Before we start the tutorial, let me share Grammy’s Rules for Slime!

1.  Wherever we make the slime, it cannot be over carpet. Kids need to sit on the floor or on a chair that has no carpet underneath.

2. Any cute little child with long hair, must have it back in a pony tail.

3. And lastly, slime can only be played with in a room without carpet! (There’s that carpet again)  No taking slime into a bedroom. 

As long as those rules can be followed, then this Grammy is ready to make slime!  Let’s start with the ingredients.  The ingredients listed below will make ONE batch.  So if you want all three colors, you’ll need to adjust quantities.

6 ounces of white Elmer’s glue, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 1/2 tablespoons contact lens solution (this solution must have boric acid in it for the slime to work).  Lastly you can add 2 tablespoons of water to your glue before the baking powder if you’d like your slime to be a little stretchier.

For the green slime, you’ll need 6 ounces of Elmer’s green glitter glue

For the orange slime, you will need some orange food coloring.

Also needed will be some small glass jars, googley eyes, a sheet of black felt, scissors and some type of adhesive – glue dots, tacky glue or a glue gun (Use glue gun only with adult supervision)

Now we are ready to start!  Squeeze all of the 6 ounces of glue into a small bowl.  We are showing the green glitter as our example.

If you are adding water, do that step now. Mix well. 

NOTE:  If you are making the orange slime, add the food coloring now to the white glue mix to make it orange.

Then add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda into the glue.

Next it is time to add the contact lens solution

Start to mix everything together.   This part may be challenging for some kids and adult supervision might be required.  If the mixture is too sticky add a little more contact lens solution. When the mixture is looking fairly solid, let your kids knead it until everything is thoroughly blended and it is looking like slime!

Next cut out the jar’s facial features out of the black felt.

We just eyeballed what we wanted and then cut those shapes out. Then with whatever kind of glue you are using, glue them on along with the googley eyes.  If using a glue gun, we recommend adult supervision.

After playing with the slime, place slime in your Halloween Slim Jar for easy storage.

See?  Making this Halloween Slime is not so bad!

If you still aren’t up to making slime, try these fun Halloween Crafts!

Salt Art Spider Web Craft

Coffee Filter Halloween Bats

The post Halloween Slime Jars appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

I love making any kind of craft with my grandkids with items that I already have around in my house.   These Cat and Pumpkin Halloween Masks are perfect for that. 

Using paper plates and either construction or cardstock paper, I can have these ready for my grandkids to make in a jiffy.  Here is what you will need:

Paper plates, some colorful cardstock paper, pen or pencil, scissors, a hole punch, tacky glue or gluestick, orange and black acrylic paint, and a foam brush.  Also needed is a straw, dowel or pipe cleaner to help hold up the mask. We used a dowel.  You will also need this free template compliments of Oh Happy Day!   Click HERE for template.

Start by painting the back of the paper plate with the orange and black paint.

While the paint is drying, cut out the shapes from the template.

With your pen or pencil, trace the shapes on to the back of the colored paper as desired.

Cut out the shapes that you just traced.

Trace two circles for the eyes and then cut them out.

Glue the shapes on to the front of your mask.

Using the hole punch, punch some holes for the cat’s whiskers. Then glue them on.

Because we used a dowel for our support, we glued them on with a glue gun.  A straw or pipe cleaner will also work.  If you choose to use a dowel, make sure any children who use a glue gun uses it with adult supervision.

And now it’s time to play!  These Cat and Pumpkin Halloween Masks will provide HOURS of entertainment and play for your kids and grandkids.

Happy Halloween!

We’ve got some more super fun Halloween Crafts for you.  Take a look!

Sparkle Spiders

Coffee Filter Bats

Salt Art Spider Web Craft

The post Cat and Pumpkin Halloween Masks appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

This craft is a good one for littler kids since it requires just a little cutting and some gluing and then you have a fun spider to hang. 

The items that you will need for the craft are:

Sparkle paper (9 x 12) found in most craft stores,  googley eyes in different sizes, 4 pipe cleaners per spider (we used sparkly ones),  scissors, stapler, paper hole punch and some glue.  We used a glue gun but regular liquid glue will also work.  

First start out by tracing a circle on the back side of your paper.  Using a bowl or a plate works great for this.

Cut your circle out.

Take your four pipe cleaners or chenille stems and fold them in half.  Then cut at the fold to make four stems of the same size for the legs.

After cutting the pipe cleaners, make a little bend in them at around the 1/3 mark to create the legs.

Now you can either staple the legs on to the spider or if you are using a glue gun (with adult supervision) you can glue the legs on. Glue four legs on each side of the spider.

Face side up, with liquid glue or a glue gun, glue the googley eyes on. We used 8 eyes per spider.  Anywhere your kids want to glue the eyes on is fair game!

Next make a hole at the “top” of your spider with the hole puncher. Tie some yarn through the hole and you are ready to decorate your house with some Halloween sparkly glam!

Sparkly Spookiness!

I promise that your kids and grandkids will be so proud of their glittery creations!

Looking for more Halloween Crafts?

Coffee Filter Halloween Bats

Salt Art Spider Web

The post Sparkle Spider Halloween Craft appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

Turning a holiday into any kind of party is my favorite thing to do with my grandkids. Just some little extra touches can make holidays very memorable for little ones.  This Halloween Drink is a perfect example. 

On a scale of 1-10 for easiness, I would have to say this scores a 1, being super easy but delivers a 10 as far as “wow” power for little kids.

Print

Halloween Drink

Course Drink

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 minute minute

Total Time 6 minutes minutes

Servings 2 -8

Author TGIF - This Grandma Is Fun

Ingredients

• Fun Halloween bottles or cups
• Sports drink gatorade or other fruit juice
• Lemon-lime soda
• Orange or Lime Sherbet
• Optional Additions
• Gummy candy

Instructions

• Add scoops of sherbet to glass
• 
• Pour sports drink over sherbet until glass is about ¾ full
• 
• Fill the rest of the glass with lemon-lime soda
• 
• Add in gummy candies if you desire
• Some fun straws make a great addition!
• 

Notes

This can also be made into large batches for parties

You can use some plastic halloween cups that you can purchase from The Dollar Tree.  Or you can also grab these glass milk bottles below.  They are great to use for other holidays.

Just add some cute stickers and you are ready to go! 

And if you are looking for another drink recipe for Halloween, we’ve got some fun ones for you right here:

Polyjuice Potion

Bloody Shirley Temples

Halloween Hot Chocolate

The Bloody Shirley Temples are great for older kids.  I can promise that they will want to help make their own and won’t soon forget that they drank their Halloween Drink with hospital syringes! 

Happy Halloween!

The post Halloween Drink appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

Today’s Halloween craft is incredibly easy but these are also so fun to decorate your home with.  We’ve made our monsters plain and easy to paint but let your kids use their imagination if they want to make them spookier.

Here are the items you will need for this project:

Blank Canvas frames.  You can use any size that you want and they are easily found at Wal-mart, Michael’s and Hobby Lobby.  You will also need foam paint brushes, black sharpie marker, and then some white, black, orange, green and purple acrylic paints.

To make the pumpkin picture, take a foam brush and cover the entire canvas with orange paint.  Let dry completely.

After this has dried, take the black sharpie marker and make a Jack-O-Lantern face. Paint in the pumpkin’s face and let dry.

Obviously the ghost is super easy. You don’t need to paint the canvas white but you can if you’d like.  Take the black sharpie marker to make a ghost face and then paint with black paint.

Next is our Halloween Frankie.  With a foam brush, paint the entire canvas with a bright green paint.  Let dry completely.

Take the black sharpie marker and draw downward spikes for his hair.

Paint them in with some black paint.

Next, using the below picture, just free hand drawing Frankie’s face.  Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be perfect!  If your kids are old enough, let them draw this part themselves.  It will make their picture an original!

Now take the white paint and paint the eyes and tooth.

Last but not least is our one eyed monster.  On this one, you can have your kids follow our example or let them go crazy and create whatever kind of monster they want to make. 

For our one eyed monster, paint the entire canvas with a bright purple paint.

Using the sharpie marker, create a squiggly mouth and a large circle in the middle for the eye.  Use your white paint to fill in the eyes and tooth.  Let that dry then you can also add a black dot in the middle of the eye.

These are now ready to hang to make your house spooky for Halloween! 

Here are some more Halloween craft ideas to make your house even spookier!

Coffee Filter Bats

Cheesecloth Ghost Decoration

The post Monster on Canvas appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

These Mummy Calzones would have captured their attention and got them to eat before the sugar rush came!

