Halloween Treats and a Storm is on the Way
We've got a hurricane coming our way... yep, sometimes they come all the way up the East Coast and share a bit with us in New Jersey. After Irene came to do some damage last year, I was hoping it would be a long time before another one would come our way... but, it seems Sandy is determined to bring strong winds and rain over the next couple of days. We'll be staying close to home since the schools have closed and our offices have determined it would be better to work from home.
I'm grateful that we are able to stay home during what may be a pretty serious storm. Keep us in your thoughts and I'll share updates through our Facebook page for Famfriendsfood. If you are also in Sandy's path, please do what you can to be safe!
This is the second year in a row that I think Halloween may be a bit off schedule due to a storm. Last year we had a freak snowstorm that brought down tree limbs and power lines... this year, Sandy could cause a lot of damage and disappoint alot of kids.
We didn't know this storm was coming, but did have an early Halloween celebration for Our Boys and a good number of their friends about a week or so ago. I had fun putting together some fun treats for the party.
First, there was a cupcake graveyard with zombies!
I used a Martha Stewart recipe for the cupcakes - the simplest one she has, the One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes - a super moist and not overly sweet cupcake. Plenty of chocolate flavor to satisfy everyone. I topped them with a Chocolate Buttercream recipe I found over at Brown-Eyed Baker's site... and am in love with this recipe! She's not kidding when she says that this is possibly the best buttercream recipe... and it was easy to change a bit and make the frosting a milk chocolate because I wanted it to be super kid-friendly.
I used edible markers to create the faces on the marshmallows and the words on the "tombstones". Milano cookies are the perfect shape for tombstones... in case you needed another reason to love them!
Next, I followed some inspiration from Pinterest! I have a board completely dedicated to Halloween party ideas... and I plan to try different things next year! The pin for this idea didn't go directly back to the original post (very disappointed in that!), but I was able to figure it out on my own. Oreo Mummy Pops!
While the general idea isn't hard to figure out, I determined after I got started that there was an easier way to do this next time. Michael's has oreo molds which would allow you to cover them in the candy melts before adding the "bandages" to them. I'll be picking up a couple of these molds soon! I'm already thinking of some ideas for holiday gifts using these molds... and they will look a bit nicer than the one's I made for this party.
In spite of them not being perfect, they were a huge hit! Only a few left after the party was over.
The party wasn't just desserts, we also served baked brains (macaroni and cheese), bloody pasta (tortellini in pink sauce), broken fingers (taquitos), bat droppings (chicken nuggets) and gory eyeballs (barbecued meatballs).
There were games, too... but, I'm afraid that the 10 and 11 year olds are just about "over" these types of activities... as some didn't seeem as interested. Most were thrilled to participate in the monster potato sack race and the mummy wrap games (they wrapped some of the dad's who stuck around to help).
Overall, it was a great party and I've heard from many of the parents that the kids had a great time. That's all I hope for at the end of the party... it makes all the planning and effort put into it worth every minute!
Next year, I'll be thinking of some different possibilities since some of the games are a bit too young for some of the kids... maybe an evening of "scary" movies in our super creepy basement (I shared some pictures of our decorating on Instagram - you can find me there as FAMFRIENDSFOOD if you'd like to check them out).
I'll share the costume we made soon... as I'm not usually the mom who makes costumes this was quite a task!! The end result is a very happy boy and he's already gotten some compliments on it, too!
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Please note that all photos and content belong to Patsy Kreitman, unless otherwise noted. If you want to use something please ask first.
I'm grateful that we are able to stay home during what may be a pretty serious storm. Keep us in your thoughts and I'll share updates through our Facebook page for Famfriendsfood. If you are also in Sandy's path, please do what you can to be safe!
This is the second year in a row that I think Halloween may be a bit off schedule due to a storm. Last year we had a freak snowstorm that brought down tree limbs and power lines... this year, Sandy could cause a lot of damage and disappoint alot of kids.
We didn't know this storm was coming, but did have an early Halloween celebration for Our Boys and a good number of their friends about a week or so ago. I had fun putting together some fun treats for the party.
First, there was a cupcake graveyard with zombies!
I used edible markers to create the faces on the marshmallows and the words on the "tombstones". Milano cookies are the perfect shape for tombstones... in case you needed another reason to love them!
Next, I followed some inspiration from Pinterest! I have a board completely dedicated to Halloween party ideas... and I plan to try different things next year! The pin for this idea didn't go directly back to the original post (very disappointed in that!), but I was able to figure it out on my own. Oreo Mummy Pops!
While the general idea isn't hard to figure out, I determined after I got started that there was an easier way to do this next time. Michael's has oreo molds which would allow you to cover them in the candy melts before adding the "bandages" to them. I'll be picking up a couple of these molds soon! I'm already thinking of some ideas for holiday gifts using these molds... and they will look a bit nicer than the one's I made for this party.
In spite of them not being perfect, they were a huge hit! Only a few left after the party was over.
The party wasn't just desserts, we also served baked brains (macaroni and cheese), bloody pasta (tortellini in pink sauce), broken fingers (taquitos), bat droppings (chicken nuggets) and gory eyeballs (barbecued meatballs).
There were games, too... but, I'm afraid that the 10 and 11 year olds are just about "over" these types of activities... as some didn't seeem as interested. Most were thrilled to participate in the monster potato sack race and the mummy wrap games (they wrapped some of the dad's who stuck around to help).
Overall, it was a great party and I've heard from many of the parents that the kids had a great time. That's all I hope for at the end of the party... it makes all the planning and effort put into it worth every minute!
Next year, I'll be thinking of some different possibilities since some of the games are a bit too young for some of the kids... maybe an evening of "scary" movies in our super creepy basement (I shared some pictures of our decorating on Instagram - you can find me there as FAMFRIENDSFOOD if you'd like to check them out).
I'll share the costume we made soon... as I'm not usually the mom who makes costumes this was quite a task!! The end result is a very happy boy and he's already gotten some compliments on it, too!
Tweet
Please note that all photos and content belong to Patsy Kreitman, unless otherwise noted. If you want to use something please ask first.
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