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I’m all for Halloween …

I’m all for Halloween… welcoming in the darker months as winter draws near, getting creative with a creepy costume (plenty of amazing ones out there to pick!) and grizzly makeup, daring yourself and your friends or family out into the night to hunt for lit pumpkins. Yup, I’m all for Halloween…it’s fun! Well, mostly fun. You see, I have a problem with one pretty major element of Halloween…the bit the kids think is the best and greatest reason for the whole event…trick or treating!!!

Here’s why. We live in a nice area. The kind of place you’d like to raise a family. You know the sort of thing…neighbours who take a care in mowing their front lawn, children who play hop scotch. So imagine my surprise when, on the first Halloween in suburban utopia, my carefully curated, tastefully presented selection of seasonally appropriate sweet treats were gone within the first 10 minutes of the doorbell ringing to the first trick or treater. Much less ‘trick or treat’, more ‘snatch and grab’. Subsequent callers were begrudgingly doled out a digestive biscuit that evening, much to their indignation and my annoyance.

Following that first year, I could have gone one of two ways…turn ‘Twit’, switch off the lights, bar up the windows and miss out on all the fun. Or turn party planner and show the little witches and wizards a thing or two about ‘TRICK or treating’, whilst providing my kids and me a good giggle in the process.

Well, there wasn’t really an option, was there?! So my strategy now is to provide some doorstep fun for our Halloween visitors, something that gets us all into the ‘spirit’ (ha) of the night. I’ve set up various ‘tricks’ over the years, but all with the same basic premise …you’d like some spooky sweets?…here’s a ghoulishly gross or freakishly funny activity for you to earn them! My favourites over the years have been:-

  • Wearing a blindfold, find an eyeball in a vat of blood and guts (aka pick out a grape from a huge bowl of jelly).
  • Again, blindfolded, fish out a bone from a tub of mashed up brains (aka retrieve a stick from a tub of cold porridge).
  • Pick out a Halloween themed dare from the dare box (these might include doing an ear piercing scream, pretending you’re a zombie or eating your own hand).

So if you’re a Halloween bah-humbug, why not take some inspiration and play the trick or treaters at their own game? Dressing up as a loo roll zombie is optional, but who knows, it might be more fun than you’re expecting?!

If you are going to fully embrace Halloween this year, get some costumes for the kids, something ghastly for yourself and then dress up the house too?

All items below are available on the Etsy website. Click on each of the images to view the individual products or here to visit the Halloween decorations page on Etsy.

Spider and pumpkin decorations
Spider and pumpkin decorations for your Halloween party

 

Hanging halloween bat
Hanging halloween bat decoration

 

Spooky ghost piñata
Spooky ghost for the all important piñata

 

Mini trick or treat bags
Mini treat bags to stash all those cakes, goodies and sweets!
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Dress your house this Halloween

Ok, so when we were looking for kids’ fancy dress costumes, we stumbled across some great decorating ideas that we’ll be trying out at our house.

halloween door decoration
Fun, creative way to decorate your front door. However, if it is raining we’re not sure that wrapping loo paper around your front door is such a great idea. That is of course unless you are planning an impromptu paper mache session. There are some great ideas on Pinterest.

 

Boo balloons
Great addition to the Halloween party – Silver foil balloon bunting from Ginger Ray, sold on the John Lewis website.

 

Halloween eyeball pizza
Yummy eyeball pizza idea to try and the kids party.

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