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Jack-O'Lantern Cheese Ball

Spider Web Dip

Carmel Corn

Popcorn Balls

Ghosties

Black Garbage Bag Spooky Cats

Fun Pumpkin Decorations for Table Setting or Outside Lighting

Make a Tombstone

Make a Mummy

Pass The Pumpkin

Making Jack O' Lanterns

 

Special Occasions Halloween

On Halloween, the eve of All Saint's Day, ghosta and other spirits were once believed to roam about, their paths illuminated by the light of glowing jack-o'-lanterns. As supersititions weakened over the centuries, these goblins took on a more playful look, inspiring frightfully delightful customs such as Trick and Treating and Halloween Parties.

The American version of Halloween Day celebration owes its origin to the ancient Druidic fire festival called "Samhain", celebrated by the Celts in Scotland, Wales and Ireland. In Ireland the festival was known as Samhein, or La Samon, the Fest of the Sun.

In Scotland, the celebration was known as Hallowe'en. In Welsh it's Nos Galen-gaeof (that is, the Night of the Winter Calends. According to the Irish English dictionary published by the Irish Texts Society: "Samhain, All Hallowtide, the feast of the dead in Pagan and Christian times, signalizing the close of harvest and the initiation of the winter season, lasting till May, during which troops ( were quartered. Faeries were imagined as particularly active at this season. From it the half year is reckoned. also called Feile Moingfinne (Snow Goddess).

(1) The Scottish Gaelis Dictionary defines it as "Hallowtide. The Feast of All Soula. Sam + Fuin = end of summer."

Jack-O'- Lantern Cheese Ball

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup canned puree

1/4 cup pineapple preserves

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 large pretzel rod, broken in half

4-ounces cream cheese, softened

Dark rye bread

Red pepper

Black olive slices

Parsley sprigs

Assorted crackers

Beat cheeses, pumpkin, preserves and spices in medium bowl until smooth. Cover refrigerate 2 to 3 hours until cheese is firm enough to shape.

Shape mixture into round pumpkin, place on serving plate.Using a knife, score vertical lines down pumpkin. Place pretzel rod in top for stem. Cut bread into triangles for eyes, cut red pepper into triangle for nose, and cut olives in half to make the mouth. Surround with parsley.

Serve with assorted crackers.

Serves 8 to 10.

Spider Web Dip

1 (16-ounce) jar (1 3/4 cups) black bean dip

1 (12-ounce) container guacamole

1/4 cup Sour Cream

1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce

4 ounces (1 cup) Cheddar Cheese, shredded

1/2 cup chopped tomato

Tortilla chips

Spread bean dip onto center of large platter, leaving 1 to 2 inches around edge of platter. Carefully spread bean dip with guacamole.

Spoon sour cream into resealable plastic food bag. Cut off corner. Pipe sour cream in 4 circles onto guacamole. Drag toothpick or knife through sour cream from center outward to make spider web design.

Layer lettuce, cheese and tomatoes on edge of platter. Serve with tortilla chips.

Makes 15 servings.

 CARAMEL CORN

Carmel Corn makes a wonderful Halloween treat and is easier to make than you might think. We make a couple of batches and serve in large black and orange bowls.

Main Ingredients:

14 cups popped popcorn

2 cups brown sugar (packed)

1 cup butter

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda



Carmel Corn Preparation:

Once you have popped the pop-corn, remove any unpopped kernels. Now place the popcorn in a buttered metal bowl and place in a 200 degree oven to keep warm.

Combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once it begins to boil, stop stirring for 5 minutes, or until mixture reaches 255 degrees on candy thermometer.

Remove from heat and add baking soda. The mixture will start to foam, so stir well until blended. Pour the hot mixture over the pop-corn and toss gently with well buttered forks to distribute evenly.

Spread onto 2 ungreased baking sheets and bake at 200 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Remove the caramel corm from the oven and allow to cool completely. Once cool, break it into clusters, and store in a tightly covered container


Popcorn Balls

9 cups air-popped popcorn

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup corn syrup (light or dark)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Pop popcorn using a hot air popper. Popcorn should be warm when adding sugar mixture.

Spray the sides of a medium saucepan with nonstick spray. Combine sugar, water, corn syrup and salt. Stirring constantly, heat to boiling over medium-high heat (5-7 minutes).

