October 30, 2013

 

Halloween Kids Party

I survived! Ha ha. For those of you who don't really know me, I don't have kids. So being around a lot of kids or any kids for a few hours is not something I'm use too. This party was thrown by a friend of mine who has 2 kids. Why did she invite me if I don't have kids?  Because she knows I love parties! and I'm good at getting to a party early and helping out the hostess.  Getting the food out of the refrigerator and setting it up, calming nerves, helping the hostess think of anything she may have forgotten. 

The theme was a witchy one. The hostess was a witch, of course. Most of the parents dropped and dashed.  "hi, thank you so much for inviting (insert child's name). So we'll see you at 5 p.m., great. Have a good time honey .byeeee" I don't think the parents could get out the door fast enough ha ha. I'm sure they were thinking, YES! I have 2 child-free hours. Happy dance.  A vampire, ghoul, witch, wizard, princess, and more came through the door to enjoy the party. 
The house was decorated through out with witchy touches. 
A big kettle of apple cider simmered on the stove and filled the air with the scents of fall.  I was surprised by how many of the kids liked the cider.
 
The hot cider was a little too hot for the kids so the hostess cooled it down with frozen eye balls. The kids thought that was cool.  
No Halloween party is complete without the classics.  Candy Corn and candy pumpkins. The kids were cute, everyone of them asked, is it ok if we eat some?  Of course it is! it's a party  :)

The hostesses next door neighbor family, dressed as Betty, Barney and Bam Bam Russel brought a healthy spooky treat.  Banana ghosts.
One of the activities to keep the kids entertained was cookie decorating. The kids had fun creating and promptly eating their creations.  As you can see, I wasn't fast enough to get any of heir masterpieces.
The eyes were the kids favorite.
I made mini caramel apple cupcakes.  HUGE hit. Not a one made it home with me.  The kids thought the marshmallow ghosts were cute. One of the ghosts even turned into a pumpkin.
No witch party is complete without a a potion pot.  The kids thought this was magic.  "How did you do that?" "whoa, that is cool".  The hostess never revealed her secret and left the kids wondering.

Since kids have LOTS of energy, childhood Halloween games were played and enjoyed by all.  Bobbing for apples over the witchy mist out of a real cast iron cauldron was a hit.  It as fun to see the kids get excited over this game.

The kids loved the donut on a string game.  They eagerly participated and giggles ensued.  The hostesses husband made the witchy broom from which the donuts were hung.  I thought it was a great way to continue the theme of the party.
Witchy fingers, spider rings, Halloween mini rubber ducks and Shrinky Dinks made great party favors for the kids.

Hope you had a witching good time and gathered some ideas for a kids Halloween next year. Thank you to my friend for inviting me to her little party.

Related: Little Pumpkin Spaghetti Feed 

October 14, 2013

 

Behind the Halloween Party Scene


This is where I let you in on what was going on in my mind for my mini Spider Luncheon with my friends.  All the things that are missing, didn't happen or didn't turn out how I wanted.  Would you notice them if I didn't point them out?  Probably not.  My guests didn't.   But I did.  Of course I did.   I planned the party.  One of the things I had planned was Halloween music. I have 4 CD's of Halloween music I wanted to use.  I didn't get a chance to play it though because my friend needed to bring her 5 year old.  So we played A Nightmare Before Christmas for him instead  to keep him occupied while us adults talked.  Sometimes you just need to roll with unexpected guests.   

See that purple arrow down there.  How it's pointing to a blank space next to the spider.  I wanted to have spider webbing spread all over underneath the table.  I think it would have added that extra something and made the big spider look more in his element. Why didn't I do it? It was a last minute thought and have you ever tried to work with that webbing?  Tape will hold it in place but not while you're stretching it out making it look all creepy.  It just comes loose and pulls away from the spot you attached it to.
Halloween, Spider party, Dessert table

I had bought cardboard letters to spell out EEK and black glittered them up.  As you can see from the arrow, some of the glitter didn't stick as well.  Disappointing to me because I wanted the letters to be heavy on the black glitter.  Would you have noticed if I didn't point it out?  Probably not.  But I noticed.  Next time I make glittered letters I'll know to really be heavy with the glitter.

The gap.  Not a big party foul but it would have looked better without it.  Had this been a big party with lots of guests I would have had a lot more peanut butter chocolates there and the gap wouldn't have been seen.
Spider party, Halloween, homemade chocolates

I'm torn about the pumpkin bread.  I enjoy baking and when fall hits, I especially like making pumpkin bread.  I had intended to make some for the party but my husband bought some at Great Harvest Bread Company .  He BOUGHT pumpkin bread!  I was emotionally torn.  Part of me was a little upset.  I was thinking, how could you buy pumpkin bread.  It's so easy to make and homemade tastes so good.  I love to put walnuts in my bread.  Another part of me was thinking, this just saved me some time.  Plus Great Harvest does use good healthy ingredients and tastes pretty close to homemade.   
Spider party, Halloween, pumpkin bread, dessert table

I had this plan to use my Wilton black color mist food color and give the cupcakes an eerie look.  However, the black mist didn't adhere to the frosting like I thought it would.  I was disappointed in the colour but my friends thought the cupcakes looked great. 
Cupcakes, Halloween, Spider party, Dessert table

Ahh, the giant spider mold.  I got a brain storm the day before the party.  Not enough time to do what I wanted to do.  I wanted to make a GIANT bath fizzie spider for all my guests as a party favor.  How cool would that be!  You could break off a leg anytime you wanted to take a bath.  I didn't have enough time because I work a full time job.  So I wouldn't have been able to start making the fizzies until 6:00 p.m. Friday night.  Since I only had one mold it would take me all night and into the morning to make 4 of them and they wouldn't have dried in time.  My friends didn't know this was missing because they never knew I had this idea.  It would have been a great party favor. 

