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Inspiration: More Halloween Party Ideas – Part 2

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Kimberly Cadena)

Pumpkins are purchased, our fall festival is complete (more details coming in later posts), and life is returning to normal busyness. As I look at the calendar, the Halloween events for our family begin this weekend. If you are planning a Halloween celebration and need some more inspiration, try these great party menu ideas:

Pumpkin Cream Cheese

Pumpkin Pie Dip, Popcorn Witches, Ghost Pretzels, Cheese Fingers, and Ghost Poop (My kids will love this last one.)

Halloween dinner with spaghetti, sauce, meatballs, and green peppers for spiders

Spook-tacular Yogurt Cups

Beverage service from a pumpkin – love this idea!

Are your creative juices flowing? Lots of great ideas for making your next Halloween party a great success. If you need tags for your menu or decorating, check out these free printable labels. My kids will love to cut and decorate with these labels with or without a party.

I think I might be making the Halloween dinner with spaghetti, sauce, meatballs, and green peppers before Trick-or-Treating. In fact, I could see this dinner becoming a new family tradition. However you celebrate, enjoy making your Halloween adventure special!

Question: What are your Halloween traditions? If you feel comfortable doing so, leave your answer in the comments.

Inspiration: Additional Halloween Party Ideas – Part 3

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Camille Styles)

With our schedule slowing down a tad and all these great Halloween party ideas, I think our family will host another Halloween party this year. My eldest daughter is already talking about last year’s party and who we should invite this year. Thankfully, I have most of the items needed from previous years, and these great party ideas just add to the flavor of the event.

To keep the inspiration coming, here are 6 additional party ideas for your Halloween gathering:

Non-spooky Decorations

1. Pumpkin Carving Tips

2. Jack-O-Lanterns from baby food jars

3. Bats and Mice made with black construction paper

Yummy Seasonal Menu Items

4. Pumpkin Butter

5. Pumpkin Rice Krispies Treats

6. Free E-book: 23 Unforgettable Halloween Party Recipes

NOTE: You do not need to sign up for the newsletter. Just click the “close” button to download your free copy. Remember, you can place this e-book in your free Kindle for PC application.

With all these great party ideas, will you change your mind and host a ghostly event? If so, please be sure to post pictures for us to enjoy. Happy planning!

Question: What is your favorite Halloween decoration or food item? Keep the inspiration moving by adding your answer to the comments.

Halloween: Reverse Trick-or-Treating

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Remember when I told you our schedule was winding down a bit? Well, that schedule came to a halt when my mild cold settled into my chest, complete with uncontrollable coughing bouts. Everything went on hold while I spent a few days curled up in the recliner, medicated, and still.

In using time wisely to rest, I slept and allowed my body to heal. Having recovered, I am focusing on the current tasks at hand rather than reflecting on the missed field trip, Halloween party, and harvest gathering. Though our Halloween party did not materialize this season, our family enjoyed two Halloween events:

Reverse Trick-or-Treating

This annual event has become a fun activity for our family. In a season where my children are given lots of candy and prizes, Paul and I want them to understand that it is more blessed to give than to receive. To put feet to our words, we take the kids reverse trick-or-treating.

We purchase candy, arrive at Paul’s office in costume, and deliver candy to each co-worker. Our kids enjoy the attention and showing off their costumes while giving the candy away. This family tradition has become a favorite activity during the Halloween season.

Trick-or-Treating

After an early dinner, Paul and I took the kids trick-or-treating throughout our neighborhood. I was amazed at the generosity of our neighbors as they doled out handfuls of candy.

The kids came home to sort through their mounds of candy. It was a frightfully chilly night with lots of boos, costumes, and flickering jack-o-lanterns. 🙂

Whether you were on the giving or the receiving end of the trick-or-treating, I hope you enjoyed your Halloween festivities. If you hosted a Halloween event, please share your itinerary. We would love to read about your fun, ghoulish celebration.

Question: What is your favorite Halloween activity? Please add your answer to the comments.

