Question:

Halloween

SONG -I SAW A LITTLE GHOST

I SAW A LITTLE GHOST

I saw a little ghost, (hold hands over eyes)
And he saw me too! (Point to self)
When I said 'HI' (wave hand)
He said, 'BOO'.

GHOSTS

For a trick-or-treater ghost, craft a stick figure from pipe cleaners. Drape a white tissue over the body and then use your fingers to scrunch and shape. Draw on eyes and a mouth.

TOMBSTONE PLACE SETTINGS

Use mini tombstones made from black cardboard to create individual place settings with guests' names.

PARTY MENU

If your party is in lieu of trick-or-treating, you can be more liberal with the sweets, but you still want to get something in your young guests stomachs besides candy. Pizza, sandwiches, and soup, all easy and irresistible, are standouts

WEBBYCRAWLERS

WEBBYCRAWLERS
2 cups chocolate chips
2 tsp. corn oil
60 mini marshmallows
5 thin black licorice whips
20 tiny red hot candies

1. Place chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl, and heat 2 to 3 minutes or until the chocolate chips are melted. Add oil and mix well.

2. On a sheet of waxed paper, squish about 6 marshmallows into one round ball. Do the same with the remaining marshmallows, making 10 spider bodies in all.

3. Cut licorice into 80 2-inch-long strips.

4. Dip the balls into the melted chocolate. Stick in the legs-4 on each side of each body for a total of 8 legs on each spider. Add 2 eyes made of red hot candies to the top.
Makes 10 servings

RHYME FIVE LITTLE PUMPKINS

RHYME FIVE LITTLE PUMPKINS
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate
The first one said, my it's getting late!
The second one said there's a chill in the air
The third one said I don't care
The fourth one said let's run, let's run
The fifth one said it's Halloween fun
So Puff went the wind and out went the lights,
And away went the jack-o-lanterns
On Halloween night!

CREEPY ICE CUBES

Create some fun by placing rubber or plastic spiders in an ice cube tray filled with water, and allow to freeze.

TOUCH IT STORY

A favorite story can be accompanied by passing around the items that a ghost left lying around. Guests must close their eyes and just feel the "parts." Use a wet sponge or cooked spaghetti for the ghoul's brains, skinned grapes, olives or wet marbles for eyes; carrot, pickle, hot dog or warty cucumber for the nose; wet yarn for hair; dried fruit for ears; broken chalk for teeth; pistachio nut shells for toenails; and a surgical glove filled with red gelatin (keep it in the refrigerator until the last minute) for a bloodied hand.

WEREWOLF CLAWS

WEREWOLF CLAWS
Nonstick vegetable spray
10 chicken cutlets
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
1 12-oz. can large pitted black olives, drained
Ketchup
1 head of lettuce, shredded

1. Spray a cookie sheet with the nonstick spray. Slice the cutlets into strips about the width of one bony finger, the more crooked the better.

2. Place the flour, beaten eggs and bread crumbs into three separate bowls.

3. Dust the chicken strips with flour, dip them into the eggs and roll them in the bread crumbs. You probably won't use all the flour or crumbs.

4. Place the strips on the cookie sheet and broil about 5 minutes on each side until brown.

5. To make the fingernails, cut the olives in half lengthwise. Trim the halves into pointy nail shapes, and place one on the end of each chicken strip. Press them into the chicken and, if you need help in making them stick, use some ketchup as glue.

6. Serve the claws on a head (of shredded lettuce, of course).

Makes 10 servings.

EYEBALL PUNCH

2 quarts Red Kool-Aid
1 liter 7-up or Ginger Ale
1 batch Jell-O jiggler (prepared and set) in 11x14 pan
20-30 green/yellow grapes peeled or just cut in half

Before serving cut Jell-O jigglers into long thin strips. Combine Kool-Aid and 7-up in a punch bowl or "witches caldron". Add jiggler strips and grapes and serve.

NOTE: Peeled grapes are more "slimey" but if you cut the grapes in half the cut end picks up the red color and makes a "kewl" bloodshot eyeball

SONG -HALLOWEEN PARTY SONG

THE HALLOWEEN PARTY
(Tune of Mary had a Little Lamb)
Pump-kins have such happy grins, happy grins, happy grins
Pump-kins have such happy grins, It's Halloween at last.

Cats have come with long black tails, long black tails, long black tails,
Cats have come with long black tails, It's Halloween at last.

Witches have their witches brooms, witches brooms, witches brooms
Witches have their witches brooms, It's Halloween At last!