Although this looks fancy, it is easier to make than you think.  I encourage you to try it as I know your kids will gobble it up and it will get some good food in their tummies before Halloween.  Just look.  It only takes about 15 minutes to prepare!

Print

Mummy Calzones

Course Dinner

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4 -6

Author Mummy Calzones

Ingredients

• Pizza dough refrigerated or homemade
• ¼ cup pizza sauce
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
• 1 egg for egg wash
• 1 black olive for eyes optional
• Cooked Sausage
• Pepperoni
• Cooked Bacon
• Any other favorite pizza toppings

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Roll pizza dough out onto large cookie sheet
• 
• Using a small spatula for guidelines, cut strips on both long sides of dough, leaving 2-3 inches in the center uncut
• 
• Spoon pizza sauce down the center
• 
• Add cheese
• 
• Then add pizza toppings and more cheese
• 
• Wrap the calzone beginning at the bottom and slightly criss crossing and overlapping the dough
• 
• In a small bowl, whisk together egg and 1 tablespoon water
• Brush egg wash over pizza dough
• 
• Bake for 25-30 or until golden brown
• Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes
• To serve as Mummy for Halloween, slice black olive to make eyes
• 

We promise that this will be a “Yummy Mummy” that your kids will love!

Here are two more SUPER fun Halloween recipes!

Bloody Shirley Temples

Halloween Hot Chocolate

The post Mummy Calzones appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

This summer, four of my grandkids came to our house for a week for Grammy’s Camp and we did this salt art activity.  The kids especially loved watching the paint colors bleed into the salt!  So it is kind of a science experiment/art activity and your kids will love it too.

Here is what you will need:

Construction Paper, pencil or a white pen, Elmer’s Glue, regular table salt, a soft brush and watercolor paints. 

We used black paper for this project but we have also done it on white.  Both will work but I think the black really makes the colors stand out.

Instructions:

Draw a dot with the pencil or pen to make the the center of the spider web. 

Then draw lines through that dot making them go all the way to the edge of the paper.   A ruler helps to make real straight lines, but you can also just draw these on your own. Space your lines farther apart rather than closer so there is room for the upcoming glue.

Next draw curved lines between the straight lines, connecting them to look like a web. Again, spacing the lines farther out from each other will help later when you use the glue.

With your glue, trace along all of the lines of the spider web being pretty liberal with your glue. 

While the glue is still wet, sprinkle your table salt on all of the spider web lines.  If your glue starts to dry, you can work in sections.  Glue a section, then sprinkle the salt.  Then repeat on another section.

Cover the glue lines generously!

Let the glue dry overnight then carefully remove the excess salt by lightly shaking the paper on it’s side. It should end up looking like this:

With your watercolor paints, dip your brush into the water and then the paints and then drop some color onto the salt. Do not brush the paint down a line of salt.  Just drop colored drops of water onto the salt. This is the part that my kids loved the best!  Watch how the color bleeds and moves down the line of salt. So fun!

Kids will want to make this Salt Art Halloween Web Craft over and over again! The good news is that you can make this with all sorts of designs.  I found a ton of lined designs on Pinterest for free that I just downloaded on white paper and then let the kids go.  This was a super great activity that I know your grandkids will love too!

Here are two more great Halloween ideas to make with your kids!

Coffee Filter Halloween Bats

Halloween Snack Mix

The post Salt Art Spider Web Craft appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

I have little grandkids who are pretty much obsessed with Halloween but at the same time are pretty scared to see Halloween decorations.

They will actually freak out and start to cry when they see the Target Halloween decorations up.  Then they will turn right back around and will say that Halloween is their favorite holiday and will want to read Halloween books.  Go Figure. Their mother (my daughter) and I think it’s hilarious.

However these Halloween Bats are not scary for them and hopefully they won’t be for your grandchildren either.  A fun and colorful Halloween decoration, kids will want to make a ton of these and then put them up all around the house.  What a cheap way to decorate!

Print

Coffee Filter Halloween Bats

Course Halloween

Author TGIF - This Grandma Is Fun

Ingredients

• Wooden Spring Clothespins
• Round Coffee Filters
• Assorted Googly Eyes
• Black Blue and Purple Washable Markers
• Tacky Glue
• Black Acrylic Paint
• Fine Paintbrush
• Black Cardstock
• Scissors
• White Gel Pen
• Spray bottle filled with water
• Brown Paper or plastic grocery bag

Instructions

• Flatten coffee filters out and then draw patterns with the blue, black, and purple washable markers.
• 
• After the coffee filters have been colored, place them on a brown paper or plastic grocery bag and then spray them with your water bottle to make the marker colors bleed. Let dry.
• Clip your clothespins onto a scrap of cardboard and paint all sides black. Let dry.
• 
• With your tacky glue, glue the eyes to clothespin. Let dry.
• 
• Draw mouth and teeth with white gel pen. Let dry.
• 
• Fold coffee filter in half, then in half again and then once more.
• Cut a scalloped edge.
• 
• Unfold the filter to where it is back to being folded in half. Cut a 3 inch slit up the middle. Do not cut all the way up and through the fold.
• 
• Cut little triangle ears from black cardstock and glue to clothespin. Let dry.
• 
• Pinch the coffee filter a little bit to make wings and then clip on the clothes pin.
• 

Have a fun and safe Halloween everyone!

Here are two of our most popular Halloween posts to complete your Halloween fun!

Bloody Shirley Temples (non-alcoholic!)

Polyjuice Potion

The post Coffee Filter Halloween Bats appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

Successful snack ideas also depend on letting my grandkids help make the treat.  This Halloween Snack Mix really fit the bill because it doesn’t need to look perfect.  Kids love dumping the items all over the pan.  And although it looks messy, it wasn’t really that messy to make which is another plus in my book!

Grandkids will love the amazing mix of goodies that go into this treat.  I have a ton of Halloween sprinkles so you can use up whatever is in your cupboard with this. But you might need to have them eat it at your house before mom comes to pick them up. 

Hey, it’s a grandmother’s right to spoil, right? 

Print

Halloween Snack Mix

Course Holiday

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 6 -8

Author TGIF - This Grandma Is Fun

Ingredients

• 5 cups Pretzels
• ½ cup Chocolate chips
• 3 cups Bugles
• 1 cup Pumpkins
• ½ cup Peanut M&Ms
• ½ cup M&Ms
• Additional Toppings
• Candy eyes
• Sprinkles
• Candy melts

Instructions

• In a large bowl combine the pretzels and bugles until well combined
• Spread mixture out on a baking sheet in to a even layer
• Add in the chocolate chips, pumpkins, and M&Ms
• Melt the candy melts per the instructions on the package.
• Drizzle on the melted candy melts
• Add on candy eyes and any additional sprinkles

And it is also a grandparents prerogative to be able to send the kids home after they eat said treats!  Truth.  It’s a rule.

This post is written in 2020 and I’m wondering if there will even be trick or treating this year.  Either way, I hope you have a safe Halloween with your little ghouls and goblins. 

Gosh we’ve got some other great Halloween Treats for you!  Check these out!

Halloween Candy Jars

Bloody Shirley Temples

Halloween Hot Chocolate

The post Halloween Snack Mix appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

If you’re planning on throwing the creepiest, ghastliest, most haunted, Monster Mashiest Halloween party ever, you’ll love this compilation! Here are 101 ideas to rock your Halloween party!

Time to create a little hocus-pocus with these enchanting witch ideas!

1. Melting Witch Hot Chocolate– If the melting witch scene from The Wizard of Oz made you oddly thirsty, you’ll love Southern Halloween Queen‘s delicious hot cocoa!

2. Witch’s Hair Pasta– Now, normally the goal is to avoid leaving hair in people’s food, but since it’s Halloween, we’ll make an exception with this recipe from Sprinkles and Sprouts.

3. Witch Hat Cookies– Make some magic of your own with Dizzy Busy and Hungry‘s cookie recipe!

4. Paper Cup Witch with Glowing Nose– Kids will love the erie glow from this craft by Non-Toy Gifts.

5. Witch Shoes– The real reason I wish I was a witch is not because of the magic (although that is pretty great!) and not even the flying around on a broom deal- it’s because of the shoes! Learn how to make these whimsical witch shoes from Abbigli!

