Five Fun Ideas for Halloween and Fall Foods

One thing that always brings a smile 
to the faces of children (and adults)

are the fun food treats served 
for a holiday or party.

Here are five super fun ideas 
that have been linked up 

to our Halloween and Fall Fun parties!

Mummy Pizzas

{ Leapfrog & Ladybugs }

I love these little pizzas!  
Before trick-or-treating, we always make "Mummy Dogs" 
with hot dogs and crescent rolls.  
I think I may have to change up the menu 
this year and make these instead.

Rice Krispie Treat Pumpkins

 { Preschool Alphabet}

How cute and yummy do these pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats look?
They'd be a perfect little Halloween treat.

Nutter Butter Ghosts

{ Phaedra's Adventures }

And these Nutter Butter Ghosts?  So cute.
I always joke that I'm not much of a baker, 
but I'm pretty good at dipping ready made cookies
into melted chocolate! ;)
These would be the perfect little treat for me to make.

Candy Corn Pudding (with Printable)

{ Plum Adorable }

I love candy corn and these puddings are adorable 
(especially packaged up with a cute little printable!)
They'd be easy to just make a couple, or make up a big batch of pudding and put together a whole bunch.

Fall Leaf Toast

{ Having Fun at Home }

What a great idea for edible fall leaves.
I've seen the idea to paint on toast before,
but doing it on leaf-shaped toast is just so clever.

And don't forget these two yummy treats from here at Come Together Kids!

Candy Corn Cupcakes

Donut Hole Acorns

Thanks, ladies, for sharing your great ideas,

Feel free to grab a featured button from my sidebar!

I hope these great ideas for Fun Halloween and Fall Foods have inspired you to add a little fun to your menu-planning!

 Please check out our on-going parties 

for even more Halloween and Fall recipes and ideas!

Sharing at:
Be Different, Act Normal

Halloween Ideas Party

Welcome to our Halloween Ideas Party!

Don't be scared, stop by this on-going party 
to share and be inspired by ideas
for Halloween!  

Whether it's costumes or decorations,

silly tricks or fun treats, 

this is the place to visit! 

(NOTE: If it's a more general, Fall-related post, 

please link it up HERE)

  The party will continue throughout the year,
so come back often 
to link up new posts or check out new ideas.  
I'll showcase your ideas periodically 
in my "Five Fun Ideas..." posts.

 

A few guidelines:

1.  Please link to your specific blog post relating to HALLOWEEN  ~ crafts, projects, activities or recipes.

2.  Please do not link to an Etsy shop, business, or someone else's post.

3.  Finally, the more people who link up to this party, the better it will be.  Please help me spread the word by linking back either with a text link or by grabbing a button.

<center><a href="http://www.cometogetherkids.com/2011/10/halloween-ideas-party.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Come Together Kids" src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z245/lauranovo/blog%20stuff/CTKHalloweenbutton.jpg"/></a></center>

Candy Corn Cupcakes

Here's a really cute Halloween version of the Rainbow Cupcakes we made in the spring.  They're really simple to make and don't require any kind of fancy baking skills.  Plus, because they only have three colors instead of a full rainbow, they're not nearly as time consuming as the rainbow ones.

Here's how you make them:

1.  Make up a batch of regular white cake batter using your favorite recipe (or your favorite box of Betty Crocker white cake mix!).  Divide the batter evenly into three bowls.

 

2.  Leave one bowl white, but use food coloring to color the other two bowls yellow and orange.  (Mine took a LOT of food coloring to get the bright colors I wanted, probably 20 drops or so in each one!)

3.  Spoon the batter into your cupcake liners in layers, first the yellow, then orange, and finally white.  You'll want to make sure you get the batter of each layer all the way up against the sides so the layers are clearly visible when you peel back the wrapper.  (I accidentally overfilled with the yellow and orange so I just had a really narrow white layer)

4.  Bake as directed.  Let cool, then peel off the wrappers to reveal your candy corn striped cupcakes.  Frost and decorate however you'd like.  (My kids don't like frosting, so I just added a little whipped cream and a real candy corn or two.)

That's it!  Some super cute cupcakes that are super easy to make!

Sharing our colorful cupcakes at:


Happy Hour Projects, Craft-O-Maniac  Design Dazzle  Ladybird Ln  Tatertots and Jello  Sun Scholars The Creative Paige  Be Different, Act Normal  Sunday Showcase  Flamingo Toes  I heart Naptime  Under the Table and Dreaming  Running with Glitter  C.R.A.F.T.  The Girl Creative  Creative Jewish Mom  Craft-O-Maniac  Lines across my Face  Delicate Construction  Skip to My Lou  Today's Creative Blog  Sugar and Dots  Blue Cricket Design   The Mommy Club Gluesticks  The Frugal Girls

Birthday Countdown Stand

My "baby" will be turning six later this month!  She's super excited, I'm finding it hard to believe.  A couple months ago, I came across this cute Flip Recipe Organizer at Positively Splendid.  I'm not nearly organized enough to keep all my recipes together, but I thought the concept was perfect for a countdown.  I followed Amy's great tutorial and it came together really quickly.

