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Thu, 09/18/2008 - 1:09pm
GateHouse News Service
When planning a Halloween party, it is best to consider the ages of all goblins that will be attending. Adults and children may both love the fun of Halloween, but the fright factor will be different. Once you have established your guest list, you can start to plan "tricks or treats."
For tricks, start the guests off by having a "frightening fashion show" where they walk down a red carpet to show their costumes. Cover the carpet with spiders and webs and, if everyone is brave enough, turn the lights down low. Be sure to play some ghoulishly good music, such as "The Monster Mash," so that your party ghosts and princesses can get into the spirit.
Follow up the fashion show with a few games, such as pass the pumpkin or bobbing for apples. If guests will be heading out for candy, be sure to feed them a selection of healthy treats. Why not start with deviled eggs? The incredible edible deviled egg is a party favorite and fits perfectly into a Halloween theme. The high quality protein from the egg will help witches and mummies feel full longer, which could help minimize their munching on candy. Deviled eggs are also the perfect appetizer before serving a Halloween meal such as "creepy crawly chili" (chili topped with gummy worms) and "tombstone tossed salad" (decorate the salad bowls with funny tombstones). For a deviled egg recipe, see Kids Kitchen below. (ARA)
Kids Kitchen: Mystery Pirate Ships
6 hard-cooked eggs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 package (2.5 ounces) smoked sliced, chopped, pressed, cooked ham
12 green olives, optional
Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks. Set whites aside. Place yolks in a one-quart plastic food storage bag. Add mayonnaise, relish and mustard. Press out air. Close bag. Press and roll bag until yolk mixture is thoroughly blended. Push yolk mixture toward bottom corner of bag. Snip off about 1/2 inch of the bag corner. Squeezing bag gently from the top, fill reserved whites with yolk mixture. Place each filled egg on one ham slice. Turn two opposite corners up over the yolk mixture and gently press. For masts and flags, stick wooden picks topped with olives into the boats, if desired. Chill to blend. Yields: Six servings. (ARA)
Family Screening Room
“Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys”
Rated: PG-13 (for thematic material, sexual references and brief violence)
Length: 1:51
Synopsis: Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard star as the matriarchs of two very different families being torn apart by greed and scandal. The sixth feature film by Tyler Perry chronicles the inner workings of two families -- one upper-crust and the other working-class -- that become inextricably linked by scandal.
Violence/gore rating: 3
Sexual-content rating: 4
Profanity rating: 3.5
Scary/tense-moments rating: 3
Drugs/alcohol rating: 3
Family Time rating: 3.5. While this film isn’t a horrible PG-13, it definitely is for those 13 and older.
(Ratings are judged on a five-point scale, with 5 being “bad for kids” and 1 being “fine for kids.”)
Book Report
“Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes,” by Mem Fox (author), Helen Oxenbury (illustrator)
Pages: 40
Ages: 4 to 8
As everyone knows, nothing is sweeter than tiny baby fingers and chubby baby toes. And here is a celebration of baby fingers and baby toes and the joy they -- and the babies they belong to -- bring to everyone. This is a gorgeously simple picture book for very young children, and once you finish the rhythmic, rhyming text, you’ll want to read it again.
Play Inside: “Disney Pictionary DVD Game”
Ages: 7 and older
Speed, not artistry, is the key to “Pictionary” games aimed at the younger set. Playing out like charades except by drawing on paper rather than flailing around, this party game has been popular for more than 20 years now. The Disney DVD version is geared toward kids and has been created with hundreds of characters, places and things from the vaults of Disney. There are hundreds of animated clues on the DVD, and the game offers two play levels. When younger children are included, level one uses classic Disney animation. Level two features more recent Disney movies as well as Pixar animation for an added challenge.
Pet Tip: Purr-fect pet photos
Want to take perfect photos of your pets? Here are some tips from the Human Society. To read more about pet pics, go to www.hsus.org.
- Lighting: Take photos outdoors instead of indoors. And make sure the sun is at your back.
- Another benefit to the outdoors is that your dog will “pose” in a variety of ways just listening to and smelling things (make sure he or she is tied up).
- Lie down so your photos will be at the same level as your pet.
- Take as many photos as you can.