When sugar is dissolved, reduce heat to medium until you have a slow but moderate boil. Maintain heat until a candy thermometer reaches 250° F (about 20 minutes). If you don't have a candy thermometer drop a small amount of sugar mixture into very cold water. It should separate into threads which are hard but not brittle.

Remove saucepan from heat and add vanilla. Pour the syrup mixture over hot popcorn and stir quickly to coat all popcorn evenly. Allow to cool slightly until it's cool enough to handle. With buttered hands, quickly shape the mixture into balls about 3 inches in diameter. Place each ball on a cookie sheet sprayed with nonstick spray.

Ghosties

Crumple up a piece of tissue paper into a ball. Place it into the center of a flat piece of tissue paper. Pick up the corners of the flat tissue and twist it around the ball. Tie a twist tie or a piece of string around the ghosts's neck. Draw a face with a felt pen. You can hang them up all over the house! You can also glue on yarn, and make a black hat and cape from colored paper to make a witch!

Black Garbage Bag Spooky Cats

Black Plastic Garbage Bags

Newspaper

Rubber Bands

Black Tape

Orange Constructionion Paper

String

Place a rubber band tightly around the each corner of a garbage bag, about5" from the end. Stuff the garbage bag with crumpled newspaper. Rubber band off to form the head. Spread open the banded off sections of the bag and tape down part of each to form the ears.

Cut the bottom of the bag up to the rubber band every 3" to for strearmers.

Cut out face features and apply to the head of the cat. Cut a small hole in head at the top and tape a loop of string for hanging your cat.

Make a Decorative Pumpkin

Choose several pumpkins of various sizes. Use a stencil or cookie cutter to create patterns on each one. Stars, triangles, moon shapes, black cats, witches hats. Use metal cookie cutters to outline the pattern on a hollowed-out pumpkin by first pushing the cookie cutter into the outer hull. Then use a sharp pairing knife to cut through and push out the shape. To illuminate the pumpkins place small, non-aromatic votive candles in holders. Place at least one votive candle holder inside each pumpkin to make refilling melted candles an easy task.

Make a Tombstone

Cut shapes from blocks of stryofoam with a sharp knife or coping saw. Mark out lettering with a pencil and carve them in a vee shape groove with an exacto knife. Spray with grey paint, primer makes a good dull finish. Highlight the letters with black paint or marking pen.

Stryrofoam may be bought at building supply outlets as insulation, or it can be salvaged from the packaging of fragile goods. Even hollowed out bits will work if they have a solid face on the back.

Make A Mummy

Object of the Game: The first team to wrap their mummy wins!

What You Do: Divide the children into small groups 4 children is a good number, one for the mummy, three to wrap. The object is for each group to wrap their mummy faster than the other groups . You can have a winner for the best mummy or a race for the fastest mummy wrapped, or no winner at all.

The first group to get their mummy wrapped wins the game but make it a rule that they have to wrap nicely. Keep the eyes, mouth and nose uncovered.

What You Need: Lots of toilet paper. Try looking at a discount supply store .

Pass The Pumpkin

Object of the Game: This game is played in teams that race to be the first to pass the miniature pumpkins without using their hands.

What You Do: Pick teams of about six to eight people and have them stand in a line. You can go boy-girl or random. For a teen party, boy/girl maybe a great ice breaker for the kids. Each team gets a mini pumpkin which the first person places under their chin. The mini pumpkin is passed down the line, person to person by holding it under their chin and passing it this way, no hands allowed!! The person holding the mini pumpkin can stand in front of the next person for easier passing. All teams start at the same time, first team to get their pumpkin to the end of the row and back again to the starting person is the winner.

What You Need: Miniature pumpkins.


MAKING JACK O' LANTERNS


Just take a golden pumpkin

Of quite the largest size,

Cut all 'round the stem, just so,

Scrape out the inside below,

And cut two holes for eyes.

And now fix a nose beneath,

And such a great big mouth with teeth,

And you've a jack-o'-lantern!

Then fix a tallow candle,

Just big enough to light,

And when it flickers, see him blink,

And when it flares up, see him wink

And smile so broad and bright.

This is the jolliest sort of a fellow,

With cheery face so round and yellow,

This funny jack-o'-lantern.

-Anonymous