Halloween Ideas and Tips

So you'd like to... Have Great Halloween Festivities

Out of all the holidays in existance, none can surpass my love of Halloween. Typically a holiday set aside where children dress up in costumes and go house to house in search of candy, there is so much more to this holiday which I hope to highlight. Halloween cheer encompasses parties, decoration, goodies, scary movies and friendly comradery.

First let's start off with the basics. You can't start off Halloween with an undecorated house. Atmosphere lends to establishing a great holiday mind-set. With that, there are a few books I recommend to help in transforming your home to a frightfully fun place to visit. 'Ghostly Frights for Halloween Nights' is a book the whole family can participate in using. The book covers basic projects from cutting and tying to more complex papier-mâché and stitching. The book 'Haunt Your House For Halloween: Decorating Tricks & Party Treats' is also a great tool to use in decorating your home for a more country Halloween style than spooky. And let's not forget the book 'Halloween Crafts: Eerily Elegant Decor' for some very decorative ideas for cleaver doorways and memorable parties. You might recognize the author Kasey Rogers as the actress who played Louise Tate on tv's 'A Bewitched Halloween'. Better Homes and Gardens covers all the main basics in 'Halloween Fun : 101 Ideas to get in the spirit'. Martha Stewart even gets into the act with her highly popular 'Halloween : The Best of Martha Stewart Living'. For even more tips on decorating you can also read through '101 Spooktacular Party Ideas' and 'The Halloween Book'. The books 'Tricks and Treats' and 'Halloween Pumpkins & Parties : 101 Spooktacular Ideas' are also fulled with great tips and ideas. If you have entertained the idea to turn your entire house into a walk through haunted house, the books 'The Do It Yourself Haunted House Guide' and 'Haunted House Halloween Handbook' are very helpful in supplying ideas. There are also some good scare tips found in 'Give Them a Real Scare This Halloween'.

So, you have your house looking fabulously spooky, how about some music to add that final important touch? Some of my favorite Halloween music for atmosphere are: 'Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Halloween', 'Halloween: Monster Mix', 'Halloween Sound Effects', 'Halloween Big Screen Thrillers', and for little kids: 'Spooky Favorites'.

Now that you have the atmosphere created, you can tackel the next step in providing a memorable Halloween: the food! For this I HIGHLY recommend some of the recpies published in the book 'Halloween Treats: Recipes and Crafts for the Whole Family (Holiday Celebrations)'. Not only do you get the wonderful cookies and treat ideas, but there are a couple imaginative ideas for enchanting brews for your friends to drink. The book 'Halloween: Customs, Recipes & Spells' also has some great recipe ideas, covering Halloween doughnuts, pumpkin bread, candied apples and even something called "Sugar Snakes In Graveyard Dust". Yum! For food a little more on the 'weird' side, try 'Creepy Cuisine'.

So you've got a spooky house and yummy treats, what else could you decorate? Why YOU of coarse! 'Halloween Costumes (Singer Sewing Reference Library)' brings to light some very cleaver and festive costume ideas. Dressing up the kiddies is pretty easy also with 'Illegally Easy Halloween Costumes for Kids' and 'Easy Halloween Costumes for Children'. You can even get really great face painting tips in the book 'Fun with Face Painting'. The book 'A Halloween How-To: Costumes, Parties, Decorations, and Destinations' does cover some aspects of costumes, but very generally.

Halloween wouldn't be Halloween without a few good scary movies. When getting friends together, you want to decide on the type of movie you want to see. If your children are having a little get together with friends I would highly suggest 'Garfield Holiday Celebrations'. This DVD set collects the three Garfield holiday specials made in the 80s. But don't let the date fool you. "Garfield's Halloween Adventure" is one of the best Halloween cartoons made to date! In this movie Garfield and his best friend Odie go out trick or treating and find an exciting adventure along the way involving ghost pirates! 'Lumpkin the Pumpkin', 'The Halloween Tree', 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown', 'The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (Disney Gold Classic Collection)', 'The Scooby-Doo Show: The Headless Horseman of Halloween' and 'The Simpsons - Treehouse of Horror' are also great Halloween cartoons. If live action is what the kids want, 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Widescreen Special Edition) (Harry Potter 1)', 'The Little Vampire' and 'Hocus Pocus' are wonderfully entertaining and fun to watch.

