What's in the Box? (Part 2)

The contents of your Halloween guessing box really are only limited by your imagination (or mine, if you're playing along!)

Here are some more ideas:

1. Goblins Ears (dried pigs ears; can be bought from pet shops as dog treats.)
2. Blood and Guts (canned, crushed tomatoes.)
3. Bats Hearts (canned, peeled tomatoes, warmed lightly in the microwave.)
4. Bloody Fingernails (uncleaned pumpkin seeds, they're a little bit slimey!)
5. Plastic Spider/s (wouldn't it be great if you could get a battery operated spider to run around inside the box?!)
6. Spiders Webs (the fake ones from a dollar shop or similar.)
7. Witches Hair (corn silk, straight from the husks or an old wig.)
8. Vomit (lightly warmed salsa.)
9. Goblins Bones (cleaned and dried chicken bones.)
10. Mummy Wrappings (wet, crinkly up and dry toilet paper, or an old pillowcase lightly starched.)

There must be more...


This list was inspired by
 H  A  L  L  O  W  E  E  N  ! 

Kindest Wishes,
AJ

What's in the Box?

I think one of the greatest Halloween games ever is the one where you have to put your hand into an enclosed box and try to guess what is concealed within.

Here are some ideas for what you can include in spooky, gross, Halloween guessing boxes.

1. Dried Tongues (dried apricots)
2. Stripped Veins (cold cooked angel hair spaghetti, only a few pieces)
3. Eyeballs (lychees, if you buy them in a tin they're already peeled and ready to use)
4. Skin (soft tortilla gently rubbed with oil)
5. Teeth (dried corn kernels/feed corn)
6. Brain (boiled whole small cabbage/cauliflower head)
7. Dried Ears (dried apple slices)
8. Worms (cooked and cooled, oiled spaghetti, add some parmessan cheese for "dirt" or real dirt if you like to give the effect of freshly dug worms. Alternatively use bait worms or oiled rubber bait worms.)
9. Dried Fingers (dried meat; "twiggies" or thin sausages.)
10. Maggots (cooked arborio rice in a small amount of cooking oil.)

More to come...

This list was inspired by
 H  A  L  L  O  W  E  E  N  ! 

Kindest Wishes,
AJ

Gruesome Grub... #1

What's a Halloween Party without all kinds of Gruesome Grub (or food as you may know it)? All kinds of monster cupcakes, fingers, cauldron contents and bloody delights are a must. Here are some creepy cupcakes to get you started...

Brain Cupcakes

by Annabel Karmel

Original Recipe

Recipe (Australian weights and measures)

Cake Ingredients:

1 cup of self raising flour

125gms of butter

1/2 cup of castor sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Icing Ingredients:

450gms tub of vanilla frosting

red and black food colouring

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Put all cake ingredients in a bowl and beat together until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
3. Line a pan with cupcake cases and fill each halfway with mixture.
4. Bake in oven for 20 minutes until the muffins have risen and spring back into shape when pressed gently with a finger. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
5. Add icing sugar to the vanilla frosting to make it stiff enough to pipe.
6. Colour the frosting with a small amount of black and then red food colouring to create a pinkish grey colour.
7. Pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes in a brain pattern and using red food colouring and a toothpick draw on red veins.

Makes: 18 cupcakes approx.

Notes: I'm not sure as I copy this recipe that we can buy a 450gm tub of vanilla frosting in Australia, I will have a look and if not provide a recipe to make that quantity of frosting.

This list was inspired by
 H  A  L  L  O  W  E  E  N  ! 

Kindest Wishes,

AJ

Halloween Decorating... #1

So, in keeping with the spirit of Halloween; how could I decorate for a Halloween Party on a very limited budget? Here are some ideas I've found...

Balloon Ghosts
Inflate white or clear balloons and cover with a square cut from white sheeting. Draw eyes and mouth on each "ghost" before hanging around the party area.

If you're not on such a limited budget...
Alternative #1: For extra effect insert a glow stick in each balloon before inflating. (Glow Sticks are usually readily available from dollar shops so this shouldn't even add a lot to the cost.)
Alternative #2: Fill balloons with helium for more variety in placement or use as table centrepieces.


Silhouettes
Cut Halloween shapes (jack o' lanterns, cats, spiders, witches, etc) from black paper or cardboard and tape them inside your front window. Tape red and orange cellophane behind the silhouettes before covering the window completely with a white (or pale coloured) sheet. Place a light behind the window for added effect.


Lawn Graves
Using cardboard from old appliance boxes (or styro-foam from vegetable boxes) cut out a tombstone shape and paint grey or black. Use a marker or paint to write comical epitaphs on the tombstones before taping them to a brick and placing them on your lawn (or around your party area.)


Potion Bottles
Fill glass bottles or jars with water and use food colouring to tint the water to a suitably eerie shade. Fill the bottles with potion ingredients such as spiders, snakes, eyes, bones, strangely shaped seed pods, etc.

If you're not on such a limited budget...

Alternative #1: For extra effect place an LED light base under each potion bottle.


