Card Game at My House During Halloween

I LOVE the food network and one show called Semi-homemade with Sandra Lee is great because it has different themes for entertaining with easy recipes. Here's the link to her Halloween episode--hope it helps!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_sh/episode/0,1976,FO...

If the link doesn't work just go to www.foodnetwork.com and find her show. Click on view all episodes and you'll see one called Halloween. Have fun!!

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I have a book that has great ideas for decorations, treats, snacks, dinners etc. It's has ideas for kids and adults as well. It has been a great source for me over several years since my daughter's birthday is on Halloween!
Halloween Treats*recipes and crafts for the whole family* by donata maggipinto photos by richard jung.
Good luck and have fun!
One of our favorites that we do every year is the Halloween crunch mix. I always make at least a double recipe and it keeps in cool/dry storage. We sometimes by extra pumpkins when they go on sale just so we can roast the seeds and make this recipe.

No decoration suggestions except one: try to keep it simple. If your group does not usually do decorations and special foods, you may be setting a precedent without realizing it. Then later other members of the group may feel obligated to do other "special" things that they cannot afford or would be stressful for them. Just a thought - I've been on the opposite side and it's not fun to want something simple but feel obligated to do something ornate.

My sister in law loves a candy corn and peanut mix as a snack during their bunko parties. That would be a great festive snack or party favor for halloween.

Someone mentioned dry ice, and it reminded me that when I was a kid my mom would dress up as a witch and make "Witches Brew". She just made homemade rootbeer with dry ice in it (The dry ice gives it the carbonation I believe). Anyway, thought that could be fun. I think if you find the rootbeer extract that it has the recipe on it.

My daughter's birthday is the day after Halloween, so I've done some neat table decorations.

For spooky trees that double as party favors, get those little brown paper lunch sacks. From the top, cut down about 1/2 way with scissors, in 1" strips all the way around the sack. Then twist the strips tightly to form knarly branches. You can put candy in the bottom, then twist the whole "trunk" closed.

I also did a 3D Pumpkin cake. Pour spice cake batter into two equal bowls to bake them. When cool, put one on top of the other to make a sphere. Cut a divot in the top to put a Zinger bar sticking out as the stem, covered in green icing. Ice the whole pumpkin in orange, and draw vertical lines to make it look more like a pumpkin. For the face, slightly heat up tootsie rolls in the microwave, then flatten and cut eyes, nose and mouth out with scissors.

I have also done witch cupcakes. You bake the cupcakes, take off the paper backing, ice the tops, and stand them on their sides. Make the face however you want, then drizzle some icing for hair. Then put a sugar cone on the top for a hat.

E-mail me if you'd like to see pictures of these if that will help. ____@____.com luck!

Oh honey, I LOVE Halloween. Are you looking for cute? or gross? I tend to go gross -but the food still tastes good.

I had a whole "eye ball" appetizer theme last year :) I used some scary font and printed tags that described each dish and poked onto a toothpick. They are sooo easy. Here are a couple:

Deviled(Eyes) Eggs that I used sliced black and green olives for the iri's and the dabbed a toothpick into some ketchup and drew "blood shot" squiggles across the whites.

Bloody Sheep Eyes - Central market has these great mozzerella balls that are in olive oil and sun dried tomatoes. Just pour them on a plate or bowl with the sign and let your imagination do the rest.

Eye of Toad - Black Grapes

Bat Wings (buffallo wings)

Bleached Bones (jicama cut into bone shapes, put a little green food coloring into some ranch dip.

Puss a 'la marmalade.. Geta small bread bowl, hollow out, take a brie and cut the outside off - spread/fill inside 1/2-2/3 full. Cover with orange marmalade (1/2 C?) and large chopped pecans. Bake until bubbly. Spread onto cut baguettes or crackers. Yum.

Then for snacks Snacks/Candy: Poison frogs, sesame sticks (honey roasted maggots), candy corn, cashews (dragon toenails), werewolf droppings (truffles), Fried Skin Chips (kettle chips)

Drinks Drinks
Lime Aid or Punch +Dragon’s Blood
Cranberry Juice w/ sprite or club soda +American Red Cross Soda - Type “O”
Can do Oozing Rims - red food coloring and karo syrup. Dip edge into plate of it (like you salt margarita glasses)float eyeballs in the punch bowl (ping pong type),Hang gummy worms or fishing lure worms over the edge of cup, or thread onto drink sticks, place spiders in ice cube tray and fill etc..

I could go on and on.. really. Have a great time!

One cool martha decor that is easy- I think you can still get at her site and print. Labels for empty wine or martinelli's bottles that say swamp cider etc.. print them out and glue them to the bottle. Use as just decor with a few black silk roses or fill with a drink. I use the black roses and then sprinkle black rose petals around the table - easy decor. Got both at walmart :) Or you can do one of those cool drip candles that turn all kinds of colors.

OK, one cute vs gross one.
Cut the top off of an orange (like a pumpkin) and scoop insides out. Cut pumpkin eyes and nose etc. Fill with chocolate icecream. put cut cinnamon stick into top for a "stem" put top on and place in freezer.

www.marthstewart.com

I didn't have time to read through the responses, but just in case it didn't get mentioned, I'd def include a set up involving dry ice. Just be careful with it (no touching it with your bare hands). You can find it at Kroger ;-) The stuff amazes me the way it oozes smoke ;-)

Have a great time and good luck,
M.

