What You’ll Need:
*1 package German Chocolate Cake mix
*1 package white cake mix
*2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
*Milk
*Eggs
*Vegetable oil
*1 (12 ounce) package vanilla sandwich cookies
*3 drops green food coloring
*1 (12 ounce) package tootsie rolls

How to Make It:
1. Prepare both cake mixes and bake according to package directions. You can use any size pan that you’d like – it doesn’t matter with this recipe.

2. Prepare the vanilla pudding according to package directions. Cover and chill until the cake is ready to assemble.

3. Crumble sandwich cookies in small batches in a food processor, scraping often. Set all but 1/4 cup aside.

4. Add a few drops of green food coloring and mix in the 1/4 cup of crumbled sandwich cookies.

5. Once the cakes have cooled to room temperature crumble both in a large bowl.

6. Toss the crumbled cakes with 1/2 of the remaining cookie crumbs and the chilled pudding. Be careful about how much pudding you add to the mixture; you want the cake to be moist, not soggy.

7. Put the cake mixture into the box.

8. Place half of the unwrapped tootsie rolls in a microwave safe dish and heat until softened. Shape the ends of the tootsie rolls so they are no longer blunt. Curve the tootsie rolls slightly. Bury the tootsie rolls randomly in the cake and sprinkle with half of the remaining cookie crumbs.

9. Sprinkle a small amount of the green colored cookie crumbs lightly over the top.

10. Heat 3 or 4 of the tootsie rolls in the microwave until almost melted. Place them on top of the cake and sprinkle lightly with some of the green cookie crumbs.

11. Place the kitty poop scooper in the mixture for a truly ghastly Halloween dessert.

Recipe courtesy allrecipes.com.

One of the more popular ideas that is hitting the Halloween party circuit is to host a Trunk or Treat party. This party is conducted outdoors. Cars line up in a parking lot. Their trunks are open and decorated for the occasion. The kids can travel from car to car to collect candy. The advantage of this is that the party is out in the open, and parents can watch their kids at all times. Parents also have ready access to the candy gathered by their children. This is a safe way for children to get in some trick or treating fun without visiting strange houses.

Another safe Halloween party is to attend a Halloween fair. These fairs are conducted outdoors. Many organizations are hosting these type of parties. These fairs contain lots of food, games, and prizes. Some of them are even free to attend depending on who is hosting them. You will need to check your local area for more information regarding who is hosting the fair.

A Halloween party at someone’s house isn’t always a good idea, especially if there are going to be lots of guests of all ages. Instead choose a Halloween party that is specifically geared toward younger children. The decorations should be toned down, the games should be very simple, and the floor plan should be open enough so that you can easily keep an eye on your child. Save the adult parties for later when you have a babysitter available.

Young children are easily scared when the line blurs between make believe and real life, but younger kids can still have a lot of fun when it comes to Halloween. They don’t need to be scared, but they do need a safe place to have fun.

Creating Jack-O-Lanterns is a much-loved Halloween tradition. This year, make it an even more special occasion by inviting friends and family over and turning your pumpkin carving into a party.

The best location for this event is outside, since pumpkin carving can get messy, espcially if kids are around. Luckily, fall weather is usually perfect for outdoor events. You should plan to have the party when there are still several hours of daylight, so there will be good lighting for safe cutting.

Create invitations with construction paper. Trace jack-o-lanterns on orange paper, cut them out, and glue them onto blank cards. Unless you have a big budget, and you plan to buy all the pumpkins and carving supplies, ask guests to bring their own. If you have time, you can do a little research on pumpkin carving, and write advice on pumpkin selection, and the best places to get carving supplies in your area.

To prepare for the party, find jack-o-lantern patterns online or in books, and make copies to share. Choose both simple and more advanced designs, so both kids and adults can find something that works for them.

Look for pumpkin recipes when planning refreshments for your guests. Pumpkin pie is a favorite that will appeal to many, while pumpkin filled dumplings, pumpkin cupcakes, and pumpkin soups are other options. For drinks, consider spiced teas or apple cider.

On the day of the party, gather indoor or outdoor tables, or find a good location at a park with ample picnic tables. Get some old newspapers, and tape them down with masking tape to provide protection from pumpkin flesh and seeds.  This will also help with clean up. Distribute carving patterns, and get carving!

Once everyone is finished with their pumpkin projects, clean up and collect seeds in plastic baggies. Send each guest home with their pumpkin seeds, along with pumpkin seed recipes.