6. Black Cat Softie Pattern– Every witch needs a cat! Sew your own with this cute tutorial from The Crafting Nook!

7. Paint Splat Witch’s Cauldron– Brew up some witchcraft with Glued to My Crafts‘s witch’s cauldron!

8. Easy Halloween Witch Costume for Girls– Chanel Moving Forward‘s witch costume is just right for little witches!

9. Spellbound Witch Makeup Tutorial– This makeup tutorial from Cup of Sprinkles is perfectly bewitching!

10. DIY Witch’s Broom– You’ve gotta get around somehow, right? Sincerely Sarah Anne‘s broom is no ordinary cleaning broom!

These spooky ghost ideas will scare your guests to death!

11. Cheesecloth Ghosts– You will love how easy and haunting this decoration is!

12. Nutter Butter Boos– Home Made Interest‘s nutter butter boos are the perfect fit for anyone holding a seance! Or, you know, a Halloween party.  

13. White Chocolate Coconut Apple– Nothing says, “Come visit us from the other side!” like these apples from Kicking It with Kelly!

14. Chocolate Strawberry Ghosts– If you’re looking for something both spooky and luxurious, check out Skip To My Lou‘s strawberry ghosts.

15. Boonanas– Sometimes, the amount of candy and sugar at Halloween time can be overwhelming. We found a solution! Check it out at Eating Richly!

16. Ghost Pizza– Rumor has it that the flavor of this pizza is so strong and wonderful, the otherworldly can almost taste it. Try this creepy recipe at  Taste of Home!

17. Ghost Bombs– We love this Halloween trick from Growing a Jeweled Rose!

18. Ghost Lollipops– We love how simple Momdot‘s ghost lollipops are! Sadly, we cannot recommend them for any real ghosts as they are sure to fall right through their spirit bodies. 

19. No-sew Ghost Costume– If you’re looking for an easy but spooky costume this Halloween, check out Gina Michelle‘s no-sew ghost.

20. DIY Easy Ghost Costume– Heather Handmade ‘s costume will make for a frightening hostess!

Throw a zombie jamboree with these great ideas!

21. Zombie Halloween Makeup Tutorial– Searching for a new daytime look? Try out Style Caster‘s zombie makeup! You’re sure to make heads turn! Or fall off completely…

22. Zombie Brain Brownies– Some people consider the brain of the zombie to be a rare delicacy. Try it for yourself with these brownies from Sugar Hero.

23. Zombie Boogers– When one is awakened from the dead, it becomes socially acceptable to pick one’s nose. Find this recipe at McCormick.

24. Zombie Candy Pops– We love the grotesque faces on The Decorated Cookie‘s candy pops!

25. Zombie Punch– What could be more refreshing than a glass of punch with your favorite flavor of eyeball? Go to Our Thrifty Ideas for this disgustingly good recipe.

26. Zombie Body Parts Toss Game– If zombies are going to leave their body parts everywhere, you’ve got to do something with them, right? Try this game from My Pinterventures!

27. Zombie Apocalypse– Would you survive a zombie apocalypse (pretty sure I would be one of the first to get eaten….)? Find out at Woo Jr. !

28. Zombie Halloween Painted Rocks– Simple Everyday Mom‘s painted rocks make for an easy craft for little zombies.

29. Clothespin Zombie– Put on a zombie puppet show with this fun craft from Easy Peasy and Fun!

30. Kids’ Zombie Party Hunt– Go on a zombie hunt with Queen of Theme Party Games zombie party game!

Maybe if zombies were wrapped up like their Egyptian counterparts, they wouldn’t lose their body parts all over the place.

31. DIY Kids Mummy Costume– Make a mummy costume using Polkadot Chair‘s DIY, no embalming required!

32. Baby Mummy Costume– We love Super Lucky‘s costume tutorial! Who knew mummys could be so adorable?

33. Simple Mummy Jam Jar Lanterns– Light up the night with Blissful Domestication‘s fun mummy craft!

34. Paper Plate Lacing Craft– If you need something to keep the kids busy for a while, try Our Kid Things‘s fun craft!

35. Toilet Paper Mummy Game– For the more competitive mummy, we have this classic game from Sugar Bee Crafts.

36. Mini Mummy– Make your own mummy buddy at Parents.

37. Mummy Bowling– Practice your best defense against mummys with Giggles Galore‘s mummy bowling game.

38. Mummy Pizza Bites– Pizza is even older than we originally thought. Ancient hieroglyphs recently discovered in a tomb in Egypt indicate that pizza was considered the food of the gods, and a personal favorite of Ramesses II. Printable Crush was able to procure the ancient recipe that coincidentally looks like a mummy.

39. Mummy Cookies– Need a treat that’s quick, easy, and delicious? I mean, really, who’s not looking for a treat like that, am I right? Head over to Chelsea’s Messy Apron for a recipe that fits the bill!

40. White Chocolate Mummy Truffles– If these truffles from Oh My Goodness Chocolate Desserts are what they’re eating in the afterlife, it certainly gives us all something to look forward to.

From what I’ve heard, monsters love a good party, especially one filled with lots of food.

41. Fluffy Monster Eye Headband– Simultaneously cute and creepy! Learn to make one at The Crafty Blog Stalker.

42. Easy Monster Costume– One thing I love about monster costumes is how you can add as many eyes as you want. Two eyes? Great! 33 eyes? Sure! No eyes? Why not?! Make your own monster costume at Fiskars

43. Monster Handprint Craft– These monsters from The Best Ideas for Kids remind me of the monster minions from Despicable Me 2. Funny yet ferocious!

44. Tissue Box Monsters– You’ll want to save your tissue boxes for this scary craft from Mas & Pas!

45. Monster Bookmarks– For those monsters that are more bookish, they’ll love this cute craft from Kelly “D” Dot!

46. Monstrous Tissue Pompoms– No, we are not talking about cheerleaders. We are talking about these monstrous decorations from Persia Lou.

47. Easy and Fun Monster Wreath– This wreath from Press Print Party is almost too cute for Halloween. Almost…

48. Monster Munch– Watch out! This recipe from Eazy Peazy Meals will be quickly devoured by ravenous monsters!

49. Monster Mash Halloween Bark– Those who have tried Sarah’s Bake Studio‘s Halloween bark have been known to spontaneously break out into various versions of The Monster Mash dance.

50. Peanut Butter Apple Monster Teeth– Monsters love candy, of course, but eventually, they too are ready for something a little healthier, like Meaningful Eats‘s monster teeth snack.

I’ll take a shot of blood, Type O- negative…..

51. Bloody Candy Apple–  1 Fine Cookie‘s apples are certainly delicious, but some vampires have lost a fang or two in the sticky blood syrup. Maybe a good thing???

52. Vampire Pie Bites– Life hack #1: A vampire can be persuaded to take a bite out of a pie instead of a human neck, especially if it’s pie bites from Eat Rules.

53. Blood Fondue Bar– Ah, yes, a true vampire dream from Sugar & Spice by Celeste.

54. Vampire Cookies– Mmmm, cookies filled with ooey-gooey blood. Find the recipe at the aptly named Baking Bites.

55. Vampire Lips– Thanks to Edward Cullen, we’ve all wondered what vampire lips would taste like. Luckily, Martha Stewart has the answer.

56. Halloween Bat Garlic Cheese Bites– Can’t wait to try this wonderfully ironic recipe from Fostering the Good Life!

57. Rainbow Paper Tube Bats– Just because they only come out at night doesn’t mean they can’t be colorful! Try this craft at Hello, Wonderful!

58. Vampire Coffin Treat Bag– That’s right. Coffins now fulfill a number of purposes besides containing the dead (and undead of course!). They can be used as beds, storage, dinner tables, and yes, treat bags! We love Nice People Stamp‘s coffin treat bags!

59. Bloody Candles– These bloody candles from Residence Style really set the mood, don’t you think?

60. DIY Mavis Costume– I cannot lie. Hotel Transylvania is a Halloween favorite at our house, and I know this costume from See Kate Sew would be a huge hit!

61. DIY Bat Wings– We love these bat wings from My Poppet! PSA: These bat wings do not give anyone the ability to fly or hang upside down from the rafters.

Look at that doggy! Come here, boy, come here! Nice doggy, nice doggy. Who’s a good boy? Who’s a goo- ACK! AHH! HEEEELP!!!!

62. Werewolf Kibble– If you’d like to tame a werewolf, Big Bear’s Wife‘s kibble is the first place to start.

63. Werewolf Cupcakes– These cupcakes from Hungry Happenings prove werewolves are just big, fluffy dogs.

64. Werewolf Claws– Don’t worry. These claws from Rachel Ray aren’t as sharp as they look.

65. Kings Hawaiian Werewolf Sliders– Release your inner wolf with King’s Hawaiian‘s werewolf sliders!

66. DIY Werewolf Costume– If you’ve ever wanted to experience the inner turmoil that comes with being half human, half wolf, then you’ll love The Happy Scraps‘s costume tutorial!