But if you're more for an adult party several movies can be viewed for scary good fun. A staple of any good Halloween party is the movie 'Halloween'. It's been bringing a good scream to Halloween parties since 1978. Other great Halloween movies are 'Silver Bullet', 'Bram Stoker's Dracula (Superbit Collection)', 'Sleepy Hollow', 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' and 'Fright Night'. And if you're in for a total scare,who could forget the classic 'The Exorcist (The Version You've Never Seen)'. But if you're in the mood for some hysterical Halloween laughs 'Elvira, Mistress of the Dark', 'Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein', 'Scary Movie' and 'Ghostbusters' are just the ticket.

A guide by Peter Saenz, Spooky Holiday Lover for Amazon

A Halloween How-To: Costumes, Parties, Decorations, and Destinations
by Lesley Pratt Bannatyne

Review:

Last fall, I checked this book out of the library looking for ideas for our annual Halloween bash and to decorate our yard. The book not only has a great wealth of ideas and tips, but also historical and sociological information on the holiday. This is one of the few books that I have found more geared towards adults wishing to celebrate the holiday. Most of what is out there leans towards the juvenile side of Halloween festivites.

I agree with past reviewers' main gripes about lack of graphics. The book doesn't need to have glossy coffee table book-type spreads, but it is seriously lacking in useful illustrations

This is a great book with many decorating ideas and references. This is the best book I found on the market. I applied a few of the ideas to my decorations last year and had a few children afraid to approach the door (though that was not my intent, nothing truly gory last year). Highly recommended!

If you are looking for a Halloween how to book for grownups, this is it. It is full of magnificent ideas for everything from parties to yard haunting. I love Halloween and I have many Halloween books. This one is the one I use the most. I especially loved the life-sized Grim Reaper. I made it for my yard haunt last year and received more compliments on it than anything else. I highly recommend this book.

Since so many other reviewers give a good overview of the book, let me tell you what I found unique and helpful about this book. The best section of this book tells you how to hold a themed adult Halloween party. It covers everything from the invitations (really cool invitations, with relevant literary quotes), to the decorations, music, and costumes. There are many themes listed. I have never seen this in any of the Halloween books I have bought. This chapter alone makes it worth the price.Full-disclosure: My tombstone-making instructions are featured in the book. But I don't get a cut of the profits, just the recognition (Thanks for the mention Lesley!)

The Halloween Book (Hardcover) - by Jane Bull

Review:

The Halloween Book is a veritable gold mine of creepy crafts to make Halloween the most spine-tingling night of the year. Unearthly decorations ("Silhouette Windows," "Flickering Faces," "Jeering Jars"), exquisitely eerie dress-up ideas ("Fearsome Features," "Creepy Costumes,"), and delectably ghastly goodies ("Buckets of Treats," "Beastly Buffet," "Hanging Horrors," "Cauldron Cocktails," "Spooky Potions") will provide days of creative fun leading up to the haunted holiday. The perfect resource for a Halloween party, with DK's superb photos and clever activities, games, and recipes, this volume is a steep step above the standard craft book. So pour yourself a mug o' vampire broth or hot chocolate bones, dig into some sausage fingers, and get started on your screaming streamers and menacing masks. (Ages 6 to 11) --Emilie Coulter

From School Library Journal
Grade 2-5-This is the "Martha Stewart" book of craft, costume, food, and party ideas for the ultimate Halloween experience. It shows how to carve a pumpkin, make hanging glass-jar lights, spooky window cutouts, and decorated flashlights. There are descriptions and photos of additions to fairy, pirate, witch, vampire, and ghost costumes, with elaborate face painting and perfectly cut-out, acrylic-painted, paper-plate masks. There are directions for a paper-m ch pumpkin and a cr pe-paper-decorated sand bucket for holding treats. Refreshments include sausage fingers, "bread roll monsters," gorgeous-looking creepy cupcakes, and "cauldron cocktails." Finally, there are instructions for a shadow theatre and other traditional party games. The photographs are stunning, but all of the projects look like they were made by adults or particularly handy, older children. One hopes that youngsters will not be disappointed when their creations don't look quite so perfect.
Cathie Reed, The Montessori School, Lutherville, MD

This is a fun book aimed at the younger set filled with a nice sprinkling of Halloween costumes, recipes, crafts, and party ideas. The ideas are by no means original, but as a mom and Halloween-freak , I found this book to be a good inspiration to cooking up your own ideas. (The monster sandwiches are priceless! )The photos are lovely, the printed varnished pages crisp and bright -- I can practically smell the pumpkin pie when I crack it open.

