Halloween Party Food

Did I mention we like Halloween? Thursday night at the library wasn't enough, we decided to have another party for kids and grown-ups at our house Saturday. I counted about 40 people, probably more than our house can really hold, but the teens tended to stay outside where there was fire and pointy sticks. Adults aren't always as ambivalent about having their pictures taken randomly as kids are, so I mostly took pictures of the food and kids - but, there were some pretty good costumes!

 

This is just a smattering of the goodies, because once people really started coming in, I didn't have time for pictures. As you can see, this is mostly simple food, just given gross names - posting in the hopes that it will help others with some last-minute ideas!

 

peanut butter fudge - which didn't set at first, so I had to add more chips, but I only had chocolate left, so they aren't skin-colored any more.

Dried cranberries and candy corn

Rice Crispie treats made with a whole-grain puffed rice and a couple dollops of a chocolate hazelnut spread, with orange and black sprinkles mixed in. Not as overly-sweet as the traditional treats.

Not edible, but everyone has SO enjoyed having him stare at them all week, I just had to include him.

BBQ Pork

Hot dogs cut in fourths long-ways, cooked in a watered-down ketchup.

I see they are selling these as 'kits' now...or, you can spend a lot less, and just cut your regular croissants into strips! I was too lazy to make eyes, but you can do that with a food marker.

Moldy Grubs - mac 'n cheese with green food coloring. These were in muffin papers for individual servings. L. was actually sharing with his girlfriend A - must be love!

In the yellow bowl, "Bugs in the Corn" - homemade caramel corn, which I may or may not have had for breakfast this morning.

Buckeyes with white chocolate instead of milk, and M&M eyeballs.

Nutter Butters in white chocolate - S. helped Grandma make these!
 

In the pumpkin (Jack's Guts) - browned sausage, onion, peppers, apples, cranberries, rice, garlic, and whatever else was in the refrigerator. This is a great way to use up leftovers! Just scoop out seeds, dump the filling in, and bake it all day at 200 degrees or so. Scoop out pumpkin flesh as you serve.

And a huge THANK-YOU to all the people who brought salads, I was pretty sugared out at this point! L. liked the fruit salad especially - kept shoveling it in as fast as he could, stopping occasionally to laugh like a maniac.

 

I don't think they had any salad. There was a continuous battle traveling room to room and all over the lawn. I'm waiting to hear how many were unconscious before they got home:)

So, what is your go-to for Halloween treats?



Family Fright Night

We like Halloween here. Due to some painting projects, however, I haven't been able to decorate much in the Children's Room this year, and then due to other programs, I only had a few hours to set up for Family Fright Night yesterday. We got the basics up, though:

 

 

Tombstone, big hairy spiders, creepy hands, check.

 

Yummy snacks with disgusting names, check.

 

Games: check,

 

check,

 

and check. (The cauldron to the left was full of cold spaghetti, and kids had to reach in and grab an "eyeball" - hence its placement next to the sink!)

 

Crafts: Check,

 

 

Check, and check (one side had monsters, one side had jack-o-lanterns).

 

These are some sample jack-o-lanterns, made by a group of seventh graders here on a field trip earlier:

 

 

Entrance blown up and ready:

 

and in came the kids! Little S. here is completely adorable on any given day, and tonight she sent me scurrying for the camera.

 

Couldn't you just eat her up with a spoon?! She was well-guarded, though, by her three big brothers, including the good Dr. Pepper:

 

 

 

Get it?

 

Soon followed by the A. family, also very cute - and from there on, it was pretty much just cuteness (and scariness, of course) - from wall to wall. About 100 people (122, says Mrs. P.) created,

 

 

 

 

challenged,

 

 

looked cute,

 

 

 

 

 

 

looked scary,

 

 

 

played games,

 

 

 

 

 

ate,

 

 

 

talked,

 

 

posed,

 

 

 

 

attacked pretty girls,

 

got stuck,

 

 and eventually...

 

I'm...not...tired...must...consume...sugar...

 crashed.

 

My buddy L., here,

 

 

 who never fails to crack me up, told me "This was the best. Party. EVER!" I'll bet he has been to some doozies in his many years of partying, so that was high praise indeed:)