Chilly air, scarves, hats, coats and turning leaves can mean only one thing... fall is here and the kookiest holiday of the year is upon us -- Halloween! It's time to whip out the scary cookie cutters, rip up your old white sheets for ghost costumes, and make that annual trip to the pumpkin farm.
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When you go out on Halloween The ghosts will follow you. Don't worry for they'll do no harm, With just a boo or two. Make sure you don't upset them, Be careful what you say. These friendly ghosts will walk with you To scare the beasts away. On Halloween the streets are filled With creepy crawly guys. Slinky, slimy hairy dudes That come to terrorize. The monsters won't attack you When ghosts are by your side. Don't think of it, you won't be hit, By broomsticks witches ride. So you'll be safe to trick or treat, Though danger dims the stars. So, thank your ghosts, and here's a hint: They all like chocolate bars. |
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~HALLOWEEN TREATS FROM A-Z~INSTEAD OF CANDY this year, many parents would like to give out safer, healthier alternatives. Here are some suggestions:
A - airplanes (paper, plastic or wood kits)
B - balloons, baseball cards
C - coins, colored chalk, crayons
D - play dough, dice
E - erasers, stick-on earrings
F - mini flags, felt-tip markers, feathers
G - sugar-free gum, gift certificates
H - happy-face buttons, hackey sacks
I - ice cream cone coupons
J - jacks, jump rope
K - key chains, kazoo
L - little soaps
M - magnets, marbles, magic tricks
N - necklaces
O - origami paper, plastic octopus
P - pencils, paper dolls, pads of paper
Q - queen's jewels
R - boxes of raisins, rings, rulers
S - plastic spiders and skeletons
T - trading cards
U - paper umbrellas
V - VIP badges, various signs and stickers
W - whistles
X - e-x-plorer equipment (magnifying glass, compass, etc.)
Y - yo-yos
Z - zoo-full of plastic animals
~HALLOWEEN YARD DECORATIONS~*TRASH BAG TARANTULA*
MATERIALS
18 large black trash bags
Leaves or newspaper
Black electrical tape
3 large red plastic party cups
Clothesline (optional)
1. To make the spider's body, stuff one trash bag full of dry leaves (you can also use crumpled newspaper). Tie the bag closed, then flip it upside down. To make the head, stuff a second bag (not as full as the first), tie it closed, and tape it to the body.
2. To make one of the legs, roll up two garbage bags together lengthwise. Wrap them with electrical tape at both ends and at two points along the leg to make joints. Roll up seven more legs, then cut four small slits in each side of the spider's body and slip the legs in place.
3. Cut the white lip off two of the red plastic cups, then tape them onto the spider's body to make his beady red eyes. For the fangs, cut two triangles out of the third plastic cup (or another piece of white plastic) and tape them onto the spider so that the white side faces up.
4. Perch your spider atop a big pile of relatively dry leaves. If you'd like to create a web for her, simply weave and tie lengths of clothesline or twine across your porch. If you want to give your tarantula an extra scary effect, you might also tie a few unlucky stuffed animals to her web.
*A GATHERING OF GHOSTS*
MATERIALS
6 dowels
6 small white garbage bags
Newspaper
Masking tape
6 white sheets
String
Black permanent markers
1. First, find a good location for your gathering of ghosts. They look especially good when circling a central pole, such as a tree or lamppost.
2. Next, cut your dowels to the height you'd like your ghosts to be. We've seen them in every size, from toddler height (quite cute) to larger than life (quite spooky). Remember: the larger the ghosts, the more sheets you'll need to use. The ghosts shown here are about 4 feet high.
3. To make a ghost head, stuff a small white garbage or paper bag with crumpled newspaper or leaves to the size you like. Push one of the dowels into the bag, then wrap masking tape around the neck to secure. Repeat for the rest of the ghosts.
4. Drape a sheet (or half a sheet, if you're making small ghosts) over each head and tie a piece of string around each neck. You may need to experiment with cutting your sheets to the right size; here, we used a queen-size sheet for each ghost and rounded the bottom edges to the desired length.
5. Use permanent black markers to draw a face on each ghost.
6. Gather your ghosts around the tree or pole--with a foot or two between each one--and push the dowels into the earth so that the sheets touch the ground. Angle the ghosts so that they are leaning slightly backward, then knot the corners of the sheets together as if the ghosts were holding hands.
Click here for some pumpkin fun!
Click here for some
easy to make costumes!
~HALLOWEEN RECIPES~Grave Yard Dessert
2 cups chocolate wafer cookie crumbs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup margarine, melted
~ FILLING ~
8-oz package fat-free cream cheese
12-oz tub Cool Whip Free®, thawed
2 cups boiling water
2 (4-servings) packages orange gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
Ice cubes
~ DECORATIONS ~
1/4 cup chocolate wafer cookie crumbs
7 rectangular shaped sandwich cookies
7 oval shaped sandwich cookies
Decorator icing brown, green, orange, and white
Candy corn
Candy pumpkins
Preheat oven at 350 degrees F. Prepare a 9 x 13 x 2" pan with cooking spray and flour. To prepare crust, combine 2 cups cookie crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, and margarine in a small mixing bowl. Press firmly into prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes and then chill.
To prepare filling, combine cream cheese and 1/2 cup Cool Whip in a mixing bowl. In another mixing bowl, combine boiling water into gelatin until completely dissolved. Mix cold water and ice cubes together to make 1 1/2 cups. Stir ice water into gelatin until thickened. Remove any remaining ice cubes. Spoon gelatin over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm. Spread remaining Cool Whip over gelatin layer.
Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cookie crumbs. Decorate as a "grave yard" by poking sandwich cookies on end into dessert. Decorate the cookies as tombstones with the decorator icing. Scatter candy and pumpkins around the surface.
1 (18.25 ounce) box chocolate cake mix
3 cups any flavor cookie crumbs
1 (18 ounce container) chocolate icing
1 (16 ounce bag) gummi worms
DIRECTIONS:
1. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour batter into cupcake pans and bake as directed on cake mix box. Let cupcakes cool thoroughly before frosting.
2. Spread cupcakes lightly with chocolate icing. Sprinkle cookie crumbs on top.
3. Cut gummi worms in half (as many as you like). Put icing onto cut end of the worms and stick to the top of cupcakes. You can use as few or as many as will fit on each cupcake. Let icing set for 10 minutes and then enjoy.
Makes 24 cupcakes
~HALLOWEEN TREATS~Ghost Suckers
Take a round-headed lollipop. Lay the head in the center of a white handkerchief, facial tissue, or cloth square. Gather the handkerchief down around the stick and tie tightly just below the head with a rubber band, twist-tie, or string. Add 2 black dots for eyes.
You can also use these ghosts as an invitation to your party. Write the party date and location around the outside of the handkerchief before making the ghosts. If you plan to mail them, you might want to use flat round lollipops and padded envelopes.
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