Halloween: Costumes, Parties, Activites, Recipes (1000 Hints, Tips and Ideas)

Book Description

Halloween Parties

Book Description

A boring Halloween party? The horror! Millions of Americans live to be scared silly, and for them October 31 marks the beginning of the holiday season: a reason to dress and act outrageously. This hip, photograph-filled paperback, packed with recipes and crafts, makes entertaining on Allhallows' Eve terrifyingly easy. From a frightful dinner for four to a full-out, monster-mashing Haunted Mansion, Lori Hellander concocts six parties guaranteed to make guests scream in delight. The Hocus Pocus Potion Party highlights eerie elegance, while Tricks and Treats taps into Halloween nostalgia.

Like a skilled carver attacking a pumpkin, Hellander chops up each themed party into manageable chunks: invitations; shopping and scheduling; decor and costumes; food and drink; games for all ages. But aspiring fete-ishists need not have tons of time or an armory of glue guns to get the parties going: there are plenty of quick and simple-to-execute ideas, plus useful tips for impromptu entertaining. AUTHOR BIO: LORI HELLANDER lives in New York City, but her work as a photo stylist takes her to many places on the map. She is a regular contributor to Country Living, Bon Appétit, and Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion, among other national publications, and has made several guest appearances on HGTV's Country Style and the Discovery Channel's Surprise by Design.


Photo stylist Hellander’s book of Halloween-themed entertainment ideas shares recipes, decorating tips and invitation ideas for six different spooky parties. The Tricks & Treats party is pretty run of the mill, with its jack-o’-lantern goody bags, suggestions for pumpkin carving and plenty more Halloween ideas.

BILL MILNE is a photographer and image-maker who has contributed to Gourmet, Wine Spectator, Time, People, and many other publications.

Halloween Pumpkins & Parties : 101 Spooktacular Ideas (Paperback)

Half of this book features Halloween celebrations and entertaining, while the rest highlights creativity with pumpkins.

Review: All-new ideas for both crafters and noncrafters.
One-of-a-kind Halloween how-to with detailed instructions, patterns, and recipes.
Third in a series of highly successful Halloween books

Halloween Fun : 101 Ideas to get in the spirit (Better Homes & Gardens

Master everything from festive decorations and costumes to yummy recipes for little goblins with 101 ideas to get in the spirit with Halloween Fun, published by Better Homes and Gardens.








Family Fun Tricks and Treats

Halloween is a time of transformation and not for just humans who don the face paint and masks!

Reviews

There are a number of Halloween books out on the market for decorating, baking and costume making, but this is one of the few that actually has something new in it!

The crafts are clever, but actually look doable wtih things you might already have on hand. The costumes ideas are fun and innovative, the food ideas are also really cute, but not overly-complicated. While some classic ideas never die, this book puts a nice twist on things like "body parts" games.

Of course, the ideas come from the monthly magazine that Disney produces, Family Fun, and if you get the magazine, you'll have already seen alot of these things in print or on their website. Still, the book is nicely layed-out, easy to flip through and a good resource of party and costume ideas for both kids and their grown-ups.

Review: This book is an awesome resource for make-at-home costumes and decorations. The ideas are so cute, easy to follow, and where else can you find a recipe for slime?

Review: This was great!
My daughter & I love Halloween and when we saw this we bought it right away. There are so many wonderful ideas. A must have! There were a lot of spooky things to do with foods and great little ideas for those little helpers to decorate your home with lots of memories! You have to get this one!






Halloween School Parties: What Do I Do?