ALTERNATIVES TO SWEETS

1. Stickers
2. Cartoon-character stamps
3. Ponytail holders
4. Barrettes
5. Plastic spider rings
6. Neon shoelaces
7. Pumpkin-shaped erasers
8. Balloons
9. Raisin boxes
10. Sugarless chewing gum
11. Toothbrush

GHOULISH GRABBERS

Create two scary, icy, "from the grave" hands by freezing water-filled latex gloves. (Add food coloring to the water for special effects.) Fill the gloves with water and seal the open-end securely. When nearly frozen, shape into a position that could hold something. If you freeze two hands, they could grasp a bowl of snacks. When solidly frozen, extract the hand from the glove and place on a platter on the table, as they'll start to melt. If the hands don't slip out easily from the glove, run under gentle trickle of water to separate glove from hand.

WITCHES FINGERS

WITCHES FINGERS
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup icing
1 egg
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla
2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup whole blanched almonds
1 tube red decorator gel
In bowl beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla; beat in flour; baking powder and salt. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Working with one-quarter of the dough at a time and keeping remaining dough refrigerated, roll heaping teaspoons full of dough into finger shape for each cookie. Press almond firmly into one end for nail.
Squeeze in center to create knuckle shape. Using a paring knife make slashes in several places to form knuckle. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet in 325 degree over for 20-25 minutes or until pale or golden. Let cool for three minutes.
Lift up almond; squeeze red decorator gel onto nail bed and press almond back in place so gel oozes out from underneath.
Remove from cookie sheet and let cool. Repeat with remaining dough. Makes about 5 doz. fingers!

PUMPKIN TOTEM POLE

Build a totem pole of scary- and happy-faced pumpkins for the porch by stacking pumpkins decorated with waterproof markers. To secure pumpkins, hollow each one and place a two-by-four, or equivalent piece of wood, through the center of the totem pole.

SONG -BAT, BAT, COME UNDER MY HAT -

BAT, BAT, COME UNDER MY HAT
Bat, bat, and come under my hat.
For here's a slice of bacon.
When I bake, I'll give you cake,
If I am not mistaken!

SONG -JACK-O-LANTERN

JACK-O-LANTERN (sung to I'm a Little Teapot)

I am a pumpkin, big and round, (use arms to show size of pumpkin)
Once upon a time I grew on the ground (Point to the ground)
Now I have a mouth, 2 eyes, a nose (Point to features on your face)
What are they for do you suppose? (Right forefinger to forehead, thinking gesture)
When I have a candle inside (Hold up right forefinger)
Shining bright,
I'll be a Jack-O-Lantern on Halloween night! (Thumbs in armpits - bragging gesture)

GHOSTS -snack

Have your child make a pattern for the cookies by drawing a ghost shape on the cardboard and cutting it out. On a lightly floured surface, roll out sugar cookie dough to about 1/8-inch thickness. Lay the pattern on the dough and use a butter knife to cut out ghost shapes (it takes two to make each cookie pop).

Place half the cutouts on a greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Lay a Popsicle stick in the center of each one, top with another ghost, and then pinch together the edges of the two layers. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes in a preheated 350-degree oven. Place the baked cookies on a rack to cool.

Next, spread on a glaze made by mixing 1 cup confectioners sugar with 2 tablespoons milk. Before the glaze hardens, top off your specters by pressing on eyes and a mouth fashioned from snips of black string licorice.

RHYME -FIVE LITTLE GOBLINS ON A HALLOWEEN NIGHT

FIVE LITTLE GOBLINS ON A HALLOWEEN NIGHT

Five Little Goblins on a Halloween night
Made a very, very spooky sight
The first one danced on his tippy-tip-toes
The next one tumbled and bumped his nose
The next one jumped high up in the air
The next one sang a Halloween song.
Five goblins played the whole nightlong.

RHYME -TOIL AND TROUBLE

TOIL AND TROUBLE RHYME
Double, double toil and trouble
Fire burn and caldron bubble
Fillet of a fenny snake
In the caldron boil and bake
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog.
.....now about the caldron sing
Like elves and fairies in a ring.
Enchanting all that you put in.

from Macbeth by William Shakespeare

HAUNTED HOUSE ALTERNATIVE

Consider the ages of the kids--one child's thrilling haunted house is another's chilling nightmare. If you will be hosting a mix of ages, be sure to set up the scariest events out of sight of the main party. A mad scientist's lab, for example, can be set up in a spare room so that kids too young can pass on the pleasure of watching others touch "brains" (cold spaghetti).