Halloween Tree
Everyone decorates a tree for Christmas why not decorate a tree for Halloween too? Use your Christmas Tree if you wish or use some sticks and twigs from your yard (or some you might find around your neighbourhood) planted in a plant pot, bucket of other container. A couple of years ago I made a twig Christmas tree with my children however, since we spray painted the branches a glittery gold it probably won't serve Halloween as it is. That glitter paint was expensive so I've definitely not going to go straight over the top of it. I might wrap some crepe paper around the branches or just find some new branches to use.
Decorate your Halloween tree with fake spider webs (again, from a dollar store), plastic spiders, paper cut out ravens and ghosts (make ghosts similarly to the balloon ghosts above using cotton balls or ping pong balls covered with tissue or sheeting if you have some available.) The base of your tree can be decorated with a gravestone, jack o' lanterns, black cats and other creepy crawlies.
Some dry ice and water in a shallow container would make a very effective base for your Halloween Tree and if you have a cauldron all the better!




This list was inspired by  H  A  L  L  O  W  E  E  N  ! 

Kindest Wishes,
AJ

Halloween Games... #1

I love Halloween; every year I think "We should have a big Halloween Party" sadly it never seems to happen. I don't know if it will happen this year but I've been thinking about it a lot already and most recently have been looking for some Halloween Games that we could play at our party. As we would be entertaining guests ranging from Djr's 18months old through to adults extremely organised games requiring teams and the like would be all together too hard for me to control. So, I'm looking for games (well, activities rather) which can be set up and people can do them as they wish.

Here's what I've found so far:

Pumpkin Bowling

Preparation:

• Gather 3 small pumpkins, 10 clear soft drink bottles, white paint, permanent marker, gravel/sand/water, heavy cardboard.
• Paint the bottles white and when dry draw ghost faces on them.
• Add gravel/sand/water in the bottom of the bottles so they don't fall earlier than hit.
• Mark pin positions on cardboard by tracing pins.

Play:

• Set up the ghost pins (soft drink bottle) as for 10 pin bowling.
• Use small pumpkins as bowling balls.
• Play for fun only, score or set a goal to win a prize (for example, two strikes wins.)

Trick or Treat

Preparation: 

• Gather orange paper or card, Jack O'Lantern cut outs or templates, scissors, marker, bag or container to hold cards.
• Cut out Jack O'Lantern shapes and write on the backs of them "Trick" or "Treat", make only a quarter of the cards "Treat" cards.
• Make a list of "challenges" such as cackle like a witch, flap your wings like a bat, walk like Frankenstein, etc and write one challenge on the back of each "Trick" card.

Play:

• Put all the cards in the bag or container.
• Players take turns to draw a card, if they draw a "Trick" card they must complete the "challenge", if they complete the challenge they keep the card.
• Players who draw a "Treat" card have a "free pass" towards getting a prize.
• Players collect a set number of cards (3-5 depending on numbers) to claim a prize.
• Alternative #1: (for 3-8 year old children) players receive a small prize for each challenge completed or "Treat" card drawn.
• Alternative #2: (for 8-10 year old children) players receive a prize for each "Treat" card drawn. If a players draws a "Trick" card they must complete the challenge and draw again, continuing (in turn) to complete challenges until they draw a "Treat" card.

Treasure Bottles

Preparation:

• Gather: clear bottle/jar with lid, approximately 20-30 small trinkets, fine bird seed or other "filler", funnel, scoop, craft glue, ribbon/cord, pens/pencils, paper.
• Clean bottle/jar and ensure they are completely dry inside.
• Write a list of all the trinkets you are inserting in the bottle (you can use Halloween toys, buttons, beads, charms, etc) so you can create a check list.
• Using the funnel (if required) scoop some seed/filler into the bottle, add about five items then more seed continuing until all trinkets are added and the bottle is filled, leaving a space of about 5cm at the top. (You need to leave space to be able to shake and roll the contents of the bottle so you the trinkets can move to the top of the seed/filler.)
• Use a small amount of glue around the thread of the bottle and cap the bottle. Take care not to shake the bottle until the glue has dried or the seeds/filler will get stuck inside the lid.
• Print a list of all items in the bottle for checking. You can keep the check list separate to the bottle and have players write a list of every item they find or make player check lists where they can tick each item as they find it.
• Tie check lists (or list paper) to the neck of the bottle, include a Halloween themed pen/pencil if you like.

Play:

• Each Player takes turns searching the Treasure Bottle and marking/writing a list of all the items they find.
• Each Player who finds all the trinkets in the bottle gets a prize OR the player/s who find/s the most trinkets wins a prize.
• Alternative: Make smaller Treasure Bottles to give to each guest as party favours or make several numbered bottles for a larger party.

Apple Bobbing

How can you pass up the most traditional of all Halloween games?

Preparation:

• Gather: enough apples for (at least) one for each player, a large, wide container to hold the apples, water.
• Fill the container to about three quarters full with water and add apples.

Play:

• Players take turns at kneeling by the container and "bobbing" to collect apples using their mouth/head only.
• Alternative #1: Make Apple Bobbing more challenging by tying players hands behind their backs.
• Alternative #2: For a further challenge blindfold players.

Skeleton Scavenger Hunt

Preparation:

• Gather: skeleton parts template, card, scissors, marker pen.
• Colour or mark skeleton parts in sets.
• Cut skeleton parts into pieces for hiding.
• Make guide boards (printed skeletons) for players to recreate completed skeletons as they find enough pieces.

Play:

• Hide skeleton parts around the party area.
• Players collect the pieces in their allocated set and race to rebuild their skeleton.

This list was inspired by
 H  A  L  L  O  W  E  E  N  ! 

Kindest Wishes,
AJ