It’s fun to have a Halloween dinner party – for kids or adults. Both kinds of parties need some spooky drinks and here are a few ideas that can work for either.

For kid’s parties a traditional sherbet punch can be made creepy by using orange or lime sherbet. Add some ice hands and face in to scare the older ones. Make the ice using a mask and latex gloves as the ‘ice trays’. It’s a little more involved, but check out Martha Stewart’s great how-to here. She uses green food coloring in hers, but depending on what you put in your punch bowl clear ice would be fine too.

You can create a foggy punch by having an outer bowl that has dry ice in it and then placing a second metal bowl inside to actually hold the punch. Don’t use glass though – it could crack from the dry ice.

We covered pumpkin carving last week, but there’s more to pumpkins than traditional jack-o-lanterns. To make a spectacular punch bowl centerpiece use a large pumpkin. You can make it a plain straight line on the top. Just cut off the top part of the pumpkin and scoop out the insides. Or you can get fancy and carve a more intricate pattern at the top of your bowl, something lacy or reminiscent of a chandelier. Place a bowl inside to hold your punch.

You can use ‘ice cube eyeballs’ to decorate a clear glass of soda, or a spooky gin and tonic. Peel small radishes while leaving a few thin strips of red for the bloodshot veins in the eyes, then cut a hole to insert a halved olive stuffed with pimento. Place these in ice cube trays and fill with water. They will be a gruesome addition to any drink.

Not sure what drinks are witchy enough for your party? Here are a few links to get your imagination started:

• Shrunken Heads in Cider
• Fresh from the Lab
• Boo-Nilla Shake
• Black Vodka Drinks
• Bloody Black Current Punch
• Gothic Grog

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Posted by Myriam under Drinks & Fall Entertaining & Halloween | No Comments »

When you think of a spooky setting, one scene that may come to mind is a forest – a haunted forest of course.

The most inexpensive way to set up a haunted forest at your house can be found in your own backyard. If you don’t have any trees in your yard, you can ask a neighbor to help you out, or even buy some fake branches at a craft store.

First, think of how you want to display your Halloween tree(s). In a vase as the table centerpiece you would want a smaller, more narrow branch. But for a large front porch display, you could use branches as large as small trees.

Look for branches that are not rotted or crumbly. We want them to hold together through our crafting, and the bewitching night as well. You want to get some spray paint. I’d recommend black for a traditional look, but you could be bold and use glow in the dark paint. I’m thinking of making a few small ones to line my walk and paint them with the glow in the dark paint for a creepily ‘lit’ pathway. Feel free to match them with any Halloween party theme you may have chosen. Red, silver, green, and purple are also good Halloween paint choices. Not to mention you can glue glitter on them for a glam look as well.

I like to keep my trees simple. Painted black and showcased in a tall, clear vase filled with Halloween trinkets, or in a large fake stone planter stuck right into the dirt. I try to select branches that look more like little trees, with quite a few limbs to hang things from.

Go through your trunk of decorations from Halloweens past, and see what would look stylish on your tree. You will want to add a string or twisty tie to secure them. This is especially important if you plan on having the tree outside, where wind and rain could be an issue.

Part of the fun is decorating your own ornaments. You can use shrinky dinks, glass ornaments, even cutouts to decorate to your party theme. Any craft that you love can be used. I love the felted ornaments that I’ve seen. Just remember to only use weather resistant ones outside. You can dip glass ornaments into a solution of alcohol inks and water to create a ghoulish swirl. Take a look at this tutorial on the Ranger Ink site.

You’ll have a bewitching time making your own decorations. It’s also an opportunity for a tree making party, so invite a few friends over and let them enjoy the fun too.

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Posted by Myriam under Decorations & Fall Entertaining & Halloween | No Comments »