Halloween Fun

When I was a kid growing up with my three older siblings, Halloween was a big deal.  It helped that our home was positioned between two local cemeteries, which made the ghouls and goblins even scarier at that time, but more importantly, my crafty mom always loved a reason to celebrate and make costumes.  

There was one Halloween in particular that I remember when it rained cats and dogs, so we didn’t get to go out and trick or treat.  My mom made an impromptu haunted house in our den, she moved all the furniture away and shooed the kids while she set the stage.  We ended up sitting around in a circle in the candlelit room with a Wicked Witch (played by my mother), who passed ghoulish things around to us and made us believe we were feeling real eyeballs (peeled grapes), intestines (cooked spaghetti) and a brain (cut up cantaloupe).  As the rain continued to fall outside, thanks to my mother’s creativity, we celebrated one of the most scary, fun, and memorable Halloweens ever.

It’s always a good idea to consider and plan costumes well ahead of time.  I have already seen quite a few at Costco, Target, and other retail outlets.   It is also fun to come up with a homemade costume.  There are some great ideas out there on Pinterest that are great inspiration to spark your creative side.  Some years back, I used cardboard boxes and glued Dixie cups on them, then painted them, and, presto, had an instant Lego costume.  You can come up with a theme for your family or friends and make a group project of costume making.  You are never too old (or young) to dress up and get in the spirit of Halloween.

Decorating for Halloween, aside from the carved pumpkin, can be done with things you have around the house.  Spider webs can be made as big as cutting up a black trash bag or as small as cutting up a coffee filter.  Start saving your plastic milk jugs, because with a black permanent marker and a string of Christmas lights, you can line your walkway with some friendly ghosts.  If you have bushes in front of your house, you can use toilet paper rolls and glow sticks to make glowing eyes.  Cut out the eye shapes in the rolls and put a glow stick in the middle of the roll, and place it in your bushes to scare all the trick-or-treaters!

You could also host a Halloween party after the kids are done trick or treating.   You can make healthy snacks like witches’ broomsticks out of large pretzel sticks and shred a cheese stick, tying it together with fresh chives.  Another idea is to slice apples, spread with peanut butter and line with mini marshmallows to make a delicious tray of mouths.  Mummified Hot dogs (hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls) are always a crowd pleaser.

Every year, we love seeing neighbors walking around with their children, trick or treating throughout the neighborhood, and meeting up with friends. One more fun Halloween event that brings neighbors together is Boo Bash. Happy Halloween!