 Our new Birthday Countdown Stand was an easy little project (and I got to use a power tool!), my daughter LOVES it, and I no longer have to answer "How many days till my birthday?" multiple times a day.  

Here's what you'll need:

* acrylic picture frame/sign stand (mine was 5x7")

* decorative papers and/or embellishments

* two 1" binder rings

* drill with a 1/8" bit

* painters' tape or masking tape

Here's what to do:

1.  Measure where you want your ring clips to be at the top of your frame.  I made mine about 3/4" down and in 1 3/4" in from the sides.  Place a piece of painters' tape or masking tape over that part of your frame (to prevent cracking when you drill) and drill two holes using the 1/8" bit.

I only had really narrow tape on hand, but it worked just fine.

 2.  Gather your decorative papers and embellishments.  I just used some of the tons of patterned paper I have left over from my short-lived scrapbooking days and printed up the words and numbers on my computer.

3.  Cut your main pieces to 5x7" and then assemble your pieces.  Punch two holes at the top to correspond to the holes in the frame for the ring clips.  Slide your completed design into the frame.  (Mine's nothing fancy, but I wanted to finish before my daughter came home from school to surprise her. )

4.  Make your number cards for the countdown.  Because we'll only be using this for a couple weeks, I didn't laminate them.  However, if you're making a countdown stand that will be getting a lot of use, laminating for durability might be a good idea.

 

5.  Attach your number cards in reverse order using the binder rings and you're ready to countdown.

I know this Countdown Stand will continue to be used for all my kids' birthdays and special occasions.  It'll be super easy to swap out the design and whip up some new number cards ~ expect to see a Halloween one soon! ;)

Sharing our countdown at:

Gluesticks 
Fireflies and Jellybeans 
Katie's Nesting Spot 
It's Playtime 
Smilemonsters 
Happy Hour Projects 
Sun Scholars 
Design Dazzle 
Delicate Construction 
Tatertots & Jello 
Be Different, Act Normal 
I heart Naptime 
The Sunday Showcase
Under the Table and Dreaming 
Craft-O-Maniac 
Running with Glitter 
Homemaker on a Dime 
Beneath the Rowan Tree 
C.R.A.F.T. 
Skip to My Lou 
Making the World Cuter 
Lines Across my Face 
Today's Creative Blog 
Reasons to Skip the Housework 
Not Just a Housewife 
The Mommy Club 
Momnivore's Dilemma 
Bear Rabbit Bear 
The Idea Room 
It's Playtime 
Momma's Kinda Crafty 
Craft Junkie Too
Ladybird Ln. 
Sugar and Dots 
The Frugal Girls 
 


Jack-O-Lantern shirts

This is a pre-blogging project from last year, but it turned out so cute I wanted to share it for anyone looking for an inexpensive and easy Halloween project!

Check out this adorable group of Jack-O-Lanterns!

My kids and their cousins last October.

What you'll need:

* Plain orange t-shirts for each child (you can get them on sale at the craft stores for just a few dollars!)

* Black fabric paint or acrylic paint 

* Freezer paper (found in most larger grocery stores near the plastic wrap and aluminum foil)

* Templates of Jack-O-Lantern faces ( I used the printable ones HERE)

* Paint brushes

* Piece of cardboard or newspaper for inside the shirt

Here's what to do:   

(For step-by-step instructions with photos, see my other freezer paper stencil projects HERE,  HERE and HERE)

1.  Trace or print the jack-o-lantern face onto the paper-y side of a piece of freezer paper.  (If you cut your freezer paper to 8.5x11" you can run it right through most printers.  Just make sure you have the paper set up to print on the paper side, not the waxy side)

2.  Cut out the inside pieces of your pumpkin face, then iron the stencil waxy side down onto the front of your t-shirt.

3. Slip a piece of cardboard or several sheets of folded newspaper inside the shirt so the paint doesn't bleed through.

4.  Using a foam brush, paint over your stencil.  It works best if you brush from the paper onto the fabric so it doesn't bleed under the stencil and you do a couple light coats rather than a thick, gloppy one.

Everyone hard at work (disposable lab coats make great smocks!)

Painting carefully.

