October 31 is the time when little goblins and witches come out to play. Blogger Jennie McNichol from Buggybuddys dishes up her top tips for a spooktacular Halloween with the kids.
1. Set the scene with spooky decorations
Nothing shouts Halloween louder than the striking combination of orange and black. Discount shops will stock plenty of cheap decorations to inspire you, from spider webs and bats, to eerie doorbell chimes and scary skeletons. If you're feeling traditional, you can buy a real pumpkin and carve out a Jack-o-lantern that will look really effective lit up at your front door.
2. Make ghoulish drinks
To serve a creepy drink, you can add blended spinach to a healthy fruit punch to turn it a slimy green colour, and add some gummy worms for an extra gruesome touch. To create a Dracula blood punch, use red cranberry juice and ginger ale.
3. Serve them frightening food
There are so many creative ideas for spooky Halloween snacks, just a Google search away. Try out Marshmallow Ghosts, Eyeball Cake Pops, Meringue Bones, Blood-splattered Cookies, Candy Spiders, Witches' Fingers, and Graveyard Puddings, to name a few.
4. Play a creepy game
Drape a box with black cloth and have the kids reach in and touch different items without looking at what they are touching… Cooked spaghetti feels like slippery worms or monster intestines. A bowl of canned peaches feels like slugs, and overcooked rice coated with oil feels like maggots. Peeled grapes make great eyeballs, and dried apricots can feel like ears. Be sure to have wet wipes for cleaning sticky fingers afterwards.
5. Go trick or treating
Your local council or a proactive neighbour may have sent out instructions as to how to mark your house for trick or treating on Halloween night. Some suggest a sticker or balloon on the postbox, or a note on the door. In general, if a house is decorated it would be safe to say they would welcome little monsters seeking sweet treats. But be mindful of people that do not want to be disturbed – outside lights turned off may be a clue to avoid that house.
6. A night at home
If you prefer to keep the festivities at home, then why not set up a super-scary haunted garden walk-through? All you need is a few creepy sounds, fake spiders and a skeleton or two, plus some willing adults who can jump out unexpectedly, and
a freaky storyteller to lead the way.