Two Weeks To Go

Thanksgiving is 2 weeks from tomorrow. Here are some ideas from allrecipes.com of things to get done with 2-3 weeks left to help your Thanksgiving get-togethers run more smoothly.

1. Confirm your guest list.

2. Finalize your menu and shopping lists. Break your lists into items you can buy ahead and those that can't be bought more than a few days before.

3. Do test runs on new recipes. If a new dish is not going to turn out, Thanksgiving day is not the time to discover this.

And for your Halloweeny entertainment....

Looking for some kid-friendly spook? Here's a list of the Top 10 Halloween movies for kids (or adults, like me, who scare easily).

1. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

2. Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie

3. Wallace & Gromit: The Curst of the Were-Rabbit

4. Casper

5. Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

6. Halloweentown

7. Halloweentwon II: Kalabar's Revenge

8. The Haunted Mansion

9. Hocus Pocus

10. The Adventures of Icabod and Mr. Toad

If you are looking for Halloween movies suitable for the slightly younger group, check out this list of Halloween shows for preschoolers

http://kidstvmovies.about.com/od/halloween/tp/preschoolershalloween.htm

Give Me A Hand?

Or maybe just some fingers.
Here are a few quick ideas and recipes to offer up at your Halloween bash. They are edible, but look like body parts. They would work well with the Mad Scientist's Lab.

First up are the eyeballs, there are a few ways to do this. The easiest is to set out a bowl of peeled grapes. Stick your hand in that and you get the feel of eyeballs. Another eyeball recipe is using deviled eggs. Prepare them as you normally would, then top them with a slice of olive and squirt squiggly ketchup lines around them. My last eye-dea is the floating eyeball. Cut big marshmallows in half around the middle, so you have 2 flatter round pieces and stick a raisin or chocolate chip in the middle. You can either let them float in punch or drinks, or stick them on lollipop sticks.

Now comes the brains. The easy way: mix some cooked spaghetti with spaghetti sauce (blood) and serve in a large bowl. If your guests aren't too queasy, they can stick their hands in the bowl of brains. Or if you want to get fancy, you can mold a brain using green, purple, or red Jell-O and a special mold.

For fast toes, cut hot dogs in half across the middle so you have 2 short stubby sections. Toss them randomly on a plate with ketchup. Cut up chicken strips make for great fingers.

Go as gross as you want with a splash of ketchup here and there!

Enter The Laboratory If You Dare

One way you can add a little extra spook to your Halloween party is to transform your kitchen into a mad scientist's lab. It is easier than it may seem.

First you need the scientist. Use dad, grampa, crazy uncle.... Give his hair a little tease to make it stand up, sprinkle it with a little talc powder, and spray it with a combination of white and gray hair sprays. Dress him in an old white jacket or lab coat. Finish off his 'mad' look by darkening around his eyes with black and gray eyeshadow.

Now, for the decorations. What would a mad scientist have lying around? Cover the table with a tablecloth ( a store bought plastic cover would work, or use wild Halloween printed fabric to make your own), I like either shocking purple, or Frankenstein skin green. Place old beakers, test tubes, vials, eyedroppers, and the occasional rubber rat or bug around the table. Drape some fake spiderwebs over the windows, walls, and light fixtures. Fill flasks with water in different colors. A rubber monster face mask and some body parts are always good to have around.

Now for the food, it is the kitchen after all. Serve tomato soup in test tubes to look like blood. Have a spare brain sitting around (molded Jell-O or spaghetti will do). Use rubber gloves (thoroughly soak and wash first) to mold ice hands (use can use green food coloring to tint the water) and float them in the punch bowl.

Check back for more body part food ideas!

Make your house the most haunted haunt!

Having a Halloween party? Need to quickly transform your home into a haunted house? Try some of these suggestions that use easy to find supplies and many things you already have around the house.

*Create a ghostly mist! Fill buckets halfway with water, and add dry ice. There should be enough water to cover the dry ice, with 2 parts water to 1 part dry ice. Warmer water will make thicker smoke, but it will disappear quickly. Cooler water makes thinner smoke, but it will last longer. Make sure to keep them out of reach of children. Dry ice is dangerous when touched.

*Blow up different sized white balloons with helium. Cover each balloon with a small white sheet or pieces of white fabric and draw on a face with permanent marker. Float them around the house. For glowing ghosts, stick a glow stick in the balloon before inflating.

*Buy neon black lights, and place them around the house or in the party area. They will cause an eerie glow and make all the white items in the room, including the mist and ghosts, really stand out.

*Cover shoeboxes with brown or black construction paper, and line the inside of each with red felt. Fill with small plastic skeletons and place them around the house.

*Cover the tables with a black or orange tablecloth, toss with confetti, and decorate with plastic spiders and skulls.

*Hang orange and black streamers from the ceilings.

*Make your own haunted window coverings by cutting cats, bats, pumpkins and spiders out of black construction paper or felt. Tape them to your window, and then cover the entire window with white paper or a sheet, making sure to completely cover the window. Place a light behind the window to make the scary silhouettes you can see from outside.

I'll be back later with ways to turn your kitchen into a mad scientist's laboratory!

5 Tips for Great Kids Parties

Want to throw a great party for younger kids. Follow these 5 tips.

1. Send out invitations at least 2 weeks in advance. Give time for your guests to find the perfect costume.

2. Don't be too scary. Keep the age of your guests in mind. Go for friendly-spooky, not bloody-scary.

3. Keep it short and simple. Anything over a couple hours and you risk losing the attention of the younger ones.

4. Make sure to plan plenty of activities. If you run out of time, you don't have to do them all, but it's better to have some games left over, then to have party time left with nothing to do.

5. Give them something to remember your party by. Send them home with something Halloweeny and unique. Have a craft table and let them make their own party favors.

Check back for more perfect party tips.