by krstl kitten
It’s party time!!! Kids of all ages
love a reason to party, and there’s no party like a
Halloween party! From invitations to decorating to food
and games, this is one theme that can involve the whole
family. This month’s column will give you some ideas
to use. Or use them as a springboard to make your own
fun!
Invisible Invitations
Kick off your party plans with ghostly
"invisible" invitations. They are easy to make,
and your guests will love decoding the secret message.
All you need to make the invitations are sheets of white
paper, scissors, a pen and a slim white birthday candle.
Have your kids cut the paper into ghost shapes. (It helps
the younger ones if you first cut out a cardboard
template they can trace and follow.) Then use the end of
the candle to write out the party details—who, what,
where and when. At the bottom of the invitations, use the
pen and write, "To see the secret message, brush
food coloring over this card." Put a ghost and a
small paintbrush into each envelope and mail them out.
Haunting the House
Make your guests quail, quiver and quake by
dimming the lights and replacing the  white bulbs with orange and black ones. Play
a torture tape with screams and moans, or try to find
tapes of eerie organ music. Your library may have a few.
Buy large rolls of cotton at a craft store, pull them
apart into webs and hang them in corners and on the
ceiling, putting a plastic spider in each web. Hang a
plastic skeleton in a closet or inside the bathroom, and
leave the door open just a crack. No bones about it, this
one's always good for a scare. For older crowds, a
cauldron of bubbling dry ice looks great.
Feed the Ghouls
Hot mulled cider
12
cups cider
1 1/2 teaspoons whole allspice
2 tablespoon whole cloves
6 cinnamon sticks
1 cup brown sugar
2 oranges, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
Combine all ingredients in large saucepan. Gently heat
until sugar dissolves. Keep hot over low heat. Serve
piping hot. Note: For adult party, add applejack or
calavados.
 Pumpkin seeds
Dig out pumpkins seeds, reserve pumpkins for part of a
game. Clean the seeds and soak for two hours in lightly
salted water (1 tablespoon per 2 cups of water). Pat the
seeds dry and spread them on a lightly oiled baking
sheet. Bake in an oven at 200 degrees for 1/2 to 1 hour,
or until they look crispy and a light brown. Salt to
taste. Let the seeds cool down
Vampire
Fangs in Blood
8 large Red Delicious apples
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 10-ounce jar strawberry or cherry sauce
Wash, peel and core the apples. Then cut each apple into
8 pieces. Dip the cut apples into the lemon juice to
prevent them from turning brown. To prepare the fangs,
cut the apple slices into long, narrow triangles, making
pointy tooth-like shapes. Re-dip them in the lemon juice
and lightly sprinkle them with sugar. Arrange the fangs
on a serving platter with the strawberry dipping sauce in
the middle. Make sure you splatter some of the
"blood" over the fangs. Makes 10 servings
Bug
Juice
2
10-ounce packages frozen strawberries, defrosted
1 6-ounce can lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 quart ginger ale
2 cups raisins
6 gummy worms
Mix the strawberries and lemonade concentrate in a
blender until smooth and thick. Gradually add ginger ale.
Transfer the beverage to a punch bowl. Stir in any
remaining ginger ale and the raisins. Place the gummy
worms on the rim of the bowl for a swampy effect. Makes
10 servings.
Game time!!
 Pumpkin puzzles
Take
the shells of the medium size pumpkins you cleaned for
the seed and carve them, then cut them into puzzle
pieces. Divide the party guests into groups or teams.
Give each group the pieces to their pumpkin, along with
some toothpicks. The first group to reassemble their
pumpkin is the winner.
Witch Hunt
First design a witch on a piece of paper as a template
(do not make it too big). Trace it onto black
construction paper. Cut out 50 or more black witches and
then hide them all over your party area. For the party
have everyone either individually or in pairs go in
search of the witches. Turns off the lights! Make sure
everyone or couple has a flashlight. The person or couple
returning with the most witches wins
"Murder"
One player is secretly designated the
"murderer". This can be done by drawing lots;
each player draws a piece of paper from a hat. They are
all marked "victim" except for one marked
"murderer". Prepare only enough for the number
of players. Alternatively, the host can secretly tap one
player to be the "murderer".
 All players must sit in a circle and be able
to see each participant's face easily. The murderer tries
to "kill" the other players by winking at them.
If a player is winked at, he or she must die (as
dramatically as possible, of course, encourage
theatrics!)
A warning to the murderer: wink discreetly. A player who
witnesses the crime (and is not yet killed off) can
become a "witness". This player shouts
"Witness!" and names the killer. If the witness
is right, he or she is a winner, and a new round starts.
If the witness is wrong, however, that person also dies.
A player who has a hunch about the killer, may shout
"Detective!" and guess the murderer's identity.
Beware! A wrong hunch results in that player also dying.
The murderer wins if all but one "victim" is
killed off. Note: "Victims" are forbidden to
wink!
Scavenger
Hunt
This
is a great game for the older kids in your life.
Depending on the area you live in, you can ask them to
get some pretty crazy things. A few examples are candy
corn, a handful of orange silly string, a broom, anything
with Casper the friendly ghost on it, a ghoulish
doorknocker, and the exact spelling of Angela
Lansbury’s character in the movie “Bedknobs and
Broomsticks”. Be creative!
What
is that?
A favorite, this game involves a large tub of water,
blindfolds, and as many gross things as you can find.
This may be played as individuals or teams. For team
play,  blindfold the whole team and put
them in a row. The first on the team reaches into the tub
and pulls out the first thing to touch his hand. The
first player has 5 seconds to name what is in his hand.
If he cannot, he passes to the next player in line. This
continues until they guess what is in their hands. Points
are awarded for the least amount of seconds it takes to
guess. Suggestions for items to be put into the water
include raw ground meat, peeled grapes, a terrycloth
slipper, and a plastic spoon. Be wary of objects that can
poke or cut, they aren’t a good idea for this game.
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