditions to modern
families.