HALLOWEEN PARTYING
When I was little my very favorite holiday was Halloween...there were lots of reasons for this but without going through several years of analysis, let's just say it was mostly because of school. My school was called Georg F. Nixon elementary school, and it was used as a site for the whole town's celebration of Halloween! So the day of Hallowwen we got off at noon so that preparations could be made to the classrooms which were all a different theme for different ages of kids...from the room which was the "Go fishin" room to the home of the gypsy fortune teller. They even had a whole separate wing set aside for teens for dancing. Those were the days! :) Any way, the next day we also got off for two reasons....obviously, the school had to undergo major cleanup and secondly, it was All Saint's Day, a Catholic holy day of obligation so all the catholic kids (about half the school's population) got off anyway. Coincidentally, it was also my birthday, which of course I believed was why we got off! :) Although I believed that I was one of the "All Saints" -- Saint Mary to be exact -- my best friend Nancy Allegretti instead christened me a "leftover goblin" --- a moniker that has stuck thru the years. So celebrate with me with some of my favorite things below!
DECORATIONS:
CHEESECLOTH GHOSTS
Ghosts are made by soaking pieces of cotton cheesecloth in starch, drying
them, and draping each piece over a balloon (to form the head). Tie with string around the
“neck,” draw on a scary face, and adjust the remaining cloth so that it appears
to be blowing in the wind. The starch will make the cloth stiff enough that it should hold
its shape.
CAULDRON
Look for a plastic or a cast iron cauldron after Halloween in a
sale, then to use it just put in a chunk of dry ice with some water and it will smoke for
quite a while. Surround with hanging ghosts and bats to keep people from touching
the dry ice. To make bats, simply bend wire coat hangers into bat-wing shapes, slip
an old pair of
black stockings over the wire, and hang from trees.
Witch, Pirate, ScareCrow, ETC>
Buy any cheap costume at Wal-Mart or the like, then stuff it with fiberfill. To make legs, use panty hose or tights, also filled with fiberfoam and a head mask can be filled with a balloon or a punching bag. Just pin the elements together with big ole diaper pins or duct tape inside the costume, include a hat with hair or a wig and you can make just about any character to pose sitting in a chair in the room or spotlighted outside with blacklight and accessories.
Barrels of Light
Partially fill large containers that are like half-barrels or wash tubs with water. Use an apple corer tool (but don't go all the way thru) to cut votive shaped hollows in bunches of red and yellow apples, then fit in little votive candles or tea lights and float the apples for barrels of twinkling light.
Luminarias
To save time, buy Martha's luminarials from www.marthastewart.com's line of products.
They are not terribly expensive and will save worlds of time. You will have to
supply the sand and votive candles or tea lights.
Put a new spin on the old jack-o’-lantern. These softly glowing luminarias are a
festive way to greet night
visitors, and they’re more frightening than a plain paper bag. Set includes 20 each
of our Pumpkins, Cat Face,
and Scaredy-Cat designs. Fire-retardant. (3 1/2" by 6" by 10 1/4") DFR 002
$28.00
REMEMBER: ORDER THESE WAY AHEAD - THINK MONTHS TO GET
STUFF FROM MARTHA BY MAIL THAT WILL BE IN SEASONAL DEMAND.
WINDOW THINGS
WINDOW CREATURES
On Halloween night, dress your windows with gauzy, ghostly figures. Make ghosts from
inexpensive sheer polyester chiffon, available at fabric stores. Either cut shapes out
freehand, or try this method: Lay out the fabric on top of paper on a work surface or the
floor. Sketch an outline of a ghost onto the fabric using a pen or felt-tip marker, and
pin the
fabric to the paper. Cut out paper and cloth together (the paper makes it easier to cut
the
slippery fabric). Secure ghosts from wooden window frames with a pushpin or two. The
same ghosts can be attached to antique mirrors with a couple of dots of rubber cement,
which will easily rub off when the ghost is removed.
MAKING CHEAP, NO-TIME WINDOW SILHOUETTES
Halloween designs
White letter-size paper
Transparency film, for plain-paper copiers
Photocopy machine
Double-sided transparent tape
1. Select a design you wish to use; cat, moon, witch, or jack-o'-lantern. Draw or copy
design on a
piece of white letter-size paper. Make sure image is black and white, and darken with a
black
permanent marker, as needed.
2. Insert transparency film into the letter-size paper tray of a photocopier. Make a
photocopy of the
design; the end result will be a black design on the transparent paper.