Midwest Book Review
Wilhelmina Ripple's Halloween School Parties: What Do I Do? (charmingly illustrated throughout by Heather Anderson) is a parent or teacher "how-to" manual for putting on safe and fun Halloween parties for children of all ages. Halloween School Parties features eight themes, sixty games, fifty-five crafts/favors; forty-nine treats, eight drinks, eight parent costumes, twenty-two educational facts, more than fifty helpful hints, fifty-two interviews from children and adults, two hundred twenty-five illustrations, a chapter on "what, why and how"; and an index for ease of use. Halloween School Parties is, quite simply stated, the best Halloween party book ever published and a must for school and community libraries everywhere.

Review
Another Mom in my son's classroom lent me this book as I was giving my 6-year old a Halloween themed birthday party. I made the popcorn hands treat which was a HUGE hit. It's a good thing I made extra as I saw parents munching away. Not one was left after the party. We also played the Wrap the Mummy game and the parents loved it as much as the kids. I'm a Room Mom for two classrooms this year. We'll be having a classroom Halloween party and again, I'll be making the popcorn hands and this time I'll put black and orange M&M's in the fingers to try. One Mom loved the Mummy Wrap game so much she will be hosting it at our classroom party. This was such a useful and resourceful book that I have ordered all her books to help me out this year!

Review
A wonderful book and many ideas to use for Halloween Paries, not just at school. The craft ideas are so cute and adaptable for any age. We have used these ideas at church parties. The What, Why, and How of Room Parenting chapert is useful for any entertaining event. Suggestion: Purchase a complete set.

Review
This Book it exactly what I have been looking for. A complete party how to book, from Bat Volleyball to Witch's Bubbling Brew.
I run a Day Care and to find activities for each age group is "pricless".

Review
This is a wonderful series of party books-perfect for classroom-size groups of all elementary ages. A couple of years ago I had 2 weeks to pull my 3rd grader's class party together after the room parent had moved. I planned the entire party out of this book. The kids had a great time! It was such a great help that our PTO bought multiple sets of the series as references for our Party Parents!

Review
This is a fabulous book! Every page is packed with great ideas on games or snacks or crafts or costumes! It is very detailed in all aspects. I can honestly say that each page has something I will use in the future for my Brownie Troop (I'm going to have to make these parties very long because I want to use every single idea). Wilhelmina Ripple has provided a very useful and fun book!

Review
I bought this book to get ideas for the large Halloween party we throw every year. This book is strictly sighted at school parties, including classroom crafts and games designed for a school setting. Since so many schools don't even allow "Halloween" to be mentioned (my kids have attended two schools that dictate "Harvest" themes) this book is of little use to me.








101 Spooktacular Party Ideas

Planning a Halloween party has never been easier! Whether you are having a few neighborhood children over, or are throwing a huge Halloween bash, 101 Spooktacular Party Ideas will help you plan an unforgettable Halloween party.
It is filled with ideas that will help you haunt your house with boo-tiful decorations, serve sinisterly delectable treats, play bone chilling games and make fiendishly fun crafts and party favors.

101 Spooktacular Party Ideas features 9 outdoor decorations, 10 indoor decorations, 10 quick and easy treats, 15 make ahead treats, 10 beverage ideas, 22 relay and active games, 11 quiet games, 14 craft and party favors, and more!

For easy reference, each food and craft idea includes a picture. Most of the decoration ideas also have pictures. Each idea has a supply list that tells the reader what materials are needed to complete the activity. Most of the materials are inexpensive and easy to find. Each party idea includes easy to follow instructions that will guide the reader step-by-step through each activity. Now it is easy to put on an unforgettable Halloween party.

About the Author
Linda Sadler has always enjoyed throwing Halloween parties and sharing her ideas with other people. As the mother of two boys, ages 12 and 15, she has over 10 years of experience planning school parties. She has also thrown Halloween parties at her home for over 15 years. The idea to write this book came from her constant struggles to find new decoration, craft, game and treat ideas for her parties. Her goal is to make planning a Halloween party easy, so she has written this book with easy to follow step-by-step instruction. Anyone, even those who are not crafty or creative, can follow the directions and make fun decorations, treats and party favors.