67. Werewolf Stencil– Hang a couple of these bad boys around the house, and your place will be the spookiest on the block! Find the stencil at Free Stencil Gallery!

68. Mounted Werewolf Head– With this decoration from Instructables, people will be more afraid of you than a werewolf!

69. Werewolf Warning Sign– We love this creative sign from Dave Lowe Design!

70. Werewolf Makeup Tutorial– You don’t have to grow hair all over your body in order to look like a werewolf! Try Tricoci University‘s awesome makeup tutorial!

71. DIY Spooky Werewolf Scene– Make your home a haunted forest with Home Depot‘s werewolf scene!

I can handle ghosts. I can handle zombies. I can handle witches, and monsters. But, throw a spider at me and I will immediately flee in terror, or die trying.

72. Popsicle Stick and Yarn Spiderweb– Careful that no spiders make this web from Buggy and Buddy their home. Eeewww.

73. Spider Headband– Because everyone wants a giant spider on their head! Find this creepy craft at Fantastic Fun and Learning.

74. Spider Web Pretzels– No real spiders were involved in the making of The Joys of Boys‘s web pretzels.

75. Halloween Spider Pizza– Aah, yes, a Halloween favorite: pizza topped with spiders! What monster wouldn’t love it? Try Kids Craft Room‘s tasty recipe.

76. Hotdog Spiders– I’ve always heard that spiders taste like hotdogs, so this recipe from Shared seems fitting.

77. Spider Halloween Wreath– I never knew it was possible for a spider to be so adorable! Find this craft at Mama in the Now.

78. DIY Giant Spider– Freak out your neighborhood with Mom Endeavors‘s giant spider tutorial.

79. DIY Giant Spider Webs– These giant spider webs from South Lumina Style will go along nicely with the giant spiders.

80. Spider Costume Halloween Hack– We love the creativity behind The Shaffer Sisters‘s spider costume!

81.Spider Slime– Since spiders aren’t already gross enough, try putting them in some slime your kids are sure to love playing with! Try this recipe at Simply Being Mommy!

What is it about skeletons that is so creepy? We all have them, and yet, they are so spooky.

82. Cardboard Tube Skeleton– Start saving up cardboard tubes for this cute craft from Mama Workshop!

83. Jack Skellington Mug– The most famous skeleton of them all! Find this craft at The Life She Has.

84. Hilarious Skeleton Displays– If you’re looking for something creepy and humerus (get it?), you’ll love these ideas from Kid Friendly Things to Do!

85. Dollar Tree Halloween Skull Decor– My favorite part about Juliana Michaels skull decoration are those jaunty Halloween hats! I need one for myself!

86. Skeleton Wreath– Welcome guests with this horrifying wreath from Southern Scraps!

87. Skeleton Cupcakes– Make sure to eat your daily dose of skeleton cake for an extra helping of calcium! Try this recipe from Your Cup of Cake.

88. Chocolate Covered Pretzel Bones– I understand now why dogs love chewing on bones so much. These bones from Princess Pinky Girl are delicious!

89. Bittersweet Chocolate Skeleton Cookies– Forget gingerbread men! It’s all about Mom Foodie‘s skeleton cookies.

90. Skeleton Charcuterie Platter– If looking at skeletons and all things creepy makes you especially hungry, you’ll love Honestly Yum‘s charcuterie platter!

91. Skull Makeup Tutorial– Follow Liliana Toufiles‘s tutorial to turn your face into a ghastly skull.

What would Halloween be without pumpkins? 

92. Pumpkin Apple Stamps– Create beautiful (or haunting) fall scenes with this simple craft from Frugal Mom Eh!

93. Easy Pumpkin Treat Bag– A great first-sewing project for little hands from Hello, Wonderful.

94. Halloween Luminaries– If you don’t feel like carving a whole jack-o-lantern, try these glowing “pumpkins” from Creative Green Living instead.

95. Halloween Pumpkin Cake Tutorial– Who need’s pumpkin pie when you can have Mom Loves Baking‘s delicious pumpkin cake?!

96. Pumpkin Fizz Halloween Science– Busy Toddler‘s experiment is perfect for any mad scientists out there!

97. DIY Pumpkin Patch Dirt Cups– A Halloween twist on a preschool classic from Arts & Crackers!

98. Jack O’ Lantern Popcorn Balls– If you’re looking for a treat that isn’t cupcakes or cookies, you’ll love this orignal treat from My Food and Family!

99. Easy Pumpkin Patties– For making such a cute presentation, these Mom on Time Out‘s pumpkin patties are surprisingly easy!

100. Disney Pumpkin Stencils– For any Disney fans, you’ll love the pumpkin ideas at Mommy Musings!

101. No-Carve Pumpkin Ideas– Some years, carving a pumpkin just seems overrated. If you’re having a year like that, you’ll love these no-carve ideas from The Crafted Sparrow!

The post 101 Ideas to Rock Your Halloween Party appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

Our favorite holiday is Halloween and we’ve got a great freebie for you today!

Are you looking for a fast, easy but super fun game for Halloween?  This “Don’t Eat Pete” Game fits the bill and we promise that your kids will want to play over and over again.  Unless of course, you’re done with them eating too much candy!

Instructions are below and just click on the link to get the free download  Click here for the “Don’t Eat Pete Game” Free Printable

Don’t Eat Pete Game

How to play:

Put the game board in the middle of a table and have everyone sit around it. Next, place one M&M or Skittles on each face of the Halloween characters. Choose one person (or have someone volunteer) to leave the room and go somewhere where they cannot hear what is being said. While the chosen person is gone, the rest of the players secretly choose one of the nine Halloween characters to be “Pete” for that round. Then you can call the chosen person back into the room. Everyone needs to stay quiet and don’t say a word about which character is “Pete”.

The chosen person then gets to start choosing pieces of candy to eat while everyone else watches in excitement. As soon as they touch the candy that’s on the Halloween character that has been designated as “Pete”, everyone yells as loud as they can, “DON’T EAT PETE!” That persons turn is now over and someone else gets to go. The goal of the game is to be able to eat as much candy before you find “Pete”!

Happy Halloween!

Debbie

The post Don’t Eat Pete Game Free Printable appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

It’s the most dreadful time of the year. Sinister ghouls waiting in the bushes, horrible monsters stalking the streets at night, the dead waking from their sleep, and ghosts visiting the living from the other side. The chill air bites, and dead, crisp leaves litter the ground. Jack o’ lanterns cast a frightening glow to passerby, reminding all to beware… It’s Halloween! And of course, that means it’s time for Halloween food. But, what do monsters, and goblins, and witches eat?  Let us help you there with our list of 101 Spooky Halloween Foods. I promise you, they’ll be absolutely ghastly…

Time to wake the dead!

1. Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin– Put a Halloween spin on this classic from The Pinning Mama!

2. Coffin Shaped Poptarts– If you feel like the walking dead first thing in the morning, than this breakfast treat from My Crazy Good Life if for you!

3. Monster Pancakes– My Name is Snickerdoodle‘s pancakes are creepy…. yet satisfying.

4. Ghost Toast– This ghost toast from Belly Full will haunt your kitchen all October!

5. Halloween Breakfast Casserole– Simply Made Recipes‘s casserole is just the right amount of spooky for breakfast.

6. Mummie Sandwich– Need something cute and easy? Try these sandwiches from Fun Squared!

7. Candy Corn Waffles– Pay tribute to the classic Halloween candy with these waffles from A Thrifty Mom

8. Spooky Banana Breakfast Parfait– Make healthy eating spooky fun with Eats Amazing‘s tasty parfaits!

9. Halloween Spider Donuts– As terrified as I am of spiders, I would never turn The Semisweet Sisters‘s spider donuts down!

10. Creepy Crepes– These crepes from Not Quite Nigella are the perfect way to start Halloween day!

11. Candy Corn Fruit Parfait– Although it’s called “candy corn,” this breakfast treat from Suburbia Unwrapped is healthy and delicious!

12. Frankenstein Smoothie Bowl– Who said Halloween is all about candy and sugar? Sneak some nutrition into the day with Healthy Little Foodies‘s smoothie bowl.

13. Healthy Spider Web Pancakes– Fry up some spiderwebs (never thought I’d say that!) with this recipe from Mama. Papa. Bubba.

