Family~ Halloween Guide

Halloween grew out of a number of old practices. Over 2000 years ago the Celtic people in Northern Europe held a yearly festival called Samhain to honor their dead. This festival was held on November 1, the first day of the Celtic year.The Celts believed that the transition from the old year to the new created a wrinkle in time; events that took place on this night existed outside of real time. At this crucial crossroad between past and present, magical creatures were especially active. Faeries were free to come out and create all types of mischief. Since humans needed to protect themselves from the tricksters they wore disguises. This may be how costumes became part of the Halloween traditions. Later Christians started celebrating November 1 as "All Saint's Day" or "All Hallows' Day" also in honor of the dead. October 31 was called " All Hallows Eve" the origin of the name "Halloween." Many believed that the spirits of the dead came back at this time. They also believed that witches, ghosts, and other evil spirits roamed about causing trouble. They put out food and treats to keep the spirits from getting angry.

Halloween is all about the treats. So, how can you make some fun treats at home that your little ones will love? It's easier than you might think.

Do you have some Halloween Cookie Cutters? That's all you'll need to make these first three fun and memorable Halloween treats.

1. Terrifying Tortilla Chips: Start with some flour tortillas and spray a bit of canola oil on them. Sprinkle parmesan cheese or cinnamon and sugar on them. Then cut fun shapes out of the tortillas with a bat, ghost or pumpkin cookie cutter. Put the shapes into the oven for a crispy treat.

2. Spooky Sandwiches: Make your favorite sandwich. Peanut butter and jelly works just fine. Then, using a cookie cutter, press hard into the sandwich and you'll get a spooky treat. If you use a pumpkin shape cookie cutter, add licorice or candy corn to make eyes and nose on a jack-o-lantern face.

3. Creepy Cheese and Cold Cuts: Buy packaged cheese (the kind that you peel the plastic off). Also, buy some cold-cuts. Using a cookie cutter, make spooky shapes. Present the cheese and cold cuts on a platter as an appetizer - or have a sandwich smorgasbord and allow your guests to use the creepy cheese to make their own sandwiches.

Here are a few more last-minute ideas for Halloween fun.

4. Wicked Witch Fingers: Do you have some dough and almonds? Believe it or not, you can make witch fingers. Just stretch out the dough into a "finger-shape" including a knuckle. Then, take the almond and press it into the end to make the fingernail. You can experiment with different colors to make witch fingers creepier. "Paint" the fingernail with food coloring (grey or black is perfect), or make the dough a creepy green color. Oooh%u2026 spooky!

5. Green Anything: Take your favorite foods and add a drop of green food coloring to them. Are you in the mood for French toast? Make it green. How about pudding? Make it green. You can even serve green milk with your cookies. You'll be the coolest mom on the block.
Special thanks to Halloween Ideas for the great recipe tips.

Halloween Ideas Is A Family-friendly Ebook With Over 60 Pages Of Homespun Halloween Fun! Easy-to-make Costumes, Crafts, Decorating Ideas, And Lots Of Recipes!

Hot Witch's Cider

Ingredients:

1 gallon apple cider
1 (16 ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate
2 cinnamon sticks
2 cloves

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Simmer over low heat for approximately 15 minutes. Transfer to punch bowl and serve.
Special thanks to Halloween Ideas for the great recipe tips.

Halloween Ideas Is A Family-friendly Ebook With Over 60 Pages Of Homespun Halloween Fun! Easy-to-make Costumes, Crafts, Decorating Ideas, And Lots Of Recipes!

Pumkin Cake
3 1/2 cups self-rising flour
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 (16 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon all spice
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
In a large bowl combine flour, sugar and spices. In a separate bowl combine beaten eggs, vegetable oil and pumpkin puree.

Mix well and add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture. Mix well. Fold in chopped walnuts (if using). Place in a lightly greased pumpkin shaped baking tin.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 for approximately 25 minutes or until golden and baked through. Decorate with orange frosting, candy corn and liquorice to form a pumpkin face.