3. To make the image adhere to the window, rub the transparent film on your head, creating
static
cling, or use double-sided tape. Shine a light behind the transparencies to create eerie
shadows
outside your windows.
ACTIVITIES:
APPLE BOBBING
Apples
Water
A deep pan or a half barrel
Lots of kids
You can blindfold the players or not. Put the water and apples in the barrel. Without
using hands the
players must pick up an apple with their teeth! (You can handcuff them with those toy
handcuffs to make sure!)
Reading Ghost Stories:
Connect to these sites, then print up your favorite stories, passing the story and a flashlight to the reader you select for each...don't scare yourself too much!
http://www.accessatlanta.com/FEATURES/themoonlitroad/
http://users.itsnet.com/~peachy/
RECIPES FOR A GREAT HALLOWEEN PARTY
ICE HANDS AND FACES IN PUNCH
Surprise Halloween guests by adding a ghoulish touch to your witches' brew: hands and
faces floating in your favorite Halloween punch. Made from ice, they’ll keep your
brew
perfectly cool. But another trick is to fill a bucket or tub with these ice
sculptures and use them to chill
bottled beverages.
Martha Stewart likes to float these icy body parts in her Blood Punch, a macabre mixture
of
cranberry juice and ginger ale. But this flourescent Antifreeze punch is a good
alternative....
ANTIFREEZE PUNCH
Antifreeze Punch has two primary
ingredients:
1. Diet Mountain Dew, which has an decidedly evil odd yellow glow to it. (Diet
is necessary so that you don't over sugar people.) BTW, we also tried other
sodas, including Squirt, 7-up and Sprite, but none had that evil yellowness.
2. A flourescent blue liquid. I know for a fact that the raspberry
"little hugs" drinks for kids are the perfect color. There is a recent
Kool-Aid blue flavor that I'm sure would work well, too.
For the "little hugs" the ratio is about 4-5 barrels to 1 2-liter bottle
of soda. Adjust as you think best. I'd start by pouring out the soda
and adding the blue. You know you've got it right when you get the
sickly yellow-green of many Glycol-based Antifreezes. Plus, when you
drink, it fizzes!
MAKING ICE HANDS AND FACES
Powder-free latex examination gloves
Molded-plastic face masks
Rubber bands
Wide duct tape
Cornmeal
Bubble wrap
Baking trays
Medium bowls or plastic shoe box
For Ice Hands:
1. Rinse gloves thoroughly, inside and out. Fill with water, making sure fingers of gloves
are
completely full. Tightly tie off the opening with a rubber band. Place filled gloves on a
tray dusted with
cornmeal, to prevent sticking. Make sure to separate the fingers. Freeze overnight.
2. When ready to use, rinse off cornmeal residue from glove, carefully snip off the glove
at the rubber
band, and peel away from ice form. Float in punch bowl.
For Ice Faces:
1. Pick a deep mask with prominent features for the best effect. Rinse mask thoroughly
with water
and dry off. Tape shut all the openings (eyes, nose, mouth) inside and out with duct tape.
2. Line a plastic shoe box or medium bowl with bubble wrap to cushion the mask. Place the
mask
face down in the bowl or box, and fill it 1/3 full with water, leaving room along the top
for shifting.
Freeze mask for 2 days.
3. When ready to use, loosen mask from ice form by quickly immersing it in a bowl of warm
water.
Pop mask away from ice form and float in punch bowl immediately.
Cheesy Deviled egg Mice
Cheesy Deviled Egg Mice
Yields: 12 mice
6 large hard-cooked eggs, chilled
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 radishes, thinly sliced
24 dried currants
1/2 cup alfalfa sprouts
1 log (1 ounce) string cheese, shredded into
12 strands
Peel eggs and slice in half lengthwise. Scoop out yolks and place in a medium
bowl. Add cheddar cheese, cream cheese, mayonnaise, and salt. Mash with a
fork to blend. Spoon the yolk mixture into the whites and level off with the back
side of a knife. Set aside remaining yolk mixture.
Place the egg halves on a work surface, yolk side down. Cut small slits in the
whites and insert radish slices for ears. With a toothpick, poke holes for eyes
and noses. Insert currants for eyes and little pieces of radish for noses. Place the
mice on a bed of sprouts. Use string cheese for the tails. Mold remaining yolk
mixture into little "cheese balls."