Taste of Homes Magazine - Simple & Delicious had a bunch of Halloween Decorated Recipes that were adorable. From bat cupcakes to mummy dip, and so on. You can buy the magazine at Barnes N Noble, or look at their website, maybe they have some freebies.

My family likes to play Madgab - we had a blast and laugh so hard our side hurts. It's a game you an purchase anyway - cost around $25.00

I joined the Martha Stewart website a few months ago. It is free and there are so many party ideas, decorations, recipes, etc. and they keep all the daily items of info in their webpages. You just ask for it and you have many to click on.
I get a daily cookie, organizer tip and craft. Many of these are for kids, etc.
Good Luck-V. B.

witchs fingers just use any bread dough roll them out to look like fingers use almonds as finger nails and food coloring to paint the nail works well with any dip or soup
Spagetti noodles in marinara sauce with out chuncks looks kinda like brains in a see-thru bowl
and spider cupcakes for the kids-make any cake for ur cupcakes
use black frosting jellybeans for eyes and licorice for the legs have fun adn goodluck on the cards

I feel I need to ditto Gretchen's reply about keeping it simple and not setting a precedent. As someone who recently joined a bunco group and who personally is on a serious budget, I would feel really uncomfortable and pressured to up the ante on my own end if someone in our group went over and above the standard night. There are lots of simple things you can do to make the tables and your house cute, and you've gotten lots of great suggestions. I think the favors might be too much, though.

A few years ago I had a bunco game at my house during Halloween. For the beverage I made a batch of strawberry koolaid (you could even put some ginger ale in for a little fizz) and I put it in a big black pot. Party City has some cheap plastic ones. Then I filled some latex gloves with water the night before and froze them. The next day right before the party I just peeled the gloves off and dropped the frozen hands in the koolaid. I also used a skeleton hand ladel I found at Party City. Have fun!

I do a big Halloween bash at our house each year. We do finger foods, things like chips with dip (you can use food coloring for Halloween colors) and finger sandwiches.

I also make dirt pudding, which everyone loves. It is chocolate pudding with crumbled chocolate cookies on top. I add gummy worms and other halloween candy like eye balls. It is yummy!

I also serve a sherbert punch in a dollar store blak cauldron.

GL!

Ask each person to dress in costume to make it fun! :o)

Set out bowls of candy/kiddy mix. Goulash sounds good.

Make a relish tray and label things with WEIRD names:

Goulash = mashed brains
Olives = burned eyeballs

Be creative with the names, but make the food simple.

Hope it helps! :o)

Blessings,

P. <><

I saw some Halloween ideas somewhere, where they had taken hot dog wienies and cut a fingernail in the end and halfway up put three slits for a joint then boiled them. After they puff up they look just like fingers. It's fun, the kids think they are great!
J.
J..yoursmh.com
IC

I came across this website last night when I was looking for some ideas for a work function. It has ideas for ALL kinds of parties, free of charge.
http://www.party411.com/

i play bunko and i love halloween. i told everyone to wear a fun/funky hat. i knew they didn't want the full costume thing. i was surprised in our group of 12 that 10 of them wore a hat and the other 2 felt so left out the vowed never to miss it again. i served italian...so slimy and red. i just popped in a stouffers frozen lasg. i bought bagged salad and some extra veggies and....... i bought medium to large size bugs,like flies and roachs to toss in the salad. i also served ghoul brains for an appet.... i bought a bread bowl and cut the top out, i painted the bread bowl with a gross mixture of green and red food coloring and just brushed it on with my marinating brush. i filled the bowl with spinach artichoke dip. i made my famous death by choc. brownies and made a spider web design with simple squeeze tube icing. i sent everyone home with a treat bag full of large pretzel sticks dipped in melted chocolates and rolled in halloween sprinkles. good luck! it is so much fun.... also there is a cute recipe out there for witch fingers.... bread sticks with an almond on the end but i opted for the bowl.

Hi A.,

Here's one idea my daughter loves. Try carving colored bell peppers like pumpkins. Slice the top off the pepper (about 3/4"), clean out the seeds and membranes, carve a face or other seasonal picture (cat, bat, etc.) Rinse well and turn over on paper toweling to dry. Arrange on a tray and fill the cavities with carrot stices, another with celery sticks, another with the big pretzel, cheese, cucumbers, whatever stick food for your guests. Slice additional peppers lengthwise, clean and fill with dips.

After the party's over, I rinse the peppers again, chop, package and toss into the freezer to use later for cooking.

Have fun!
C.

Go to kraftfoods.com and look at some of their recipes - they have some really cute stuff - Good luck!

I did the dirt cake last year for my son's class as the "special treat" and it was a big hit. I used Milano cookies for tombstones and wrote "R.I.P." or "Boo" with black cake decorating gel. I used pumpkin mellow cremes spread around and marshmallow ghosts (from the makers of Peeps.) We had a few gummy worms sticking out of the "dirt" as well. It was alot of fun. :)

For a card game idea...we play a very fast paced, partner game called Nerts. It's really fun! If you want the details let me know and I will send them to you. Good luck and I hope you have a blast!

If you google Halloween Party Idea's, you'll find some GREAT websites with tons of ideas. www.lillianvernon.com has a great selection of Halloween Decorations too!