Scare Up Some Fun this Halloween with a Trick-or-Treat Party.
Make no bones about it – Halloween is all about having some spine-tingling fun. This year, why not share the scare by hosting a Trick-or-Treat party for school friends or even the neighborhood with these homemade and low-cost ideas.
Set a Spooktacular Scene – Whether you want to go all-out scary or keep it all in good fun, you can combine store-bought decorations with homemade creations to save money.
* Line fake gravestones along your walkway. Buy them pre-made, or make them yourself using foam or cardboard and spray paint.
* Perch eerie, fake birds near your doorway, and hang cobwebs anywhere you can reach.
* Place creepy-crawlies, like plastic spiders, everywhere.
* Add scary inflatable figures to your yard – the designs get more elaborate every year, and they store easily when deflated.
* Turn an inexpensive, thrift-store stockpot into a spooky kitchen-table centerpiece. Just add dry ice and warm water for frightfully fun fog. Always wear gloves when you handle dry ice and always store it in a ventilated container.
* A jack-o-lantern is a Halloween classic. Easy stencils make complex witch, werewolf and scary-face designs a breeze.
* Use rechargeable outdoor tea lights and Halloween-themed string lights as safer alternatives to candles.
* Build a scarecrow – all you need is wooden garden stakes, pillows, straw and old clothes.
* Use unexpected items in a whole new way. Spray paint branches or old lamps black and orange and use them as centerpieces; make spooky skeleton cut-outs with poster board; use toilet paper to wrap someone up in a nifty mummy costume; or bring the outdoors in with hay bales and mums.
Frightfully Fun Games for Kids and Grownups.
* Halloween Charades – Write down Halloween characters, places and things on pieces of paper. Fold the papers and put them in a bowl. Then have each person, in turn, pick a piece of paper and act out the written words until the game’s audience guesses what’s being acted out. Want more competition? Split the group into teams and award candy prizes for correct answers.
* Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin – You’ll need a pumpkin (either real or made out of orange construction paper), pushpins or tape, a blindfold and several pumpkin noses (black construction paper will work). Draw eyes and a mouth on your pumpkin’s face, and hang it up. Blindfold a player, spin them around, hand them a paper nose (secured with a pushpin for adults and tape for children) and direct them toward the pumpkin. The player who attaches the nose closest to the right spot wins. You could also play Pin the Wart on the Witch, or Pin the Smile on the Scarecrow.
* Pumpkin Decorating Contest – Set out markers, stickers, glue, construction paper, buttons and other household items. Give guests a pumpkin and a 30-minute decoration time frame. Award prizes for the “Prettiest,” “Scariest” and “Most Interesting.” Don’t want winners or losers? Let kids decorate and take home their pumpkins.
Halloween Safety – Keep costumed kids visible during evening Trick-or-Treating with:
* Light-up costumes
* Glow sticks
* Reflective stickers
* Light-up necklaces
SOURCE: Walmart
Stay tuned for next week’s Spooky Graveyard Pie recipe. Muhahahaha.
By Jeanne M. Slaughter, Chesapeake Family’s Little Devil.