Dead Fingers
This is a shortbread type cookie that look like fingers.The dough is piped (use a bag
without any tip to
get a finger sized cylinder) onto the cookie sheet. Then using the dull side of a butter
knife make lines
suggesting knuckle and wrinkles, and add an almond for the fingernail. I found the
unblanched variety
look particularly creepy. You can add a bit of red icing (ie.that translucent yuk that
comes in a tube) if
you want a bloody finger. I have experimented with this idea and found it better to make
an impression
with the almond rather then bake them and "glue" the almonds to the finger
afterwards with the "blood".
This gives a new twist to the term "finger foods".
Tombstone Cookies
First, you will need tombstone shaped cookies You can make these by cutting from a
Pillsbury roll sugar cookies, (or if they have the holiday specific type with bats, you
could use those) cookie dough which you have re-shaped to that shape and then chilled til
firm in the freezer...slice thinner than usual, confectioner's sugar, and a
toothpick. Take sugar and mix it with hot water until fairly runny. Add a TINY bit of
black food coloring paste to make it light grey. Dip each of your cookies into the mixture
and place onto a foiled tray. Take your toothpick and carve "R.I.P" out of the
icing on every cookie. Place in fridge for a few hours and presto! Your very own
mini tombstones! You could serve by placing them into green florists foil all
arranged like a cemetary...could add some green tinted coconut "grass", crumbled
chocolate cake or oreo cookie "dirt" and so forth.
Pumpkin Cake
Bake 2 cakes in Bundt pans. Place the 2 cakes together bottom to bottom. Frost with orange
frosting
made from food colouring. The pumpkin face is pieces of a Hershey Chocolate Bar cut into
triangles, etc. for eyes, nose, etc. And finally set a chocolate frosted cupcake at the
top as the stem.
Note: This ends up being a whole lot of cake.
Pumpkin Seeds
2 cups pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
vegetable oil
1.Separate pumpkin seeds from the pulp but don't wash the seeds.
2.Mix seeds, butter, salt, and stir.
3.Grease baking tray with oil and pour on buttered seeds. Gently shake the pan to even out
the seeds.
4.Bake seeds at 200 degrees F. for 45 mins.
Variation: Martha Stewart Sweet and Spicy Pumpking
seeds:
Martha updates this seasonal favorite by using such flavorful seasonings as cumin,
cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne. For best results, pumpkin seeds must be completely dried
out in the oven before combining with spices.
Makes 1 cup
1 cup pumpkin seeds from 1 medium pumpkin (about 5 to 7 pounds)
5 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil
1. Heat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut pumpkin open
from the
bottom, removing seeds with a long-handled spoon. Separate flesh from seeds and discard.
Spread
seeds on parchment in an even layer. Bake until dry, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.
Let cool.
2. In a medium bowl combine 3 tablespoons sugar, salt, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and
cayenne.
Heat peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add pumpkin seeds and 2
tablespoons
sugar. Cook until sugar melts and the pumpkin seeds begin to caramelize, about 45 to 60
seconds.
Transfer to bowl with spices and stir well to coat. Let cool. These may be stored in an
airtight
container for up to 1 week.
Easy Insects
1.Melt a 6oz. package (1 cup) of butterscotch or chocolate chips over low heat, stirring
constantly.
2.Remove chips from heat and stir in 1 cup peanuts and 3 cups chow mein noodles. (Some
other recipes call for 2 cups of chow mein noodles, and 1/2 cup walnuts or pecan
pieces...in other words, feel free to experiment)
3.Drop by teaspoon onto waxed paper and Chill for 15 minutes or until firm.
4.Remove from refrigerator. Store loosely covered in a cool place.
Jack O Lantern Cheese Ball
2 cups Shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup Solid pack pumpkin
1/4 cup Pineapple preserves
1/4 teaspoon Ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon Ground nutmeg
1 large Pretzel rod -- broken in half
1/2 8 0z pkg cream cheese
Dark rye bread
Red pepper
Black olive slices
Parsley sprigs
Beat cheeses, pumpkin, preserves and spices in medium bowl until smooth. Cover refrigerate
2-3
hours until cheese is firm enough to shape. Shape mixture into round pumpkin, place on
serving
plate.Using a knife, score vertical lines down pumpkin. Place pretzel rod in top for stem.
Cut bread
into triangles for eyes, cut red pepper into triangle , for nose, and cut olives in half
to make the mouth.
Surround with parsley.