I love the look of all those professional cookies.  You know the ones.  They look like works of art.  I wanted to try my hand at them and impress my friends with fabulous cookies on the dessert table.  I bought everything I needed.  The gels and the luster dust.  Than I felt like I was getting the bad cold my boss and co-worker had.  They were both out 3.5 days.  I took one day off work which made me lose an entire day of party prep.  Not having ever decorated cookies all pro like I knew I needed a lot of time to prep.  Between taking a day off for the cold and the cookies breaking, I didn't get the cookies made.  Lesson learned:  Roll out thicker cookies.   

McGyvering your party is sometimes called for when unexpected events and conditions get in the way of your party prep.  And remember, your guests won't know anything's missing.  Only you will.   Unless of course you told them every party detail ahead of time.  Which Of course you didn't. Right?

Related: Spider Luncheon 

October 11, 2013

 

You've Been Boo'd

When Swish Printables sent me her Free You've Been Boo'd printables I knew just what I wanted to do. I'm sure you've seen the You've Been Boo'd all over the blogespher and Pinterest.  A fun way to surprise your neighbors or friends with a little something at the holiday. 

I surprised a friend at the office with some cupcakes. I set it up on her desk so she'd have a welcome surprise when she came in in the morning. Who wouldn't want to be greeted by cupcakes on their desk instead of just boring office supplies. 
Free printables, We've been boo'd, Swish Printables
 The cute little saying was also created by Swish Printables. 
Free printables, We've been boo'd, Swish Printables, Halloween

My next little Boo surprise I couldn't deliver in person. So I'm delivering over the Internet. You see, my very good friend who I most certainly would have boo'd moved to Montana last year. My friend started a blog, Suddenly Surrounded by Taxidermy. It's about the observations and (mis)adventures of a city ladies move to the mountains.  When my friend writes her blog post she does it from her lap top. So I set up a little We've Been Boo'd on my lap top as if I had set it up for her, if she were still here.

Free printables, We've been boo'd, Swish Printables, Halloween

Free printables, We've been boo'd, Swish Printables, Halloween  

 Now for my family, they get my homemade peanut butter chocolates. It won't be much of a secret who it's from but it will be a fun surprise none the less. 
Free printables, We've been boo'd, Swish Printables, Halloween

Free printables, We've been boo'd, Swish Printables, Halloween

Free printables, We've been boo'd, Swish Printables, Halloween

Join in the fun and score your FREE We've Been Boo'd printables by clicking here

Swish Printables has you covered for any occasion. Stop by her Etsy shop for your party printable needs. 

October 9, 2013

 

Spider Party Desserts

It's just not a party without desserts

I carried out the spider theme all throughout the dessert table. From the table runner, to the ribbon around the platter to the spiders crawling all over the table.

Cupcake with Character helped me carry out the spider theme with custom made printables.
 

My friends enjoyed the spider eggs. Vanilla and coconut Jelly Belly's.


Red Velvet cupcakes filled with Cherry Bourbon jelly and topped with cream cheese frosting.


Cupcakes and homemade peanut butter chocolates.

My friends were happy to take home some homemade peanut butter chocolates. The skulls were a hit. I looked for a spider mold but didn't find any in the stores. You bet I'll be ordering one for next year though.
Stay tuned Monday to read my behind the scenes thoughts on this party. What I wanted to do and didn't get done, what my friends really liked and what I wish I could have done better.

Resources:
Big spider and tombstone: Dollar Tree
EEK letters and table runner: Joanns Fabrics and Crafts
Printables: Cupcake with Character
Cupcake wrappers: Cost Plus World Market
Spider rings: Oriental Trading Company
Cherry Bourbon Jelly: Sweetness Follows
Treats stand: Home Goods
Chocolate molds: Michaels Crafts


Related: Spider Luncheon 

October 7, 2013

 

Spider Luncheon


Mini Spider Luncheon

I love themed parties and to carry that theme through out the house. It all starts with the invitation.  When my friends received this DIY invite in the mail they knew what kind of party to expect. They even called to ask me how they should dress. I'm lucky to have fabulous friends who help me carry the theme all the way down to the outfits.

Spider invitation, DIY invite, Halloween invite

This was an adult only luncheon so we could all catch up without kidlet interruption.  However, one of my friends had to bring her son. He happily sat and watched Nightmare Before Christmas while we chatted away. They even brought a friend with them :)

I used up some Halloween party supplies I had for the place settings. I always hit the after Halloween sales and stock up on place setting items. Why pay full price?

Halloween table setting

All of us love cherry soda and this fit perfect for Spider Venom. Cupcake with Character did a great job at customizing the printables for me.

Halloween printables
Cherry cola is a great Halloween drink. It looks blood like. I love carrying the party theme all the way to the ice cubes. 

I'm always checking Target and Dollar Tree for themed ice cube trays. You can get them for any holiday. Party secrete, it's such a simple inexpensive touch that your guests will appreciate and notice.

For the luncheon I served taco's. Easy and everyone loves Mexican food. Easy mexi dip: beans, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and to carry the theme, a sour cream web with an olive spider.

Halloween food, web dip, Halloween party
Where's the desserts you ask?  Come back Wednesday for the dessert table.

Resources:
Table Setting- After Halloween sales at Target, Party City, Oriental Trading
Spider Candles- Fred Meyer
Pintables- Cupcake with Character
Black Leaves, glitter spiders, black netting- Spirit Halloween
Spider Ice Cubes- Target
Food-Fred Meyer

Related: DIY Halloween Invitation