The kids chose from a few different designs.

"Pop Pop" helps my youngest with her shirt.

5.  Once the stencils are fully painted, set the shirts aside to dry.  Depending on the amount of paint used and the size of the design, it'll take anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple hours.

That's it!  Cute Halloween shirts for just a few dollars.

Sharing our spooky shirts at:
Gluesticks 
Smilemonsters 
Happy Hour Projects 
Sun Scholars 
Delicate Construction
Tatertots & Jello 
Be Different, Act Normal 
I heart Naptime 
Lolly Jane  
Running with Glitter 
Homemaker on a Dime 
Beneath the Rowan Tree 
C.R.A.F.T.
Making the World Cuter 
 Lines Across my Face
The Sunday Showcase 
Today's Creative Blog 
Momnivore's Dilemma Halloween Party 
Confessions of a SAHM 
Bear Rabbit Bear 
It's Playtime 
Ladybird Ln. 
Someday Crafts 
The Frugal Girls

Our Fourth of July recap

My best shot of the fireworks! ;)

I hope all my readers here in the United States 

had a wonderful Fourth of July Holiday

I thought I'd share a short little recap of our day together.  We didn't do anything fancy ~  no big barbeques or parties ~ but the kids enjoyed the few, simple little things we did as a family to celebrate.

To start our day, I made some Patriotic Pancakes 

(similar to our Birthday and Valentine's Day pancakes).  

No culinary awards being given for this breakfast ~ they're not really flags, in fact, they're not really much of anything design-wise, just three stripes of batter colored red, white and blue ~ but the kids loved them regardless and it was a fun way to start our day!

 

Next, I made up some little 

red, white and blue trifle push pops 

to take with us for our fireworks picnic.  

I simply layered raspberries, pieces of white cake,  blueberries and whipped cream in some handy little plastic push pop containers.   

They were a yummy and fun way to make a trifle portable  

(although next time I'll use pudding instead of whipped cream since the cream just melted into the cake and fruit ~ still tasty, just not as pretty when we went to eat it)

Individual push pop trifle

I made my girls some cute little  

red, white and blue tops 

using bandanas I found in the Dollar Spot at Target.  (tutorial to come)

Aren't they cute? (both the girls AND their tops!)

The kids had fun playing cards and hanging out 

while we snacked and waited for nightfall.

"Go fish!"

Smiles and hugs!

Posing for a picture

Finally it got dark enough for 

our Glow-in-the-Dark drinks!

This pic reminds me of that movie, The Blair Witch Project! ;)

And then the best part of the Fourth of July... 

FIREWORKS!!

I love this shot of my son watching the show.

Of course, I'm not going to share the little meltdowns and sibling fights that were also a part of our holiday (and every day!), but overall, it was a nice day that we enjoyed as a family.

Red, White and Blue Strawberries

I love making treats that look impressive when you set them out on a tray, but are really easy to make.  For the Memorial Day barbeque I went to yesterday, I brought some of my Hamburger Cookies and these awesome Patriotic Strawberries!  Both look super cool, and were a big hit, but literally just take minutes to put together (and you don't even have to turn on the oven!)

Patriotic, fun, easy and YUMMY!

NOTE:  I found this fun idea on Pinterest.  It's an awesome site where you can "pin" pictures and links of things you find on the web and browse the pins of others.  It's by invite only, but I have a few invites to give away.  Just let me know your email address and I can send you one.  ( Just prepare to give up a ton of your time looking at all the great ideas! )

INGREDIENTS:

• whole fresh strawberries (rinsed off and dried on a paper towel)
•  white melting chocolate
• blue decorating sugar crystals  (in the baking section at the grocery store)

DIRECTIONS: ( Really, it's so simple you don't even need directions ~ but I'll give a couple tips!)

1.  Melt the white chocolate according to the package directions.

2.  Dip the strawberries in the chocolate.

3.  Dip the chocolate strawberries in the blue sugar crystals.  ( So the sugar doesn't get too gloppy with the liquid chocolate drips, I ended up spooning the sugar on instead of dipping the whole strawberry in)

4.  Set on waxed paper to cool.  ( If you can avoid it, don't refrigerate the dipped strawberries ~ I did on my first batch and the condensation that formed made the sugar a little bit wet and sticky.  Other batches that weren't refrigerated were fine)

5.  To impress your guests even more,  put your dipped strawberries on a "crystal" tray (from the Dollar store! ;)  )

Looks very Martha Stewart, doesn't it?  :)


Sharing at:
Skip to My Lou
Not Just a Housewife 
C.R.A.F.T. 
Sugar Bee Crafts 
 Nothing But Country
Someday Crafts