The Theme

Depending on the age of your party-goers, you will want to decide whether this is a costume party.  For younger children, wearing costumes may put them at risk of being damaged or stained beforehand.  For older kids, it may be an easier way to have the kids ready for trick or treating.  A houseful of teens (or preteens) needing to primp and apply makeup could be overwhelming.

The Decor

Most likely if you are celebrating Halloween, your house is ready for the holiday.  If you have purchased pumpkins to decorate, you either can carve them before the party or save carving as a party activity.  Purchase some orange or black plates and napkins for serving food, and you are ready for the occasion.

The Food

The kids will be getting their fill of sugar from trick or treating, so try to avoid that on the party menu.  However, you still can serve fun food!  Pick a theme, such as orange foods or pumpkins dishes.  Here are a few Halloween-themed, healthy ideas:

• carrot sticks and dip
• slices of orange cheddar cheese and crackers
• roasted pumpkin seeds
• pumpkin bread
• orange slices
• homemade mac & cheese (made with orange cheeses)

The Activities

As mentioned previously, carving pumpkins can be fun.  If you have younger children, make sure you purchase safety carving tools.  For all carvers, have a few old shirts on hand to use as aprons.  Other fun activities include:

• Pin the hat on the scarecrow
• Guess the number of candy corns
• Witch- Played like Bingo, but with the word Witch being at the top of the page.
• Decorate your trick or treat bag- Purchase inexpensive white pillowcases and decorate with permanent markers.

Here’s her original (adults-only) recipe:

Butterbeer

1 cup butterscotch schnapps
7 cups cream soda (almost one 2 liter bottle)

Carefully mix just before serving, adding the schnapps to the soda then stirring gently to mix well, or the fizz will dissipate too soon. Makes two quarts.

Britta says you can also use butterscotch flavoring, but that’s actually higher in alcohol than the schnapps! She says the alcohol content in this recipe is “just enough to make a house-elf tipsy and to give it the warm, buttery aftertaste.”

There’s no need to let your house-elf get tipsy, or to leave him out of the beerfest, though. Here’s a non-alcoholic recipe for elves and, oh yeah, children:

Butterbeer Light

1 cup sugar-free butterscotch or English Toffee flavoring syrup (Torani’s or similar)
7 cups diet cream soda (almost one 2 liter bottle)

Carefully mix just before serving, adding the butterscotch flavoring to the soda then stirring gently to mix well, or the fizz will dissipate too soon. To keep butterbeer on hand, pour 1 cup cream soda out of the 2-liter bottle, quickly add 1 cup butterscotch flavoring, and recap the bottle. Completely sugar-free and alcohol-free!

Pumpkin juice is another popular drink in the books, and it’s easy to make.

Just bake your used Halloween pumpkin on a cookie sheet in the oven for an hour or two until it’s soft. (If it’s not carved, cut it in half to prevent explosions.) As the juice separates from the flesh, spoon it off and save it. When the flesh is cooked, put it in a strainer over a container and press the juice out with a spoon. This also gives you a good solid purée for pumpkin pie.

Britta says she tried flavoring the juice with pumpkin pie spice, but it tastes better plain — it’s “a bit like iced tea.”

For more recipes, visit her Hogwarts Celebrations site.

1. Use some bowls:

• If you have colorful fall leaves where you live, gather a bagful of the  most beautiful leaves.  Choose a large bowl, perhaps a clear crystal bowl or a fall-colored ceramic bowl, and fill it with the leaves.  Place in the center of your table.
• If you are handing out candy that is small, such as candy corns or Halloween colored M&Ms, use a few bags for decorations.  Take a few small glass bowls, fill them with the candies and cluster the bowls in the center of the table.  (Don’t eat these candies, they are for decorative purposes only!)

2. Borrow from your kids:

• If your child has a trick or treat bucket, it is the perfect instant centerpiece.  Filled with napkins for dinner, a jack o’lantern or ghost bucket is a simple way to add some Halloween feel.
• Use a part of your child’s costume.  If your child wore a costume with a small and decorative accessory, it could make a great decoration, such as a witch’s hat or a devil’s tail.

3. Look in your pantry

• Remember the peck of apples you bought for lunches?  Set them on a placemat or in a bowl in the center of your table.
• The winter squash that you purchased at the farmstand can be used as a centerpiece also.  Place the squash in the middle of the table and surround it with a few leaves.

No need to do any extra shopping.  Just do a little looking within your home and yard, and you can have your dining room table ready for Halloween!