CRAFT -BLACK GARBAGE BAG BATS - DECORATION

My kids always make black garbage bag bats and hang them from the trees.
Take a large black garbage bag and cut it in 2 take 1/2 the bag and cover a 2L pop bottle - just stuff the extra into the bottle and put the lid on.
Fold the other 1/2 bag and cut wings - make sure you have a fold.
Put a large twig in the fold area and tape. Then tape the wings to the covered pop bottle.
Add eyes (we used glow in the dark ink pens) This bat will sit nicely in a tree by using the twig on the wings to secure it between branches.
The wings make a really neat rustling sound if it is a windy night!

CHOOSING A CARVING PUMPKIN

If you're looking for a great pumpkin to carve this Halloween season, take a cue from Linus and head directly to the patch. To locate a commercial grower in your area, contact your state agriculture department. Then you can call the farm directly to inquire about hours, prices and available varieties (Connecticut Field, Howden and Baby Bear are good bets for carving). Ask if the pumpkins are displayed at a stand or if you can harvest your own from the field. Do they charge by the pumpkin or the pound?

Once there, after your family has surveyed the lot, you're probably in for a patch-side debate over the perfect specimen. Whether you plan to decorate with a row of small and medium-size globes or a single huge one be sure the pumpkin you choose is symmetrical enough to rest squarely on a flat surface. Pass over any with bruises, cracks or broken stems, because they tend to deteriorate quickly.

Plan on carving no earlier than a day or two before Halloween-jack-o'-lanterns have short "step" lives. And remember to bring your porch pumpkin indoors on nights when the temperature is expected to drop below freezing.

MILK JUG SKELETON

Start saving your empty plastic gallon jugs-with a snip here and a hole there, you can resurrect a life-size skeleton. Punching holes and tying on bones is a job for little kids; cutting out and gluing together the pieces is a job for older children and parents. If you would like, you can paint Mr. Bones a neon color to make him appear to glow.

MATERIALS
8 or 9 clean, plastic gallon jugs
String
Scissors
Craft knife (optional; for parents only)
Glue gun (for parent use)
One-hole punch

HEAD: Choose a jug with a pair of circular indentations opposite the handle and turn it upside down. In the corner, opposite the handle, cut out a large, smiling mouth, centered under the indented "eyes." Make two small slits in the top of the head and tie a loop of string through them for hanging the finished skeleton.

CHEST: Cut a vertical slit down the center of a right-side-up jug, directly opposite the handle. Cut and trim away plastic to make the rib cage. Glue the head and chest together at the "neck" by connecting the spouts of the two jugs with a thick band of hot glue. Hold the jugs together for a few minutes until the glue cools.

SHOULDERS: Cut off two jug handles (leaving a small collar on the ends) and attach them to the chest section with hot glue. Punch a hole at one end of each shoulder.

HIPS: Cut all the way around a jug, about 4 1/2 inches up from the bottom. Take the bottom piece and trim away a small smile shape from each side to make a four-cornered shape. Punch holes in two opposite corners.

WAIST: Cut out two spouts, leaving a 1/2-inch collar on each. Glue the spouts together and let dry. Then, hot-glue the waist to the bottom of the chest and the top of the hip section.

ARMS AND LEGS: Cut eight long bone shapes from the corner sections of three jugs (cut into the curved shape of the jug to make the bones even more realistic). From four of these bones, cut out the center to make lower limbs (forearms and shins). Punch a hole through the ends of all eight bones. Use string to tie two arm sections to each shoulder and two leg sections to each hip

HANDS AND FEET: Let kids trace their hands and feet onto the side of a jug, then cut out the shapes. Punch holes in the hands and feet, and tie them onto the arms and legs.

PARTY ACTIVITIES

Plan more events than you think you need (and plan for bad weather, too). In addition to major games such as Zombie Tag and Slime Pit, prepare easy backups: bobbing for apples, telling ghost stories, painting murals, or marching in a costume parade.

BRAIN SURGERY SALAD

BRAIN SURGERY SALAD

2 small pkgs. or 1 large pkg. lime gelatin
1 16-oz. can fruit cocktail or 1 1/2 cups grated carrots
2 surgical or rubber gloves

1. Prepare the gelatin according to the package instructions.

2. Transfer to a dome-shaped mold. (A mixing bowl will do.)

3. Drain the fruit cocktail and add it, or the grated carrots, to the gelatin when it's half set.

4. When the salad mold is ready, unmold it onto a platter, and drape the surgical gloves on each side.

Makes 10 servings.

SAFE TRICK OR TREATING TIPS

SAFE TRICK OR TREATING TIPS
Makeup should be chosen over masks, because masks can limit vision. Safe costumes will be flame retardant, light in color or have strips of reflective tape on them. Carrying a flashlight is a good idea as well. Trick or treat only in familiar neighborhoods. Young children should be accompanied by an adult, and no child should go out alone. All children should have a nametag under their costume with their phone number on it. An easy way to do this is place a strip of masking tape under their collar with information in black permanent marker. Your child should know where it is, in case it is needed! Before eating ALL treats should be inspected by an adult. Check all treats for signs of tampering. Throw away all unwrapped candy, or homemade treats, unless you know the person personally that gave it to them.