14. Pumpkin French Toast Bake– The rule is if you add pumpkin to anything, it automatically becomes a Halloween dish. Pumpkin and cookies? Halloween. Pumpkin and ice cream? Halloween. Pumpkin and cheese? Halloween. And now, Dinner Then Dessert‘s sweet and tasty pumpkin French toast bake- Halloween.

15. Dark Chocolate Marshmallow Halloween Waffles– Brownie Bites‘s waffles are making my mouth water…

Bread isn’t just for the living anymore…

16. Brimstone Bread– A perfect recipe from Instructables to welcome any ghouls and monsters wandering around Halloween night.

17. Pumpkin Dinner Rolls– These rolls from As Easy As Apple Pie look so much like a pumpkin, I might accidentally carve them into jack-o-lanterns!

18. Mummified Garlic Bread– On the one hand, you’ll have Foodtastic Mom‘s delicious garlic bread. On the other, vampires probably won’t come to your party. Choices, choices.

19. Skull Pull-Apart Pizza Bread– This pizza from Wilton is both super creepy and delicious!

20. Herbed Boo Ghost– My Diverse Kitchen‘s bread is perfectly haunting for any Halloween party.

21. Icky Intestines Bread– Creep out friends with Sugar Dish Me‘s sumptuous intestine bread!

22. Crescent Roll Witch Hats– These witch hats from Spaceships and Laser Beams will bring a little hocus-pocus to any Halloween party!

23. Bat and Ghost Crackers– Fox and Briar‘s crackers are surprisingly easy to make and of course, delicious!

24. Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread– What’s Halloween without some chocolate chip pumpkin bread? Try Princess Pinky Girl‘s tasty recipe!

25. Bones and Cheese Dip– This bones and cheese dip comes straight from the grave…. ok, it’s actually from Pocket Change Gourmet, but it sure looks like something from a cemetery!

These appetizers look revolting…. I can’t wait to try them….

26. Jack O’Lantern Shepherd’s Pie Stuffed Peppers– If carving a pumpkin sounds like too much work this year, try carving a pepper instead! The best part: you can eat it! Check it out at Cupcakes and Kale Chips.

27. Eyeball Cheese Olive Balls– These olive balls from Garlic & Zest prove it is possible to be both gross and delicious at the same time.

28. Ghost in the Graveyard Dip– Foodtastic Mom‘s dip makes a boo-tiful presentation!

29. Jalepeño Popper Mummies– Try out The Hopeless Housewife‘s recipe for something fun and tasty!

30. Witches Fingers Pizza Sticks– These witches’ fingers from Tip Buzz are so yummy, they’ll make a monster out of you!

31. Pretzel Broomsticks– If you always knew you were a witch at heart, then you’ll love Sprinkle Bakes‘s broomsticks!

32. Lit’l Smokies Mummie Dogs– Delish‘s mummie dogs are almost too cute to eat! Or maybe they’re too spooky?

33. Spooky Spinach Dip in Bread Bowl Cauldron– Mix up some magic with Woman’s Day‘s spinach dip!

34. Rotten Deviled Eggs– Don’t worry. These eggs from Listotic won’t stink up the house.

35. Pumpkin Shaped Meatball Biscuits– Put a Halloween spin on meatballs with Better Homes & Gardens‘s meatball biscuits!

36. Tangerine Pumpkins and Banana Ghosts– If you need something ghastly but healthy, try out Flo and Grace‘s pumpkins and ghosts!

37. Pizza Skulls– Bite into this skull from Plain Chicken for a pizza surprise!

Don’t worry. Human isn’t on the menu tonight….

38. Bat and Eyeball Pasta– This meal from Colavita is a monster favorite!

39. Monster Mash Soup– Peas and Crayons‘s soup will be a hit with the zombie crowd.

40. Sweet n’ Sour Bat Wings– Eating these wings from Sprinkle & Sprouts will make you feel like a true ghoul!

41. Toxic Waste Mac n’ Cheese– A Halloween twist on an American favorite from Cooking With Curls!

42. Creepy Feetloaf– If you’re going for realism, you’ll love Heart Hook Home‘s gruesome feetloaf!

43. Mummie Pot Pie– This pie from Cozy MessMoms Who Think is a true monster comfort food!

44. Jack O Lantern Pizza– This pizza from Thrifty Northwest Mom is perfect if you need something easy that will feed a lot of people.

45. Frankenstein Corn Dogs– Transform a basic corndog into a scary monster with help from Growing Up Bilingual!

46. Monster Burgers– These monsters from Annabel Karmel are a fun, easy way to spice (or shall we say, “spook?”) up your burger!

47. Witch’s Brew (Cheesy Spinach Soup)– Everyday Annie‘s spinach soup is a delicious concoction!

48. Frankenstein Boo-ritos– Feed the monster inside with Taste of Home‘s Boo-ritos!

Halloween cookies? How dreadful. 

49. Dark Chocolate Halloween Cookies– This cookie from Simply Happy Foodie is a simple, tasty treat!

50. Twisted Halloween Cookies– Our twisted Halloween cookies may look complex, but they are actually quite easy and look beautiful! 

51. Chocolate Monster Halloween Cookies– Sugar Salt Magic‘s cookies are for any monsters with a serious sweet tooth!

52. Halloween Sugar Cookie Cake– Yes. That’s right. Lil Luna‘s cookie here doubles as a cake. Ok, not an actual cake, but just look at the size of that thing! It’s fit for a giant Frankenstein!

53. Pumpkin Sandwich Cookies– Forget oreos! Try out these sandwich cookies from Cook with Manali!

54. Peanut Butter Spider Cookies– Normally, anything spider is a big “Nope!” for me, but I have to make an exception for Mommy Musings‘s adorable spider cookies.

55. Easy Ghost Cookies– Don’t be surprised when these cookies from Butter with a Side of Bread completely disappear. If you’re wondering if I’m referring to them being ghosts or that everyone will gobble them all up, the answer is yes.

56. Trick-or-Treat Cookies– These cookies from Not Martha are the perfect surprise treat for eager young trick-or-treaters!

57. Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies– Who needs a latte when you can have these scrumptious cookies from Mommy Mouse Club House?

58. Voodoo Cookies– Please do not attempt any witch craft with these cookies from Woo! Jr. Just take a bite and enjoy!

59. Candy Corn Swirl Cookies– Ode to candy corn! We love the results of this cookie from The Simple Sweet Life!

60. Peanut Butter Cup Eyeball Cookies– I always feel like somebody’s watching me….  which makes Design Eat Repeat‘s cookies perfect for me!

61. Mummie Whoopie Pie– Didn’t you know the ancient Egyptians loved whoopie pies? They especially would’ve loved this recipe from Adventures of Mel.

62. Spider Web Sugar Cookies– If you want to up your cookie decorating game, follow Hazel Fisher Creations‘s recipe!

63. Milk Chocolate Stuffed Jack O’ Lantern Cookies– These Jack o’ lanterns from Half Baked Harvest turned out so cute!

64. Candy Filled Cauldron Cookies– These cauldrons from Hungry Happenings really are magic!

It is true that a cupcake or truffle will stave off a monster’s appetite….. for a while…..

65. Monster Bundt Cake– Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons‘s cake is a ghoulish delight!

66. Ghosts in the Graveyard– These grim, grinning ghosts from Our Best Bites are a perfectly haunting treat.

67. Bloody Fudge– For the vampires at your house, try True Blue Me & You‘s bloody fudge.

68. Chocolate Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwich– Pink Peppermint Design‘s deathly cold treats are sure to be a hit!

69. Monster Mash Halloween Brownies– Don’t these brownies from Buy This Cook That make you want to get up and do the mash?

70. Halloween White Trash Mix– The Country Cook‘s white trash mix is hauntingly good!

71. Ghost Meringues– Smart School House‘s ghosts are the epitome of Boo.

72. Mummy Cereal Bars– Mummy cereal bars that are happy to see you!

73. Witch’s Cauldron Cupcakes– Bubble, bubble, bake some trouble with Java Cupcake‘s witch’s cauldron!

74. Skeleton Bones– Penny Pinchin’ Mom‘s recipe is frighteningly easy!

75. Halloween Muddy Buddies– No witch could turn down Sizzle Yum‘s muddy buddies!

76. Oreo Bat Truffles– Make all your creepy guests feel at home with Butter and Baggage‘s bat truffles.

77. Witch Hat Cupcakes– Rumor has it that the waffle cone is what inspired witches to take up their pointy head garb. See for yourself at Frugal Coupon Living. 

78. Pink Brain Mousse in White Chocolate Skulls– Delight all the goblins and ghouls at your party with these gruesome goodies from Mom Foodie!

