HALLOWEEEN PARTY PREP

This year we deiced not to go to Saskatoon for our annual Halloween trip, since we were just there for a wedding and all. So I plan on throwing a party to remember! The kids can invite their friends and Tod and I will invite ours. Grandparents too! We will decorate inside and outside, have tasty treats and play scary/fun games. We always carve pumpkins and dress up.

I've been Lady Gaga, a cat, Laura Croft, Poison Ivy, a hula dancer, a show girl....and that's as far back as I can remember. This year I want to be Cleopatra or a vampire. Seth wants to be the grim reaper and I'm sure Tod will be a punk rocker, like he is every year :P Chloe wants to be a doll and Kyri will be whatever we can find for her size.


I've been searching online for games and decor/craft ideas. We have tons of Halloween spiders, cob webs, bloody limbs, and wall pictures to hang from all the years of decorating. I found this cool game online that the kinds will love. It involves sticking your feet in a pile of spaghetti noddles (brains) and trying to pick up the marbles (eye balls) with your toes. I am going to blind fold the kids too, leaves more up to the imagination.

Here are some Frankenweenie Halloween Invitations to print out.

Cool outside decor idea. I really like the stuffed monster! My dad used to lay on our front porch, acting as a stuffed pumpkin-headed man, then when the kids would come to our door he would move and freak the kids out! BOO! So awesome.

Another thing that Tod and I discussed is that we want to have a party without sugar. It is becoming more known to the public how toxic and dangerous sugar really is. We agree as parents that we are going to let our children go door to door and participate in the fun of 'trick or treating' but they will be throwing their candy out and eating the treats that I make them. I will be cooking a healthy dinner full of vegetables and healthy grains. Check out some of my recipes here. I will be dehydrated fruit-roll ups made from fruit and honey, granola bars made from nuts, seeds and maple syrups, muffins and cupcakes made with honey and also snacks like guacamole, salsa and chips, and vegan 'cheesie' kale chips. The kids will love them and they will feel good through out the night and the next day. Our children's school doesn't allow Halloween snacks. In fact they send home a flier talking about the harms of sugar. It effects them in a number of ways, such as their ability to focus in class, their teeth get cavities, there is more garbage waste, the kids get sticky and other kids get jealous. I am very grateful for that rule. 

There are plenty of SUGAR SUBSTITUTES such as 100% pure maple syrup, unpasteurised honey, brown rice syrup, agave nectar, stevia, unsweetened apple sauce & coconut nectar. (Organic sugar, organic sugar cane and organic evaporated cane juice are still harmful to the body and should not be eaten. Check ingredients even when you shop at your local health foods store.)

Food I want to prepare:

• Salsa and Guacamole. Guac recipe here.
• Peanut Butter Nanaimo Bars. Recipe here.
• Spinach Quinoa Walnut Muffins. Recipe here.
• Fruit Roll Ups. Recipe here.
• Apple Cider 
• Rice Puff Squares. Recipe here.
• Chocolate Chip Cookies. Recipe here.
• Caramel Apples. Recipe here.
• Raw Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake. Recipe here.
• Gingerbread Caremel Popcorn. Recipe here. I will sub in maple syrup for the brown sugar.

50 simple Halloween Ideas & Crafts here for kids.

My favourite Halloween game to play is where you write a bunch of Halloween words on a white board or a large piece of paper. Hang it up for everyone to see. Words such as Vampire, Blood, Michael Jackson, Monster, Thriller, Trick-or-Treat, etc. The rule is DO NOT SAY THESE WORDS. If you do, you get a punishment. Take a to do paper out of a bucket. Punishments such as Sing a song, hop on one leg for the rest of the night or get spanked by the person on your right will be in the bucket. Make them up and get everyone to play along. It's hilarious! I'm pretty sure it's called No-No!

Get the kids to help cut and decorate the house. There are plenty of bat and other halloween themed stencils online. There are plenty of ideas on pinterest aswell. 

We are definitely going to be bobbing for apples! The best costume will get a prize. I am excited to play the Monster Mash and dance with everyone. 

I have lots of lanterns that I am excited to use outside. Add a bit of leaves, pumpkins and candles and it will look very festive!

We love carving pumpkins. The kids research faces that they want to cut out online and then they print it out, trace it on and start cutting. I always help Seth. Here are some to choose from. Saving pumpkin seeds? Here is a great way to roast them.

A painted pumpkin with a small vase inside with some flowers is a cool idea!

Free Banner here.

NOTE* Make sure as a family you have a nice quiet HEALTHY dinner together before the kids go out trick or treating. Sugar is very harmful to children so if you have decided to let your children participate then how about letting them eat a couple then throwing the rest out? Refined sugar causes cavities, increases blood sugar level which causes an insulin spike, causes obesity and diabetes, and gives children a high, the same as cocaine would (The effects on the brain are very similar). Here is a site to help with healthy dinner ideas.