Halloween Recipes

Here are some ideas that can help you cook up some delicious Halloween food and treats for this year's Halloween celebrations!

Creepy Cuisine - Revolting Halloween Recipes that look Disgusting but Taste Divine

Review

From School Library Journal

-An artful arrangement of ingredients aided by imaginative titles transforms ordinary food into disgusting treats such as, "Pus Pockets" (pita stuffed with cheese, baked, slit, and squeezed) and "Worms au Gratin" (spaghetti and noodles). While some children will only browse through the book to exclaim at the yucky fare, those who try the recipes will find that they contain sensible advice, beginning with safety tips, cooking terms, measurements, and clean-up hints. Instructions are clearly written and list needed tools. The advice, "with an adult's help" is given whenever cooking, baking, or the use of a sharp knife is required. Burke's pen-and-ink cartoons are essential for their humorous portrayal of monsters and ugly characters and because arrangement of food is so critical for gruesome effect. Even so, some imagination may be needed to see the werewolf in the Waldorf Salad or Brussels sprouts as gorilla tonsils. The food itself is mostly healthful, with fruits and vegetables featured as prominent ingredients. Food coloring is used in some recipes and stuffed olives (eyeballs) appear more than once. Some titles may be over readers' heads, but the serving suggestions (e.g., crumpled facial tissues with the "Phlegm Brulee) will help them understand. Filled with clever ideas, this is an excellent choice for those who are looking for something creepy but fun.

"Filled with clever ideas, this is an excellent choice for those who are lookin for something creepy but fun."--School Library Journal.

was disappointed with this book.Its a wonderful idea to make a book like this but most of the recipes are not something that my family & i would use.The titles of the recipes are great,gnarled witch fingers,tongues on toast,brains on the half skull,etc.This book just needs some better recipes.

I used this book for an adult business halloween party. they all acted like kids grossing out at each item (yet eating them ALL and asking for more). I only made a few items last year to see their reaction and couldn't believe how they devoured them and started searching my refrigerator for more! this year i'll be adding many more of these recipes to my menu.

If you can get past the names of the dishes (and your imagination doesn't go into overdrive), you will love this book! The instructions are simple, and there are plenty of opportunities to teach kids about good kitchen technique. This book belongs in every parent's collection.

Halloween Recipes and Crafts

Outdoor Décor is the first section and provides a number of projects that were new to me. One of the most interesting was the freshly dug graves project where you turn everyday plastic garbage bags and a little bit of dirt or soil, to create the look of a freshly dug grave on for your front lawn. Accent it with a Styrofoam tombstone (which you can also make very inexpensively) some leaves, maybe a fake hand rising out of the dirt, for a truly terrifying display.

Another outdoor project utilizes old tin cans, such as soup or even coffee cans. Painted pumpkin orange, simply punch a series of holes in the can with an awl or screwdriver to make a face. Place a candle inside the can and hang outside for a brilliant Halloween lantern. There's also dangling skeletons that can be made with old gallon milk jugs and a scary Halloween ghost flag that can be made for a few dollars.

Moving inside, there are more great projects. Utilize those, unused Halloween masks by simply stuffing them and hanging them inside...or outside...as recently severed heads. One of my favorite projects is the shrunken heads made out of apples. Simply peel an apple and apply a solution of lemon juice and salt to prevent browning. Carve out the apple in the shape of a face and let dry for a couple of weeks. You can even use marker or paint to further accent these ghastly little decorations. The highlight for me was a miniature graveyard scene made with a simple sheet of Styrofoam, some Spanish moss, twigs, little stones, and smaller pieces of Styrofoam to make tiny tombstones.

The recipes section has all sorts of Halloween themed ideas like deviled egg eye balls or lady fingers made from a half of a hot dog with a red pepper finger nail applied with a bit of cream cheese. Add raisins to ice cubes for drinks or punch to give the appearance of bugs. A great idea for adults is to take the traditional bread bowl spinach dip and cut the bread bowl into a jack-o-lantern face. It would make a great centerpiece for an office party.

If you're hosting a party for your children and their friends there's a great chapter featuring a wide display of games like "Pin the Mouth on the Pumpkin", "Encase the Mummy", "Apple Grab" and more that will keep the kids busy and having fun. The book closes with some tips on costume selection and makeup.

