October 31st is just around the corner, which can only mean one thing – Halloween! Does the thought of throwing a party for your kids terrify you more than a horror blockbuster?
Relax. We’ve got you covered. These 13 tricks (and treats) are guaranteed to delight ghouls and goblins alike.
Read on… if you dare!
1. Dead Man’s Finger Sandwiches
Flatten bread with a rolling pin to make it more pliable. Cut the bread into finger sandwich slices and fill with peanut butter. Make real finger-like indentations and top off with some grizzly blood (strawberry jam) and a nail (almond).
2. Eye-Scream Sweets
Scoop vanilla ice-cream into small, eyeball-shaped balls. Drizzle syrup onto each ball to create a bloodshot effect. Finally add an M&M with a touch of black food colourant in the centre to create the iris and pupil.
3. Breadstick Snakes
Children will love the look of these slithery snakes – and they’re delicious too! Roll and taper pizza dough into a serpent-like shape. Brush with olive oil and poppy seeds, add black olives for the eyes and bake for 15 minutes. Then slide a dried chilli into the mouth as the tongue.
4. Spooky Poison Apples
These are regular toffee apples but with added ruby food colourant and glitter to make them seem even more poisonously delectable.
5. Slimy Jelly Treats
Combine two jelly colours together to form this swamp-like shade. And be sure to add plenty of jelly worms and spiders to the mix!
6. Ghoulish Hand Party Favours
This is such an easy party bag idea that little guests will love. Instead of putting sweets in just a plain old bag, stuff a plastic glove with sweets and treats to create this ghoulish monster hand.
7. Eerie Picture Frame Lanterns
Decorate your garden path with these spine-tingling home-made lanterns. Print out four spooky pictures (think bats, ghosts, werewolves and skulls) on vellum paper. Pop each inside a photo frame, nail these frames together and place a fairy light inside the box.
8. Cobweb Coasters
To make these arachnid-laden coasters, hook five bobby pins onto a 3/8-inch flat metal washer. Then, wrap twine around and thread through each bobby pin. Allow some toy spiders to creep over their surface to complete the effect.
9. Vampire Napkin Rings
Get some white cloth napkins and splatter blood-like stains with red clothes dye. Roll the napkins and secure with inexpensive plastic fangs. Little vampires will feel right at home.
10. Ghostly Milk Lanterns
Draw spectral faces on an empty (and clean) gallon milk jug. Fill with garlands of fairy lights and place where things go bump in the night…
11. Boo-tiful Wreath
Get a plain wreath and spray-paint it grey or black. Then festoon it with cobwebs, felt ghosts and bows. Your kids will really enjoy helping with this.
12. Mummy Pinata
Fill an empty toilet roll with small toys, sweets and surprises. Cover both ends of the tube with white crepe paper, ensuring a small tag has been secured inside and is left visible to pull. Decorate your Mummy with eyes and leave out on the table for your guests.
13. Poppin’ Pumpkins
What child doesn’t love to stomp on balloons? Only this time there will be some sweets hidden inside. Get some orange balloons, and, before you blow them up, slot in a sweet treat. Decorate the cord of the balloon with a green paper leaf to complete the effect.