79. Halloween S’mores Dip– No need to camp at the graveyard with The Decorated Cookie‘s s’mores dip!

80. Monster Cupcakes– Hurry and eat these cupcakes from Life with the Crust Off before they get up and run off the plate!

81. Jack o’ Lantern Pie– Level up pumpkin pie with My Food and Family‘s jack o’ lantern pie!

82. Spooky Halloween Meringue Swirls– There is something about Cake n Knife‘s meringues that make them seem almost…. otherworldly. 

83. Creepy Spider Egg Pudding– For those of us with a love of creepy, squashy textures (I’m looking at you monsters out there!), you’ll love Boulder Locavore‘s pudding!

84. Poison Toffee Apples– I like my town with a little drop of poison…. and also my apples. Find this recipe at Simply Delicious.

85. Halloween Chocolate Covered Pretzels– Make a variety of scary monsters with Garnish and Glaze‘s recipe!

86. Monster Munch– This munch from Easy Peasy Pleasy is for monsters only.

87. Ghastly Candy Bark– The Simple Sweet Life‘s candy bark is sure to attract all the spooks haunting the town.

I highly recommend the decayed juices of the undead. It’s got a nice tangy flavor to it…..

88. Boogeyman Brew– The boogeyman’s favorite drink (I mean, he’s gotta get thirsty once in a while, right?)! Find it at Who Needs a Cape?

89. Bloody Shirley Temples– I want to suck your blood…. but this will do.

90. Hocus Pocus Punch– For those of you who’ve always wanted to try the Sanderson Sisters’ Life Potion, Nourished Simply has it all figured out.

91. Vampire Ice Cream Floats– You don’t need to be a vampire to enjoy this float from Living Locurto!

92. Monster Hot Cocoa– The perfect drink to warm up little monsters after an evening of trick or treating. Find it at My Stay at Home Adventures.

93. Bat Brew– Aaah, bat brew from Kid Friendly Things to Do. Just what the witch ordered.

94. Cemetery Slime Punch– HGTV‘s punch is straight from the crypt!

95. Witch’s Brew– Channel your potion making skills with Served Up With Love‘s brew!

96. Zombie Gore Guzzlers– This drink from Squirrels of a Feather is simply to die for!

97. Trick or Treat Punch– Because even monsters get thirsty. Check it out at Spending with Pennies.

98. Blacklight Lemonade– Yes. You read that right. Girl Loves Glam has glow in the dark lemonade.

99. Easy Halloween Drinks with Peep Straws– The little demons at your house will love this cute recipe from A Girl and a Glue Gun.

100. Shrunken Heads in Spiced Cider– This drink from All Roads Lead to the Kitchen looks like something out of a horror movie!

101. Scary Sunkist Floats– If you never thought a float could be scary, then you’ve never seen Diary of a Recipe Collecter‘s Sunkist floats.

The post 101 Spooky Halloween Foods appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

I have a confession. I love Harry Potter. No, I mean it. I really, really love Harry Potter. It’s not that I’m not in love with Harry Potter. He just happens to be my favorite (fictional) person in the whole wide world. I cry when he cries. I laugh when he laughs. His triumphs are my triumphs! I’m always cheering him on. He’s not even real. Totally fiction. But, reading his story as he grows up and becomes who he’s meant to be- ugh. I just grew to LOVE this character. I just want this totally fake, not real person to be happy in his totally fake, not real universe. If you love Harry as much as I do (or if you love him to a lesser, more sane degree…), then you’ll love our 101 ideas for the ultimate Harry Potter party! 

Don’t be afraid to go heavy on the decor. This is Harry Potter we’re talking about…

1. Floating Candles– Wow party guests with this DIY from A Few Shortcuts!

2. Sorting Hat– Are you a Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin? Find out with this DIY from Simple Practical Beautiful!

3. Ministry of Magic Vinyl Toilet Decal– I love this decal from The Mage’s Emporium so much, I’m probably just going to keep it on the toilet forever.

4. Flying Letters– And so Harry’s Hogwarts journey begins! Relive this iconic moment with Life on Summer Hill‘s DIY.

5. Platform 9 and 3/4– Give your guests an authentic wizard experience with this amazing entryway from House of Little Tomato!

6. Monster Book of Monsters– This Monster Book from Sisters, What! adds the perfect wizard touch, don’t ya think?

7. Potion Bottles– Magia Mia‘s potion bottles feel so authentic!

8. Directional Sign– In case anyone gets lost in the Wizarding World, they can always look to this sign from Crafting Cheerfully!

9. Spider Trail– “Follow the spiders!” with your own spider trail from Cupcakes, Kisses N’ Crumbs.

10. Hogwarts House Banners– Let the rivalry begin! Get this cute DIY from Doodlecraft .

A real wizard party means real wizard food. And lots of it. 

11. Sorting Hat Cheese Ball– If you’ve ever wondered what the dusty, dirty Sorting Hat would taste like (who hasn’t, right?), here’s your chance to test it with this recipe from Sustaining the Powers.

12. Pumpkin Howlers– I can already feel the burning humiliation. Find the recipe at Food and Wine!

13. Pumpkin Pasties– Alexa Pettengill‘s pumpkin pasties are a true wizard classic!

14. Pretzel and Cheese Broomsticks– What Harry Potter party wouldn’t be complete without a broom themed snack? Try out One Little Project‘s edible broomsticks!

15. Popcorn Broomsticks– And on that note, you’ll definitely want to try Kelly Leigh Creates‘s popcorn broomsticks too!

16. Gillyweed Salad– I never knew how appetizing Gillyweed could be until I found this salad from The Starving Chef! (PSA: Do not attempt to breathe underwater after eating Gillyweed salad.)

17. Weasleys’ Dragon Roasted Nuts– Set your breath on fire with these delicious nuts from In Literature!

18. Cornish Pasty– If you’re looking for something a little more savory, you’ll love Feast of Starlight‘s traditional pasty!

19. Dragon Deviled Eggs– For a truly magical appetizer, you have to have these eggs from Simply Potter!

We love wizard drinks. Especially butterbeer. We have 3 different butterbeer recipes for heaven’s sake! 

20. Felix Felicis– If you’re in need of some good luck, try out this delicious drink from Plant Crush! Disclaimer: We can not guarantee this recipe’s ability to bring good luck.

21. Polyjuice Potion– Our delicious potion is both easy and delicious!

22. Pumpkin Juice– If you’re curious to know what juiced pumpkin tastes like, head over to Redhead Baby Mama!

23. Butterbeer– The iconic, nay, the absolutely essential drink to have for any Harry Potter party. Try this recipe from Love is in My Tummy!

24. Hot Butterbeer– Chica and Jo has the perfect recipe for nice, hot butterbeer! The picture alone has me feeling all warm  and cozy!

25. Frozen Butterbeer– If you live in a warm region, (like me in the deserts of Arizona!), you’ll love this variation on butterbeer from Six Sisters’ Stuff!

26. Gilly Water– Cool and refreshing, 2 Geeks Who Eat‘s water is great for any party!

27. Shimmering Potion Punch– This potion from Tikkido is sure to amaze your guests!

28. Pumpkin Pie Smoothie– Pumpkin pie and smoothies. Is there a better combination?! Try it out at Lemon and Zest!

It’s not a party if there aren’t desserts!

29. Gryffindor Wands– Simple and delicious, guests will love this treat from Ever After in the Woods.

30. Pink Coconut Ice– The picture already has me drooling. Find it at Just Easy Recipes!

31. Mandrake Cakes– I’d never considered mandrakes a treat until I saw these from Teaspoon of Nose! Delicious and cute!

32. Candy Filled McGonagall Hats– This fun treat has a surprise inside! Find it at TGIF!

33. Golden Snitch Peanut Butter Balls– Thankfully, these snitches from Fun Money Mom won’t fly away from you when you try to eat them!

34. Sorting Hat Cake Pops– We love this fun idea from The Keeper of the Cheerios to sort your guests into their houses!

35. Butterbeer Fudge– Butter beer is good. Fudge is good. Put them together and you’ve got a whole lot of amazing! Try out One Sweet Appetite‘s tasty recipe!

36. Marshmallow Filled Chocolate Frogs– You’ll love these frogs from Woo! Jr.! If you’re worried about them wriggling down your throat, just bite off the head first.

