Spooktacular Feast - Halloween Party

This party is great fun but will require a little adult help and will be a topic of conversation for days... be sure to have your camera or video camera handy. If you video tape it then play it back for the guests to have a second laugh.

Create a Spooky Menu - this menu needs to be copied for each guest to check off or order what they want.

Sample Menu - Be sure not to include the real food name or description... you want them to be surprised at what they get... also remember if they don't order the Jack's Ripper, grave digger or witches broom... they eat with their fingers and if they forget the ghost then they have to use their sleeve!

Mummies Delight = Mac and Cheese
Tombstone = Garlic Bread
Bat Bones = Shoestring Potatoes
Vampires Blood = Red Punch or Juice
Slime Balls = Carmel Apples
Monster Toes = Little Smokies with a piece of tortilla on the end and ketchup
Spider Traps = Rice Krispy Treats with little spiders on them
Creepy Crawlers = Jell-O with Gummy Worms
Ghost = Napkins made into little ghosts by placing a piece of candy in it as the head and tying with string
Witch's Broom = Fork
Grave Digger = Spoon
Jack's Ripper = Knife

Object: Your guests will order from the menu (you need servers and food must be out of sight either behind a partition or in another room). If they don't order a utensil... then they eat with their fingers. You can make this a several course meal by splitting up some of the items or tell your guests to choose a couple for the first course and then they will get two more chances to order.

Invitations: Use a cookie cutter or stencil of a pumpkin and create out of orange construction paper. Use black construction paper to make the face. Be sure to fold your paper before tracing the pumpkin and do not cut the fold - have the stem touch the top of the fold. Inside... write: "Come to our Spooktacular Feast" then give the date, time, place and RSVP information. NOTE: Costumes Required - only goblins and ghouls are allowed entry...

Decorations:

Let your children use their imaginations... they can create felt or constructions paper decorations using stencils, cookie cutters or free hand art work. Make tissue ghosts.
Use spider webs with plastic spiders.
Use an old white sheet or fabric and spray with tea water in a squirt bottle then cut or rip holes and hang around the house. Cover furniture with these old rags too.
You can create a dark room by covering the windows with black paper or aluminum foil.
Be sure to get those black and orange light bulbs for your lighting in the room.
Play spooky music.
Create edible decorations - using veggies, pumpkins filled with goodies - they make great bowls to server your food in.
Place pumpkins and corn stalks along the walkway or in front of your door.
Use a costume and create your own spooky scarecrow to sit by the door or anywhere in the room - or create several to just hang around your party. Click Here for more pictures and how to's for decorating

Goody Bags

Get Halloween cello bags or orange cello bags and fill with candy, spiders and other plastic Halloween toys.

Activities

The dinner or lunch will take some time and will be lots of fun but if you want to do another activity... then let the kids do the Monster Mash. Let your child create a special dance to the Monster Mash song and then they can teach it to their friends... or another version would be to tie a balloon to a piece of string and then tie the string to their ankles. Each guest will drop the balloon on the floor and during the song Monster Mash they will try and mash the others balloons. The last one left with a filled balloon wins.

The above article written by Kimberly & Mary Ann - The PartyWorks.com

Scarecrows, Pumpkins, & Ghosts, Oh My!
Copyright2000, Amanda Formaro
http://familycorner.com

Decorating your front porch, yard, or walkway for Halloween can be loads of fun. While there are probably hundreds of ways to spiff up your yard and adorn your door, let's focus on a few simple solutions that your pocket can live with.

Friendly Scarecrows

Scarecrows are actually very easy to make and look like you spent hours assembling them. For a friendly scarecrow, use either a plastic smiling pumpkin for the head, or a carved or painted pumpkin with a happy face. Choose a long sleeved shirt or coat, a pair of pants or jeans, and a hat if you choose. You may even go so far as to include shoes for it's feet and gloves as it's hands.

Stuff the clothing with newspapers or dry leaves to keep the scarecrow from getting too heavy that you can't carry him. If you have straw available, poke some out from inside the shirt collar and wrist cuffs of the shirt. If not using gloves, you can use straw or sticks for the hands. Secure all the clothing together with safety pins, or by hand sewing 8-10 stitches every 4-6 inches or so.

Spooky Scarecrows
Follow the instructions above for the clothing, simply replace the happy pumpkin face with a scary or angry expression.

Another option is to use planks of wood set up easel style, then drape lengths of cloth all over to form ghostly apparel. Using more wood, and a few nails, hammer arms so that they are pointing out to the sides. Using a spooky carved face and leaving the hat off gives an eerie appearance! A Grim Reaper can also be constructed this way by using black sheets or cloth and forming a hood over the pumpkin head.

Carved Pumpkins
With Halloween comes the tradition of carving pumpkins. You can carve an extravagant expression or a simple smile. Be certain to use caution when using any sharp object to carve the pumpkins. Be creative. Draw your ideas on paper before carving to eliminate mistakes you cannot reverse.

For some really cool, free pumpkin carving patterns visit http://www.fabulousfoods.com/holidays/halloween/pumpplans.html
and for wonderful carving instructions be sure to hit
http://www.fabulousfoods.com/holidays/halloween/jack101.html

Painted Pumpkins

An alternative to carving is painting. This is very popular with families with small children. Kids want to be a part of the process, and this is a wonderful way to let them decorate their own pumpkin. You can use markers or tempura paints. Because you are not cutting into the pumpkin, it will last longer and you will be able to use it in recipes after the holiday. Just be sure to wash all the paint off!

Ghosts, Webs, & Spiders

Simple hanging ghosts can be made from squares of white fabric. Place the square of fabric down flat on the table. In the center of the fabric, put a balled up wad of fabric scraps, cotton, or yarn. Using newspaper as the stuffing is not recommended because of rain drenching the paper and possibly bleeding the ink through the white fabric. Wrap the fabric around the ball in the center and tie off with a piece of orange or black yarn. Use a black marker to paint on eyes and a mouth. Make longer ones by using larger scraps of fabric. Hang ghosts in a tree or from your doorway.

Spiders and webs are fairly easy to decorate with. You can purchase small plastic spiders and webbing at craft and discount stores. Thread webbing across bushes and windows to create an eerie effect. String it through trees and branches and over doorways.

To make large yard spiders, fill a black plastic garbage full with dry leaves or old newspapers. Tie off the end. Using another black garbage bag, fill again, but only 1/3 of the way. Tie off. The smaller bag is the head. Attach the head to the larger bag (body) with packing tape. Using yet another black garbage bag, cut lengthwise into thin strips, enough for eight legs. Tape or hot glue sides together once you have lined them with a filling such as leaves or newspaper. Hot glue or tape legs to body.

Halloween is such a fun holiday. Be sure to make the most of it and follow our safety precautions here http://www.thefamilycorner.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump.cgi?ID=562 for a fun night of Trick-or-Treating!

Amanda Formaro is the entrepreneurial mother of four children. She and her husband live in southern Nevada. She is also the owner of FamilyCorner.com Magazine. Subscribe to her free holiday newsletter, Family Holidays, by sending any email message to mailto:holidays-on@mail-list.com or by checking the box and filling in your email address on the left side of this article!