Event Planning: 2011 Fall Festival

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The Fall Festival event raised $10,000 for our great school! Seeing the end result makes all the money, energy, and time invested in this project worth it. Having addressed this event in the My Upcoming 2011-2012 Events post, I also shared how distracted I became while planning in the Event Planning: Changing my Focus post. After concentrating on the framework, sections, and details, all the miscellaneous items came together for a great event by following a simple plan:

Handpicked Volunteers

With a reliable core group of volunteers, who were knowledgeable and ready to work, we pulled off an almost flawless execution of the plan. These volunteers were well-prepared, arrived on-time, and led by example.

   

Written Schedule

Having every delivery, payment, and setup location on a written schedule distributed to the core volunteers kept the setup and tear down process timely, accurate, and complete. The process was smooth as there was additional time scheduled in case problems arose or changes needed to be considered.

   

Relaxed, Controlled Atmosphere

Knowing that the plan was set and all volunteers were apprised of their responsibilities, the execution of the plans for the day were not stressful or ordered around. When all were relaxed and knew the plan, all the volunteers seemed to enjoy helping, chatting, and enjoying the event. Working in an organized framework helps all involved to stay on task while using time wisely.

   

By preparing in advance with all the details written and all volunteers informed, our event was a great success! Though there were items that I will plan better for next year (more on that to come), I was very pleased with the event and look forward to improving the KidZone for next year’s Fall Festival.

Question: When you volunteer to assist with an event, what can a coordinator do to make your service enjoyable? Please add your answer to the comments.

Thanksgiving: Turkey Options – Part 1 of 2

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Powen Shiah)

Are you hosting Thanksgiving this year? I love this time of year with a break in the schedule to give thanks for our many blessings.

Though the commercial industry would rather gloss over Thanksgiving as a kickoff to the Christmas season, our family takes time to give thanks and enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday.

For the next three days, I will be focusing on the Thanksgiving turkey. Today, I will share, in event planning, three of four options I have used, with success, for making our Thanksgiving turkeys.

Tomorrow the miscellaneous post will be the fourth option, and the one I am leaning towards using this year. On Thursday’s food post, I will take a break from our food cycle series to share a special recipe with you.

With hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year, Paul and I will be baking a turkey next Thursday. Having baked many turkeys in the past, I am considering the following options before making my choice this year. Here are three of four options I have used in the past and may end up using for next Thursday’s feast:

Deep Fry Option

One year, my husband deep fried a turkey for the Thanksgiving lunch at his office. Though the turkey was good with the meat moist, I found it less tender compared to an oven-baked turkey; however, the crunchy outside was delicious. Since we do not have a deep fryer that would hold a turkey and I will not purchase one just for next Thursday, I am not choosing this option.

Baste Option

When making my first few turkeys, I used this basting method. The results of basting are a very moist, tender, and tasty turkey. The downside is that the turkey must be basted every half hour while baking in the oven. It is very good, but takes consistent attention throughout the 2-3 hours for the end result. If the drippings are not absorbed into the turkey, the outside of the turkey will get dry.

This method was fun to do when our family was small (just Paul and I). We enjoyed making the feast together and inviting our friends and family to our table. Now that my family has grown, I prefer using time wisely to count my blessings and hang out with my family. Therefore, I will not be using this method this year for our turkey.

Brine Option

This option is by far my favorite because my husband, Paul, oversees the brining option. 🙂 He begins on Tuesday night by mixing up the brine mixture (sliced oranges, brown sugar, kosher salt, water, and spices) in a large tote. Then he soaks the frozen turkey in the brine until Thursday morning.

He babysits the mixture according to his recipe which involves adding more of the same ingredients and stirring it. We then prepare the turkey (remove the turkey guts and place in the roasting pan) and bake in the oven. The brine seals in the moisture which results in a very tender turkey. At this time, this option is my second choice.

If you want to know what my top choice currently is for next Thursday’s meal, then come back tomorrow for my answer.(Hint: It is not my crock pot.) As you prepare for your Thanksgiving celebration, I wish you patience as you organize your meal plan, schedule, and time with your family. The better organized you are, the better you will enjoy your day. Continue using time wisely, and happy planning!

Question: What are you baking for Thanksgiving this year? Please add your answer to the comments.