37. Easy Treacle Tart– We can’t wait to take a bite of this traditional recipe from Half Scratched!

38. Fizzing Whizzbees– These fizzing whizzbees from Wyldflour are almost too cute to eat!

39. Cauldron Cakes– Bijoux and Bits‘s cakes will make for a wonderful presentation.

40. Exploding Bonbons– These bon-bons from Get Away Today will create an explosion of flavor in your mouth!

41. Molly Weasley’s Rock Cakes– As an American, I had no idea that rock cakes are not just a nickname for Hagrid’s baking. They are a real British treat (although maybe you already knew that!) and you can find a delicious recipe for them at Bakingdom!

42. Butterbeer Muddy Buddies– The word, “addicting,” comes to mind with this delicious recipe from Sugar and Soul.

43. Cookie Decorating Tutorial– Is it just me, or is Pinterest filled with the most beautiful Harry Potter sugar cookies? If you are dying to know how to decorate these cookies yourself, check out this tutorial from Sweet Jenny Belle.

44. Spell Book Cake– This cake from Savvy in the Kitchen looks so amazing, you might just not eat it! But then, would it even be a cake?….

45. Cockroach Clusters– I never had a desire to try cockroach clusters until I saw these from Art of Wizardry.

46. Canary Creams– If you love shortbread, then you’ll love Blue Nose Baker‘s canary creams!

47. Sugar Quill– I don’t know about you, but A Tale of 2 Foodies‘s sugar quills are exactly what I had in mind when I first read about them in Harry Potter!

`

Everyone can bring home a souvenir from their visit to the wizarding world. 

48. Washcloth Owl– A Few Shortcuts‘s owl is a cuddly craft that kids will love to bring home!

49. Harry Potter Origami– This craft from Fave Mom is simple and easy!

50. DIY Wands– No witch or wizard is complete without a wand! Make your own with Boxy Colonial‘s tutorial!

51. House Necklaces– This craft from Housewife Eclectic is a nice, classy way to show some house spirit!

52. Feather Quills– Red Ted Art‘s quills are sure to make homework fun!

53. Book of Spells– Now every witch and wizard at your party can write out their own spells with this easy craft from Busy Mom’s Helper.

54. Lightning Bolt Bookmarks– Desperately Seeking Gina‘s bookmarks are the perfect craft for any bookworms you might have at your party.

55. Dragon Eggs– Little hands will love making these beautiful eggs from My Baba!

56. Bath Bombs– Now every guest can pamper themselves with these fun bath bombs from A Pumpkin and a Princess.

57. Pencil Holders– Ruffles and Rain Boots‘s pencil holders hit me right in my organization-obsessed heart!

58. Pygmy Puff– Now you can make your own beloved pygmy puff with this craft from Fairfield World!

59. Time Turner Necklace– If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “I wish I could be in two places at once,” than 30 Minute Crafts‘s time turner necklace is the craft for you!

60. Book Bag– I think it’s safe to assume that if you’re a Harry Potter fan, then you love books (unless you’ve only watched the movies. If so, promptly check out the first Harry Potter from the library and begin the journey…) Tried and True‘s book bags are a cute way to lug around your favorites!

61. Expecto Patronum Shirt– Wear your love for Harry Potter with this shirt from Laura’s Crafty Life!

62. Floating Christmas Ornaments– If you’re having a Harry Potter Christmas party, then you’ll love The Quiet Grove‘s ornaments!

63. Mugs– Start your morning off right with Pineapple Paper Co. ‘s mug and some hot butterbeer!

When someone comes up with a DIY invisibility cloak, will you let me know? Thanks in advance!

64. Harry and Hermione– You can’t have a Harry Potter party without Harry (and his friends of course!). Check out Brit + Co for ideas on your Harry costume.

65. DIY Scarf– This scarf from Bohemian Vegan Kitchen is clearly a Gryffindor scarf, but of course you can make it in the other house colors too.

66. Snape– If you could dress up as Snape every day for the rest of your life, would you? If your answer was, “Always,” check out this costume from Pieces by Polly.

67. No-Sew  Snowy Owl (or Hedwig!)– Who says you have to be a witch or wizard? You can come as Harry’s beloved owl, Hedwig, with these ideas from Craft and Burn.

68. Robe Pattern– We love Fleece Fun‘s easy robe pattern!

69. Dementor– One thing I love about the Harry Potter series is how it mixes fun in with creepy and dark. Bring the creepy to your party with Crafting in the Rain‘s dementor costume!

70. Professor Trelawney– I predict that Costumet‘s costume will win the costume contest!

71. Patronus– Think outside of the box with Coolest Homemade Costumes‘s patronus!

72. Professor McGonagall– If you’re strict and stern, but have a secret soft spot for troublemakers, you’ll love this costume from Cut Out and Keep.

73. Luna Lovegood– My favorite part of this costume from Frugal Family Times is the glasses!

74. Dumbledore– “Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!” If these words hold any meaning to you, please proceed to Jengerbread Creations for your costume.

75. Moaning Myrtle– I have to admit that this costume from Kate Johns is my favorite. The toilet seat is the cherry on top!

76. Voldemort Makeup Tutorial– This tutorial from Wholesale Halloween Costumes is for anyone who’s ever wondered what it would feel like to have no nose.

77. Quidditch Robes– These costumes from Polkadot Chair will make you actually feel like you’re flying above the quidditch field!

Unfortunately, a google search for “Wizard’s Chess” only resulted in regular chess. Thankfully, we have a bunch of other games for you to play!

78. Wizard Minute to Win it– Holly’s Home‘s games are great for anyone who works well under pressure!

79. Quidditch Cornhole– I never realized how much I needed corn hole boards, until I found  these from Jennifer Miner.

80. Scavenger Hunt– Keep your guests busy with Life with Neal and Suz‘s scavenger hunt!

81. Photo Booth– Your guests will “Siriusly” (yes, I really did just say that) love playing with this photo booth from One Sweet Appetite!

82. Quidditch– Quidditch: like football only with 7 players, 4 balls, 3 hoops, and you’re soaring hundreds of feet in the air on on a narrow broomstick. Just the same. Find this DIY at Food, Fitness, Life, Love.

83. Dementor Piñata– Expecto patronum the candy out of this piñata from House Wife Eclectic.

84. Wizards’ Duel– Don’t worry. No spells are used in Royal Baloo‘s game.

85. Wingardium Leviosa Science Experiment– “It’s leviOsa, not levioSA.” Check this activity out at Steam Powered Family.

86. Potion Slime– Become the potions master with Little Bins for Little Hands‘s slime!

87. Pin the Nose on Voldemort– If You-Know-Who is a little too creepy for your guests, use So Mum‘s game to make him a lot more fun!

88. DIY Harry Potter Game– Forget Candy Land! Turn your’s into a fun Harry Potter game with this DIY from Now that’s Thrifty!

These are free. Let me repeat: FREE. 

89. Book Covers– These book covers from Paper Trail Design add an authentic touch!

90. Pillow Boxes– Crafting Cheerfully‘s boxes are so cute, it’s hard to believe that they’re free!

91. Marauders Map– Try this incredible map from Harry Potter Paraphernalia if you’re ready to make some trouble!

92. Hogwarts Letter– What muggle hasn’t dreamed of getting one of these? Go to Mandy’s Party Printables for a free letter!

93. Birthday Banner– Wish your loved ones a “Happee Birthdae!” with this banner from The Suburban Mom!

94. Hogwarts Express– Make sure to give your guests a ticket from Drevio! Otherwise, they’ll be stuck at the train station!

95. Coloring Pages– Coloring Pages 7‘s coloring pages are a perfect way to calm things down when you need it!

96. Activity Pack– Artsy Fartsy Mama has created a whole pack of free printables for you to use!

97. Bookmarks– We love these bookmarks from Ordinary Girl, Extraordinary World. They’d make a great party favor!

98. Potion Labels– If you’re looking for a simple decoration, use Over the Big Moon‘s printable!

99. Would You Rather Game– As if this game wasn’t funny enough, Or So She Says put a Harry Potter spin on it and made it even better! Who knew that was even possible?

100. Party Pack– The Cottage Market just made decorating a snap with this party pack!

101. Dementor Attack Chocolate Bar Wrapper– Harry Potter proved what we all knew deep in our hearts: chocolate saves lives. Remind your guests with this printable from More Than Thursday!

The post 101 Ideas for the Ultimate Harry Potter Party appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

Did you like Halloween as a kid? I sure did! It was an excuse to dress up and get free candy. Who wouldn’t love that? Pretty sure I was a cat like three Halloweens in a row. So with the spookiest holiday fast approaching, I thought it would be a good idea to brew up some fun! And let’s be honest, nothing is better than some tasty desserts to celebrate a holiday. So without further adieu, check out these 13 Scary Good Halloween Cakes!