You do have to give out something — but if you don’t want to add to the sugar in your neighbors’ kids’ systems, or you just want to be a little different, there are lots of alternatives:

• Small bags of chips. You can buy these in bulk, and if any are left over, put them in someone’s lunch.
• Small toys from the dollar store, suggests Kristina Porter-Root.
• Juice boxes and small packs of crackers. These also worked as loot bag treats for my October 30th baby’s birthday parties. I wasn’t about to alienate the other moms by giving their kids candy the day before Halloween.
• “Coupon books for household chores/rewards,” says IdeaOffer reader paradux. This is a treat for parents, too.
• McDonald’s gift certificates were given out by “one really kind” elderly lady, Diana Smith recalls. She also suggests individually wrapped candy apples.
• Real-fruit gummies, recommends reader JACONNI. “This is still candy, but it’s healthier.”
• One woman I heard of gave out homemade treats — in bags with return address labels to cut down on the sad but understandable distrust caused by anything that’s not commercially packaged. Though, as Kristina Porter-Root recalls, “I always hated getting popcorn balls or homemade food for Halloween because it always smelled like the person’s home.”

To stand out as a treat-giver without spreading the scent of your home all over town, make the presentation a little different. JACONNI says: “I remember one time there was a box covered in black cloth, and we had to stick our hand in one by one to grab a hand full–i got a top, a spider plastic ring, and lifesavers gummies . . . I was more interested in the toys.”

Halloween doesn’t have to be about candy — it just has to be fun.

Big Baby

All you need are pajamas, a teddy bear and a pacifier. Add a bonnet for a full effect.

Barbie

Wear anything pink: pink dress, pink pants, pink top, pink jacket, pink shoes, pink hat. And add pink make-up and a long, blonde wig and you’re good to go.

Biker

Wear a black leather jacket or leather vest, leather or black pants and a T-shirt (plain or with some hardcore logo). Complete the outfit with black, leather shoes, studded belts, black gloves and sunglasses. Don’t forget to add your temporary tattoos.

Bride Of Frankenstein

Use black nightgowns and layer it on top of each other. Take a heavier black dress and create a cape out of it. Keep your hair back and painted black and white. Put white face paint on your face and you’re good to go!

Frenchman

Wear a black and white horizontally-striped shirt, black pants, black shoes and a black beret. Top it off with a red scarf on the neck and a french bread in hand.

Tacky Tourist

Wear the loudest outfit you can find. This usually consists of bright Hawaiian shirts and shorts (Hawaiian prints on shorts are optional, and they have to be white). Put thick sunblock on nose, wear black wire-rimmed glasses, a sombrero, socks and sandals and a digital camera on your neck.

Car Crash Victim

Pick an old shirt and drive over it to create tire smudges. Use crutches on one arm and put a sling on the other. Add cuts, bruises and blood on the face.

What other costumes can you think of?

Here’s a few costume ideas that you can make for yourself.

Scarecrow

Here’s what you need: an oversized flannel shirt, faded jeans with patches, a rope as belt and to tie the cuffs of the jeans and sleeves. Make sure to have some straw hanging out of your jeans and shirt.

Old Man

Wear dark trousers, dark jacket and a dress shirt. Add a little gray or white to your hair by dusting a small amount of flour on it. Walk with a cane.

Old Woman

Wear a long, old-fashioned dress just below the knee, knee-high stockings rolled down a bit and oxfords. And don’t forget your long black purse, walking cane, and glasses with straps. Don’t forget to gray up your hair, too!

Chippendale Dancer (Male)

Put on black pants, a black bowtie, white wrist cuffs with a black ribbon around it. If you don’t have well-defined abs, use a pencil, washable markers or make-up to draw yourself some six-packs. And don’t forget the $1 bills sticking out of your pants.

Laundry Basket

Cut out the bottom of a laundry linen bag and sew or glue wicker panels on the sides. Add shoulder straps so you can wear it easily. Don’t forget to add different kinds of clothes on the side. Secure them with a safety pin so they don’t fall off.

Alvin And The Chipmunks

This is easy. Decide on which chipmunk you want to use. Then get a long, loose dress or a Snuggie or a bunch of fabric sewn together. If it’s Simon, get a blue one and wear round-rimmed glasses. If it’s Theodore, wear green. If it’s Alvin, wear a red one and sew a big, yellow A in front.

What do you think? Do you have a costume in mind now? If you have any more suggestions, add them in the comments. Stay tuned for more homemade Halloween costume ideas!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck6f8WKtYmk[/youtube]