Tip: If you don't have a pumpkin shaped baking tin, you can use a regular tin and decorate as a pumpkin for a similar effect.

Special thanks to Halloween Ideas for the great recipe tips.
Halloween Ideas Is A Family-friendly Ebook With Over 60 Pages Of Homespun Halloween Fun! Easy-to-make Costumes, Crafts, Decorating Ideas, And Lots Of Recipes!

Sprucing up your home for the Halloween season is a great way to get into the spooky season. As September ends, scarecrows peep out of the garden, smiling jack-o-lanterns gaze at us from the windows, and spider webs and bats hang from the most unusual places. Decorating homes and yards has become almost as common as putting up Christmas trees. Delightful or frightful-here are some time honored decorating tips you can use.

For The Yard
- Line jack-o'-lanterns or uncarved pumpkins along your front walk, on the steps, or porch. Don't limit yourself to just pumpkins. You can make funny or frightening faces on plenty of vegetables. Luminaries( colored or white paper bags) illuminated by glass jars look good as well. Cut crop circles on your bags for an interesting and eerie alternative.

-Hang ghosts made out of sheets from the porch, ceiling and trees.

-Display a witches mud room on your porch, using playful hats that you decorate, and unusual brooms.

-If cheerful straw figures are not what you had in mind, consider using scrap wire and sculpting a more sinister version. Create the basic shape with wire and then wrap vines around the wire. You can use a pumpkin for the head and old gardening tools for the hands. If you would like to soften the look use colorful dried foliage as well. Scary Scarecrow indeed!

- Make gravestones out of plywood or cardboard and prop them around the yard. Paint them grey and write funny epitaphs on them. Cover them with cotton cobwebs and for added horror you can place a fake arm coming up out of the ground.

-If you have floodlights point them into the trees to create ghostly shadows.

Inside The House
-Create a centerpiece on your dining room table or fireplace mantle with pumpkins autumn leaves, foliage, and cobwebs. Use dried ferns with skeletal branch formations to make your centerpiece more eerily appealing.

-Seasonal silhouettes can be created easily. Find a copyright free image that you like and copy it onto a sheet of vellum, adjusting the size to fit your window. Since vellum is translucent your silhouettes won't block the light coming in the window. This is fast, easy, and inexpensive. Of course you can always use construction paper as well to cut your bats, witches, and black cats.

-Float tiny pumpkins with candles and flowers in a glass bowl for an elegant and classy display.

-Haunt your house by stuffing a mummy, grim reaper or scarecrow and prop them up around the house.

-Fill a large pot or cauldron with dry ice and let it boil and bubble all night in the corner. ( don't let anyone touch the ice)

-Play eerie music and dim the lights.

With Halloween just around the corner, why not show your little ghoul or goblin you care with these customized treats. Affordable and creative, these will be the envy at any party. You handle the tricks and let Edible Gifts supply the treats.

Halloween Caramel Chocolate Apple
Each apple is double hand-dipped in our fresh, kettle-made caramel that's famous for its smoothness and creamy texture. The apples are then hand-dipped in two layers of delicious Belgian Chocolates -dark, milk or white - and decorated with our adorable candy pumpkins and ghosts.
$19.95

Trick or Sneak
Our popular ceramic sneaker is "fitted" for Halloween fun with a wide assortment of everyday kid's candy, complimented with a batty Halloween lollipop and pumpkin-face suckers.
$50.00

Pumpkin Pretzels
You're going to "witch" there was more after you taste our mini pretzels covered in pumpkin spiced chocolate and stripped in white chocolate. 1 lb. bag
$8.50


Tower of Fright
Three Halloween themed boxes contain everything you need for your favorite ghost or goblin.Includes: chocolate pumpkins, chocolate caramel popcorn and a box of Halloween themed cookies.
$39.95

HalloweenMart has a vast assortment of Halloween costumes and decor to help you prepare for your festivities. Simply click on the link below to continue browsing. Enjoy!

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