Hopefully, they will give your frighteningly fun Halloween party a spooky addition!

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What is Halloween without a little candy?   My grandchildren  know that there will be treats at Grammy’s which inspired me to create these Halloween Candy Jars.  I love the black and orange colors of Halloween but I think my favorite Halloween colors are green and purple.  The great thing about this craft is that you can make them in any colors that you want! I think I may even make these for another holiday.  Valentine’s would be cute or maybe in Easter colors?  But today we’re in Halloween mode so let’s get started!

Items needed:

• Glass jars – I chose kind of  an “apothecary” type looking jar.
• Spray paint in your desired color
• Painters tape in the wide size
• Ziploc bags – gallon sized
• Letter stickers – Mine are kind of a foamy sticker with some glitter on them.  This Grammy loves glitter.
• Embellishments – I got some glittery spiders and a cute glittery fly.
• Candy of your choosing to match your paint

Make sure your glasses are clean and dry before starting.  Start by determining how high your sticker letters are.  You wouldn’t want to spray first then find out you don’t have enough height to apply your stickers.  After figuring out how much paint color you want on the bottom of your jar, place some painters tape on the glass.  My glass jars were round and that worked out great. Place the jars side by side so you can tape each jar at the same spot.  Also, press firmly on the tape at the bottom to create a good seal so that spray paint won’t seep underneath.

Next, cut out the bottom of your Ziploc bag.  Wrap the bag around your glass jar and then tape it on.  But make sure that you don’t tape further down past your first row of tape, otherwise you aren’t going to get a nice, clear line with your spray paint.

Preferably outside, place a tarp or plastic sheet down where you will be spray painting.  Place the jar upside down and spray where the glass is exposed.  It seems like anytime I am working with spray paint that I am excited and want to get the project done fast so I can see it, so I get the spray paint can up close but then I get drips which drive me crazy. Ideally spray paint is best applied from farther away and done in a couple of coats, which is how you want to complete the painting of your jars. I think turned them right side up and applied paint wherever I could see needed some.

Let your paint dry thoroughly and then very slowly, peel off the painters tape. Sometimes the spray paint will want to stick and if you tear too fast, you might lose your clean line.

Apply your sticker letters, attach with your embellishments, fill with candy and voila!  You are done!  Just look how colorful and fun these are!

And I think this green one is my favorite:

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Looking for some more Halloween ideas?   These check these out!

Glitter Pumpkin Candy Holders

Bloody Shirley Temples

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Hey there! Molly and Chelsea here! We’re the besties and food bloggers from Bests and Bites. We’ve been best friends for over 20 years (so like, 90% of our lives) and we love nothing more than food, health/fitness and pool days!

We’re so glad we could share this Halloween recipe with you and hope you love making it for your spooky soirees this fall!

How adorable are Halloween treats? There’s no less than 10000 spooky recipes on Pinterest and every single one has an adorable place in my heart. And this one has a very special place because it’s comes together in a snap and it the epitome of fall: pumpkin spice and mummy decorations.

The base of this recipe is exactly like you’d start rice crispy treats. Measure out the cereal (which will be cheerios here rather than crispies) and melt the butter. But this is where it changes! Add a little pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice to the melted butter and mix well to combine. There isn’t a ton of pumpkin puree here but it’s just enough to tell it’s made for fall.

When you mix the marshmallows in just keep stirring so it won’t burn. It’s best to use a wooden to avoid sticking. Oh and DO NOT forget to grease your pan:) Nobody wants a bunch of cereal stuck to a pan.

Expert tip: spray a rubber spatula with cooking spray before you spread it in the pan. This way the marshmallow-y cereal won’t stick to your spoon and you can press it firmly to set.

My favorite part about this is obviously the googly eyes! The bars just look like a  cereal trip with chocolate until you add the eyes and they’re instantly transformed into the spooky Halloween treat!

Print

Mummy Cereal Bars

Servings 9

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 4 cups miniature marshmallows
• 6 cups honey nut cheerios
• 12 ounces 1 bag of white chocolate melting morsels
• 18 candy googly eyes

Instructions

• Spray an 11x7 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Once melted, add the pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice and mix well. Add the marshmallows and stir continuously until they're all melted and mixture is sticky, but smooth, about two minutes. Add the cereal and mix well, making sure everything is coated with the marshmallow mixture.
• Pour mixture into prepared pan and press firmly down with a rubber spatula spray with cooking spray to avoid sticking. Allow to set for 15 minutes.
• In a microwave safe bowl, add the white chocolate chips and place on high for 30 seconds, remove and stir and return to microwave in 30 second increments until melted, stirring between each one. Transfer melted chocolate to a pastry bag or plastic bag with 1/4 and inch of the tip cut off and pipe melted chocolate on top of cereal bars back and forth horizontally, saving a little extra to add the eyes. Place bars in the fridge for 10 minutes to set.
• Cut bars in long rectangles and use left over melted chocolate to place eyes on the bars towards the top of the rectangles.

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PLUS we have a Harry Potter giveaway also!  Make sure you stay with us and scroll to the very bottom of the post.

Butterbeer Shakes and Pumpkin Pasties

You are sure to fall in love with these tasty treats. The cold Butterbeer Shake’s frothy mix combined with a warm flakey Pumpkin Pastie will send you straight to The Three Broomsticks! Plus, we’ve got two versions of Pumpkin Pasties for you – a savory and a sweet one.

Pumpkin Pasties Savory and Sweet

Preparing these pasties is super easy. You’ll be able to whip these up in no time, but we’d highly recommend involving the little ones. Create a Harry Potter memory together! We still can’t get over how tasty these two versions are. Be sure to try both!

The Savory mix.

The Sweet mix.

Roll out dough and cut into circles using a cup.

Drop a spoonful of savory and sweet mixture on to your pastie cutouts. Fold over dough and press together.

Crimp the edges with a fork to make your pasties look pretty and to seal the dough together.

Ready to bake!

Hot and ready to eat! These Pumpkin Pasties are delicious with the flakey crust and soft flavor-filled insides! Don’t forget, a side of Butterbeer is a must.

Print

Pumpkin Pasties

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 15 -20 pasties

Ingredients

• Savory
• 1/2 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
• 1/8 tsp sage
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 clove garlic minced
• 8 oz pork sausage
• Sweet
• 1/2 can pumpkin puree
• 1 tbsp butter softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/3 c white chocolate chips
• 1 tbsp flour
• Egg Wash
• 2 eggs
• For both: one package refrigerated pie dough thawed

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Mix ingredients for savory and sweet pasties in separate bowls.
• For the Savory Pumpkin Pasties, cook pork sausage according to directions on package and season with a sprinkle of sage, salt, and pepper.
• Mix cooked sausage with pumpkin puree, sage, salt, pepper, and garlic. Set aside savory filling.
• For the Sweet Pumpkin Pasties, mix together pumpkin puree, softened butter, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, white chocolate chips, and flour. Set aside sweet filling.
• Roll out both prepared pie crusts until 1/4 of an inch thin and cut into circles. Use a cup to cut out circles.
• Spoon each of the different fillings into the circles of pie down and fold over, crimping the edges with a fork.
• Mark savory with two lines and sweet with a cross to differentiate.
• Place pasties on greased cookie sheet.
• Beat eggs together with a fork to make egg wash. Brush over pasties with egg wash.
• Bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before eating.
• Enjoy!

Notes

The recipe will make 8-10 savory pasties and 8-10 sweet pasties depending on the size cup you use. Or 15-20 pasties total.
Recipe adapted from Bijoux & Bits

Butterbeer Shakes

Your ingredients are simple. Cream soda, vanilla bean ice cream, butterscotch syrup, rum extract, and Cool Whip. If you don’t like Cool Whip, feel free to use whipped cream.

Mmmm…Butterscotch…

Ready to blend! Taste test after blending and adjust as needed. Too thick? Add more cream soda. Not thick enough? Add more ice cream. Can’t taste the rum? You get the picture…

Accio Butterbeer!

Voila! Looks mouthwatering doesn’t it?

We highly recommend enjoying your Butterbeer Shakes and Pumpkin Pasties while watching or reading your favorite Harry Potter movie/book! Or the whole series. Whatever strikes your fancy!

Print

Butterbeer Shakes

Servings 1 glass

Author This Grandma Is Fun

Ingredients

• 4 heaping scoops of vanilla bean ice cream
• 1/2-3/4 cup cream soda
• 3 Tbsp butterscotch syrup
• 1/4 tsp rum extract
• Whipped cream
• Butterscotch chips

Instructions

• