There's no doubt that Halloween is many people's favorite time of year. There are also numerous ways to celebrate this fun day. Kids will want to go Trick or Treating. Teens tend to do more tricking than treating, and adults usually want a fun party to attend. Continue reading "A Horrifyingly Fun Halloween Adventure" »
Trending Tuesdays – October Decor
Throwing a party this month? Planning a big Halloween shindig? Here are some easy ideas to decorate your home for the big event!
Pumpkins
A classic decor item can really stand out with a twist! Grab some small pumpkins from your local grocery store and paint the bottom half of them with metallic paint. You can also paint designs like polka dots or stripes to give them different looks. Spread them out throughout your home to keep the theme of the season in every room.
Candy Corn
Fill jars with candy corn and display them on coffee tables, book cases, and counters. The natural pop of color will add to your decor and you'll have candy readily available throughout your space.
Painted Letters
Make a big statement with painted letters. Grab wooden letters from your local craft store and paint them with the colors of the season. Spell out words like "Eek" or "Boo" and make them a focal point on your dining room table or on top of your fireplace.
It doesn't take much to make your holiday decor really stand out! With these simple tricks, your home will be ready for your October party! Check back with the Wedding and Party Blog for more great ideas!
Party Tip Of The Week – Halloween Party Favor
Are you planning a Halloween party? Stuck on party favors? We have some ideas on party favors that can make your party a spooktacular event!
For The Kiddos:
Painted Pumpkins
Hold a painted pumpkin contest with the kids. Have them decorate a small pumpkin and offer treats for the most creative. At the end of the night, they can take their pumpkin home and have it displayed for the rest of fall!
For the Adults:
Pick Your Potion
Give your grown-up guests a little bit of bubbly fun. Fill glass bottles with a nice cocktail mix and make them look like potions. This will make the perfect souvenir from a Halloween party to remember!
Halloween is almost here, so don't get behind on your planning! Check back with the Wedding and Party Blog for more great ideas and tips!
Party Tip of the Week – 5 Halloween Party Themes
Halloween is right around the corner and if any holiday calls for a creatively fun celebration, it's this one! Here are five ideas to get into the spooky spirit!
For The Kiddos:
Halloween Pet Party
Take something that kids love–animals–and make it into a fun Halloween inspired party. Encourage guests to come dressed as their favorite pet, Halloween style.
Friendly Monster Theme
This Halloween party is all about fun, not fright. Think bright colors, lively games and super cute treats. Ideas: Monster Bingo and a monster eyeball toss.
Spooky Forest
Create a playful forest in your living room for a cool nature-inspired party. Spray paint branches and hang paper bats from the ceiling to spook-ify your home. Make the food forest theme as well with funny puns!
For the Adults:
Glittering Gala
Bring the glam to your next adult Halloween party! Spray paint pumpkins in hues of metallic gold or sparkly silver and use accents of black lace and feathers. Serve up sophisticated appetizers and a spooky, bubbly drink!
Pop-Culture Costume Party
If you desire to bring a little humor to your Halloween shindig, make the costume dress code a pop culture dress up. Whether it's Beyonce or a favorite TV show character, your party is sure to be full of laughs!
It's almost time to throw the Halloween party of the decade! Pick one of these themes and let the creative planning begin!
Last Minute Halloween Ideas
Halloween can sneak up on you. So if you're finding yourself anxious about how to throw together some fun for this Halloween, these ideas will be just what you need.
Trick-Or-Treating With A Twist
Instead of going door-to-door, plan to meet at a friend's house who lives in a busy neighborhood and set up tables in the front yard with candy for trick-or-treaters to stop by and grab. This is a good way to get more immersed into the whole atmosphere of the evening. Your kids will get to watch all of the costumes go by and you can pick your favorites.Scary Movie Night
With scary movies on TV around this time of year, get together and watch some with your friends or as a party for your kids. Think candy corn and popcorn. This is a good way to celebrate if you and others you know aren't wanting to go trick-or-treating.
Homemade Halloween Costume Contest
Don't want to shell out big bucks on a costume that will only be worn once? Make it a party! Plan a night where you invite not only your kids' friends, but their parents as well, and make costumes. The only rule being that you cannot buy anything. Have them bring supplies from around their house like toilet paper, cardboard boxes, lampshades, duct tape, etc. Have some gummy worms and witch's brew (punch) and get creative with your costume building and see who comes up with the best creation! First, second, and third place winners get prizes such as cash, a Halloween movie, gift card, etc.
Baking Treats With Your Kids
This is classic and fun. You can make it your only plan for the day by researching which treats you want to make, taking your kids with you to get any ingredients you may need, and coming back home to bake together. Some fun ideas I've seen are rice crispy treats shaped into pumpkins, white chocolate dipped pretzel sticks decorated as ghosts, and witches hats made of cookies and chocolate kisses. These can be treats you serve at any party this season!
Halloween is quickly approaching, and these ideas for celebrating are quick fixes for a last minute party. Choose one or experience them all and have a Happy Halloween!
Halloween Entertaining: Getting Your House Ready
When it comes to hosting, there's really only one rule worthy of focusing on: make people feel comfortable. It's easy to obsess over preparing for the people you are inviting into your home, leaving you super exhausted once the party actually starts. So, here are a few tips that will help you prepare before the party, as well as actually enjoying it too.
Don't over-clean: Obviously you want your home to be presentable, but sometimes a spotless house puts forth a stiff vibe. There's nothing that says, "Let's just relax and have fun" like imperfection.
Be your own guest: It might seem silly, but walking outside and then going back into your house like you are a guest can give you a fresh perspective. Maybe you didn't notice that your living room could use some extra seating, or that last night's supper left a stench in your kitchen. This is also a good way to find good placement for decorations. Hanging your favorite fall or Halloween decorations where they can be seen clearly when your guests walk in the door can help set the mood for the night.
Use dessert as a centerpiece: Make a fun cake with plastic spiders on it and display it in the middle of your kitchen table. You were probably going to make a dessert anyway, and now you don't have to worry about any extra frill.
What makes you feel at ease when you walk into someone else's home? Pondering this simple question can ensure that you not only throw a great Halloween party, but you also have provided a place for your friends to take a breather from the stresses of life, if only for an evening.
Halloween: Options for Celebrating
What are your plans for Halloween? Want something other than the normal trick 'r treating? Or, are just looking for a different approach this Halloween? There are plenty of other ways to celebrate the holiday and Wedding and Party Network has three great alternatives that your kids, and even the whole neighborhood will love.
Neighborhood Party: What better way to connect with the people who live around you than to come together for a common purpose? Set up candy and games for all the trick-or-treaters that may come by in your front yard. Each neighbor can contribute Halloween themed snacks or drinks to pass out as well. This is a great opportunity to simply serve kids and families that you may not otherwise come into contact with.
Kid Craft Station: Invite your kids' friends over for a night of creativity. Have a table filled with craft components, such as, paper plates, water-based paints, paintbrushes, felt pieces, Halloween fabric, scrap paper, kid-safe scissors, glue, glitter, buttons, uncooked pasta, etc. Let their imaginations roam free. Have a kid-friendly Halloween movie playing for them to watch while they're creating. The kids will definitely have a fun night in!
Halloween Baking: Magazines and the internet are full of ideas for Halloween-themed treats that are simple and delicious. This is ideal for kids who are a bit older, love to cook or just love to eat. So, have a family night of all Halloween-themed foods and activities. You can even pass out your homemade treats together to your neighbors and friends.
Take advantage of opportunities to just spend time together as a family.
Creative Family Halloween Costumes
Halloween is just around the corner. Have you planned your Halloween costume out yet? What will you be? Each year, everyone wants to come up with a costume more creative than last years. Why not create a costume that includes the family? Wedding and Party Network has some creative Halloween costumes that everyone will love.
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory – Everyone's favorite childhood movie. Why not include the whole family into this costume? Choose from Willy Wonka while wearing the purple coat and top hat, Violet, the girl who turns into a blueberry, Oompa Loompa and a chocolate bar. This is fun for the family and you can even get the dog into it by having he or she be the chocolate bar.
BLT – If you have a family of 5, a BLT sandwich would be absolutely adorable. The children could be the bacon, lettuce and tomato while the mom and dad could be the toast. A super fun, easy and creative costume.
Star Wars – If you have a larger family, this would be so great! Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, C-3PO, R2-D2, Chewbacca or Darth Vader all make great costumes and there are many creative ways to create the costumes.
Your Favorite Junk Foods – This is definitely one for the family. An adorable cupcake, cotton candy, doughnut, chocolate chip cookie or ice cream are some serious sweet treats to dress up as for Halloween. Let the children pick out their favorite dessert. Mom and dad can be whatever is left. However, a fun take would be to let the dad wear workout gear with a doughnut around the waist.
Alice In Wonderland – This is an adorable theme for Halloween. This movie alone makes the costumes creative. Choose from Alice, The Mad Hatter, Rabbit, Cheshire Cat, Queen of Hearts or one of those pink flamingos. There are many characters in this movie and all are super fun and cute for Halloween.
This post is brought to you by Richardson Halloween Decorations
Not in Richardson, TX? No worries, use Wedding and Party Network's handy party planning directory to help you find Halloween Decorations near you!
Decorating Pumpkins for Halloween & Fall
October is the month for decorating pumpkins. This is such a fun thing to do. You can be creative with the designs and decorate them in various ways. Since it's so fun, why not make a party out of it? Wedding and Party Network has a few tips for your party as well as creative designs for your pumpkins.
Paint Your Pumpkins – If you're not wanting to carve your pumpkins and make a mess digging out the seeds, the next best thing is to paint your pumpkins. When you paint your pumpkins, there are endless possibilities. You can use odd colors, paint polka dots, add ribbon, personalize them, paint them white, chalkboard paint or metallic or create fun faces. Let your creativity take way.
Add Some Sparkle – Pumpkins should be eye-catching. To ensure this, add a little sparkle. You can glitter your whole pumpkin or add a bit of bling with rhinestones. You can add unique designs with the glitter and rhinestones.
Create A Unique Centerpiece – There's more than just placing pumpkins on your front door step. Stack smaller pumpkins that spell out the word boo and create a topiary. You can also line them down the table, create a vase out of a pumpkin or candle holders.
Carve Your Pumpkins – Of course, carving your pumpkins is a must. There are lots of fun designs and templates that you can use to make your pumpkins stand out on your front porch. Free hand your pumpkin, find pumpkin templates or use cookie cutters. You can come up with fun designs, beautiful creations and even some that are a bit frightening.
You can even mimic your pumpkin after a favorite Halloween character. In fact, create a pumpkin face and from there create a body from overalls and hay. That would definitely be a sight to see on your front porch when trick r treaters came to visit.After you carve your pumpkins, you can even save the seeds and insides to create home-made pumpkin pies and roasted pumpkin seeds. A delicious treat for all after all that hard work at creating their pumpkin.
Start planning a pumpkin carving party at your house and be ready with all the supplies. Everyone will truly enjoy themselves.
This post is brought to you by Richardson Halloween Decorations
Not in Richardson, TX? No worries, use Wedding and Party Network's handy party planning directory to help you find Halloween Decorations near you!
Ghostly Treats for Your Halloween Party
When planning your Halloween party, it's definitely all about the details. What party decorations you choose and the color scheme set the tone of your party. Focus on the details of your party, especially your Halloween treats. Wedding and Party Network has a few tips on what to serve at your Halloween party.
Witches' Hats
Ingredients
Fudge Cookies (Turned upside down)
Hershey Kisses
Orange Icing
Directions
Turn the fudge cookie upside down, put a little orange icing in the middle and place the kiss on top of it.
via Explore. Dream. Discover
Frankenstein Pops
Ingredients
Marshmallow
Green Chocolate Candies
Regular Chocolate
Wilton's Glittery Gel
Lollipop Sticks
Directions
Place the mashmallows on the popsicle stick, dip it in the green chocolate. Once that cools, dip just the top of the marshallows into the regular chocolate to imitate the hair. Use the glittery gel pen to make the nuts and bolts.
Via Craft-O-Maniac
Pretzel Skeletons
Ingredients
Lollipop Sticks
Marshamallows
White Chocolate Covered Pretzels
White Icing
Black Icing
Directions
Put some white icing on the lollipop stick so the pretzels won't slide off. Do this between each pretzel, which you can add 3-4 on each stick. Flatten out the marshmallow a little bit to create a round face and add the eyes and mouth to it. Once you've done that, place it on the lollipop stick. You can easily add these on top of cupcakes or even brownies for a fun topper.
Via Wants and Wishes
Finger Cookies
Ingredients
1 Cup Butter (Softened)
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 Egg
2 Tsp Almond Extract
2 Tsp Vanilla
2 2/3 Cups Flour
1Tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp Salt
3/4 Cup Whole Blanched Almonds
Raspberry Jelly
Directions
Set oven for 375 degrees. Mix together the butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla. Stir dry ingredients together. Mix together the dry and wet ingredients, cover and let sit for 30 minutes.
Work with a quarter of the dough at a time and refrigerate the rest. Use about a tablespoon of the dough and roll into a log.
Next, use a small knife to create the details of a finger into the cookie dough. Place the almond up top to look like a nail. Bake for 20-30 minutes.
While the cookies are baking, melt the raspberry jelly. One the cookies are done baking, place a little of the jelly underneath the almond and at the end of the finger to give it that gore look.
Via Zandland
Mummy Pops
Ingredients
White Candy Melts
Boxed Rice Krispies
Candy Eyeballs
Popsicle Sticks
Plastic Baggie
Wax or Parchment Paper
Directions
Place the rice krispie treats on the popsicle sticks. Buying the boxed rice krispy treats makes for the ideal shape. However, if you're more adventurous, you can easily make home made rice krispy treats and shape them in a rectangle. Melt the white chocolate. Dip the rice krispy treats into the white chocolate, place on wax or parchment paper and set in freezer for 5 minutes. Use the white chocolate as glue to stick on your candy eyeballs. Place the melted white chocolate into your plastic baggie that has about 1/4" cut off the corner and "wrap your mummy". Stick them in the freezer and let them set for about 10-15 minutes.
Via eighteen25
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