RHYME -LATE ON A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT

LATE ON A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT

Late on a dark and stormy night,
Three witches stirred with all their might.
Two little ghosts said, 'How d'ye do?'
The wizard went tiptoe, tiptoe.
Booooooo!

VAMPIRE FANGS IN BLOOD

VAMPIRE FANGS IN BLOOD

8 large Red Delicious apples
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp. sugar
1 10-oz. jar strawberry or cherry sauce

1. Wash, peel and core the apples. Then cut each apple into 8 pieces.

2. Dip the cut apples into the lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown.

3. To prepare the fangs, cut the apple slices into long, narrow triangles, making pointy toothlike shapes. Redip them in the lemon juice and lightly sprinkle them with sugar.

4. 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.

BATS

Bend a 1-inch length of pipe cleaner into a V, then glue it onto black tissue-paper bat wings. Use floral wire to attach the bat to a building or tree.

SONG -HINX, MINX, THE OLD WITCH WINKS

HINX, MINX, THE OLD WITCH WINKS

Hinx, minx, the old witch winks.
The fat begins to fry.
Nobody's home but Jumping Joan.
Father, mother, and I.
Stick, stock, and stone dead.
Blind men cannot see.
Every knave will have a slave,
You and I must be he.

SONG -FRIENDLY GHOST

FRIENDLY GHOST
(Tune: Are You Sleeping)

I'm a friendly ghost; I'm a friendly ghost
Watch me fly; watch me fly,
I can fly right through the air
See how all the people stare.
Way up high in the sky.

SONG -CREEPY CRAWLY MONSTER

CREEPY CRAWLY MONSTER
(This is a Halloween song sung to the tune of the itsy bitsy spider. )
A creepy, crawly monster is coming straight at me.
Closer and closer he climbs upon my knee.
Up to my shoulder the monsters much too near,
'Happy Halloween' he whispers in my ear.

EYEBALLS

First, place an egg in a small saucepan and cover it with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute, then turn off the heat. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes. Drain the hot water and run cold water over the shell. Then peel the egg and slice it in half lengthwise. Scoop out the yolk into a bowl and mash it with 1 teaspoon of mayonnaise, a dab of mustard and a pinch of salt. Spoon the mixture back into the egg-white halves and top each with a ripe olive.

MAKE A SCARECROW

Gather up an old shirt, a pair of pants, a pumpkin head (white bucket turned upside down, a pillowcase filled with leaves, a pumpkin, etc.) old pair of shoes, an old pair of gloves, an old hat and some yarn, twine or heavy duty string.

It is easiest to create your scarecrow if he is sitting down in a chair or on some steps. Fill him with leaves, wadded newspaper or other filling. Draw a face on the bucket or whatever you use for the face. Add the hat, and the shoes and then attach the gloves and tie them on with the string.

Viola' you have a scarecrow!

RHYME -FIVE LITTLE PUMPKINS

FIVE LITTLE PUMPKINS

Five little pumpkins, (Hold up fingers for pumpkins)
Sitting on a gate.
The first one said 'Oh my! It's getting late'.
The second one said 'There are witches in the air'.
The third one said 'But we don't care'.
The fourth one said 'Let's run and run and run'.
The fifth one said 'It's Halloween fun'.
Oooooooo went the wind,
And out went the lights. (clap hands to the word 'out')
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight. (roll arms)

PUMPKIN TEA LIGHT HOLDERS

Mini pumpkins
Tea Light Candles
Lace Trim
Raffia
Glue gun and glue sticks

Remove cap from pumpkin as you would to make a jackolantern. Scrape seeds out from the inside. Using a sharp knife widen cap hole, maintaining roundness and centered, until tea light can be squeezed into the hole. You want it to be a tight fit or tea light will eventually slip down into the pumpkin. You want tea light to remain "suspended" in the opening.
Embellish by gluing on a "skirt" of lace trim. Tie raffia around top edge of lace and glue into place. Attach raffia bow.

Tip: Set mini pumpkins and other gourds on a mat. Do not set directly on furniture. The bottom will begin to decay first and will damage finish on furniture.

PARTY DECORATION SAFETY TIP

Don't go overboard--moody lighting, creepy music, and a few well-placed, homemade decorations set the scene. Pass on anything with a flame and keep in mind that kids are clumsy in their costumes--anything fragile or sharp should be well out of the way.

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 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.