The projects in this book are great looking yet very simple and inexpensive to make. The projects all have a supply list and are described in step-by-step fashion. Chances are you'll find that you have a lot of the items you need already in your home. The book is printed on glossy paper and is lavishly illustrated with dozens of photographs throughout. A real ghoul's treat of fun and great looking projects.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

Halloween Treats

Book Description

Amazon.com
Cocoa Cobweb Cupcakes, Black Cat Cookies, and Stained-Glass Spooks are just a few of the spirited tastes you'll encounter in Donata Maggipinto's delightful Halloween Treats. But it's not just recipes--you and your favorite little goblin will love creating spooky craft projects such as Candy Cauldrons, Leaf Lanterns, and Paper Bag Pumpkins together in anticipation of All Hallows' Eve. Maggipinto includes craft ideas for "Pixies" (children 4-8 years old) as well as older children, and nearly every recipe includes a safe task for younger helpers. (For example, while mom or dad should heat the milk for hot cocoa, kids can roll and stamp out marshmallow ghosts as accompaniment.) A few of the craft ideas will require a trip to the art supply store (such as lampshade paper for the very nifty flashlight lanterns), but Maggipinto leaves plenty of room for the magical combination of imagination and found objects. Her great "fanciful masks" are dime-store masks decorated with autumn leaves, candy wrappers, feathers, or anything else you might have at hand.
Maggipinto believes that Halloween festivities should last for at least a week; you'll find enough project instructions and recipes here for a month of Halloween fun. Grownups will love her Halloween dinner party menu (with Pumpkin Crackle Custard for dessert!) and kids can help by making corn kernel napkin rings and three-tiered pumpkin centerpieces. If you're looking for costume ideas, you won't find them here--the book is focused firmly on kitchen and decoration fun--but the beautifully illustrated Halloween Treats is a wonderful treasure trove of tricks and treats that every family will enjoy working on together. --Rebecca A. Staffel

Ghost Witches Join Party Menu "Don't reserve your Halloween cookie cutters just for cookies. Consider these boo-tiful ideas from 'Halloween Treats', by Donata Maggipinto:

Flatten large marshmallows with a rolling pin, then use mini cutters to make a ghoulish garnish for hot cocoa.

Make 'ghost-wiches' by cutting sandwich bread or lunch meats (or both) with the cookie cutters; a pastry tip to poke eyes and mouth into the bread.

And here's a tip from Good Eating: If you're determined to think sweet, you can also use those cookie cutters for devilish brownies and cakes. Either cut the cakes into scary shapes, or use the cookie cutters as stencils to make designs - with frosting or colored sugar on top of the icing."

Book Description
These days, Halloween is the most popular holiday next to Christmas. At its heart are family and friends having fun together--which is what this book is all about. In this cornucopia of creative Halloween ideas, simple crafts, tasty treats, and ghoulish good times abound. From delicious "one cauldron" dinners such as creamy pumpkin soup to luscious devil's food cake and black cat cookies, here are recipes ideal for entertaining adults and children alike, both in the kitchen and at the table. And then there are the crafts. Kid-friendly projects such as trick-or-treat bags, spooky lanterns, and tissue ghosts, and easy ideas for beautiful centerpieces, place mats, and name cards keep everyone from the tots on up busy and happy. Filled with clever projects and delicious snacks, and illustrated throughout with colorful photographs, Halloween Treats will keep the whole family (and friends of all ages) entertained. Happy Halloween!

About the Author
Donatela Maggipinto is the entertaining director at Williams-Sonoma and a regular on NBC's Today Show. She recently completed a series of cooking programs for the Television Food Network. She lives in Marin County, California.

Richard Jung is a San Francisco-based food and travel photographer whose previous books include Balsamico.





My Very Own Halloween: A Book of Cooking and Crafts
My Very Own Halloween is a great book for children to use to create treats to eat, as well as crafts to decorate for the occasion. Each food/craft has a list of the items required to create it. Then it shows a numbered list of descriptive steps to follow. There's a photograph of every creation and suggested menus combining the creations.