Family Time: Plan your monster bash now
GateHouse News Service
When planning a Halloween party, it is best to consider the ages of all goblins that will be attending. Adults and children may both love the fun of Halloween, but the fright factor will be different. Once you have established your guest list, you can start to plan "tricks or treats."
For tricks, start the guests off by having a "frightening fashion show" where they walk down a red carpet to show their costumes. Cover the carpet with spiders and webs and, if everyone is brave enough, turn the lights down low. Be sure to play some ghoulishly good music, such as "The Monster Mash," so that your party ghosts and princesses can get into the spirit.
Follow up the fashion show with a few games, such as pass the pumpkin or bobbing for apples. If guests will be heading out for candy, be sure to feed them a selection of healthy treats. Why not start with deviled eggs? The incredible edible deviled egg is a party favorite and fits perfectly into a Halloween theme. The high quality protein from the egg will help witches and mummies feel full longer, which could help minimize their munching on candy. Deviled eggs are also the perfect appetizer before serving a Halloween meal such as "creepy crawly chili" (chili topped with gummy worms) and "tombstone tossed salad" (decorate the salad bowls with funny tombstones). For a deviled egg recipe, see Kids Kitchen below. (ARA)
Kids Kitchen: Mystery Pirate Ships
6 hard-cooked eggs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 package (2.5 ounces) smoked sliced, chopped, pressed, cooked ham
12 green olives, optional
Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks. Set whites aside. Place yolks in a one-quart plastic food storage bag. Add mayonnaise, relish and mustard. Press out air. Close bag. Press and roll bag until yolk mixture is thoroughly blended. Push yolk mixture toward bottom corner of bag. Snip off about 1/2 inch of the bag corner. Squeezing bag gently from the top, fill reserved whites with yolk mixture. Place each filled egg on one ham slice. Turn two opposite corners up over the yolk mixture and gently press. For masts and flags, stick wooden picks topped with olives into the boats, if desired. Chill to blend. Yields: Six servings. (ARA)Family Screening Room
“Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys”
Rated: PG-13 (for thematic material, sexual references and brief violence)
Length: 1:51
Synopsis: Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard star as the matriarchs of two very different families being torn apart by greed and scandal. The sixth feature film by Tyler Perry chronicles the inner workings of two families -- one upper-crust and the other working-class -- that become inextricably linked by scandal.
Violence/gore rating: 3
Sexual-content rating: 4
Profanity rating: 3.5
Scary/tense-moments rating: 3
Drugs/alcohol rating: 3
Family Time rating: 3.5. While this film isn’t a horrible PG-13, it definitely is for those 13 and older.
(Ratings are judged on a five-point scale, with 5 being “bad for kids” and 1 being “fine for kids.”)
Book Report
“Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes,” by Mem Fox (author), Helen Oxenbury (illustrator)
Pages: 40
Ages: 4 to 8
As everyone knows, nothing is sweeter than tiny baby fingers and chubby baby toes. And here is a celebration of baby fingers and baby toes and the joy they -- and the babies they belong to -- bring to everyone. This is a gorgeously simple picture book for very young children, and once you finish the rhythmic, rhyming text, you’ll want to read it again.
Play Inside: “Disney Pictionary DVD Game”
Ages: 7 and older
Speed, not artistry, is the key to “Pictionary” games aimed at the younger set. Playing out like charades except by drawing on paper rather than flailing around, this party game has been popular for more than 20 years now. The Disney DVD version is geared toward kids and has been created with hundreds of characters, places and things from the vaults of Disney. There are hundreds of animated clues on the DVD, and the game offers two play levels. When younger children are included, level one uses classic Disney animation. Level two features more recent Disney movies as well as Pixar animation for an added challenge.
Pet Tip: Purr-fect pet photos
Want to take perfect photos of your pets? Here are some tips from the Human Society. To read more about pet pics, go to www.hsus.org.
- Lighting: Take photos outdoors instead of indoors. And make sure the sun is at your back.
- Another benefit to the outdoors is that your dog will “pose” in a variety of ways just listening to and smelling things (make sure he or she is tied up).
- Lie down so your photos will be at the same level as your pet.
- Take as many photos as you can.
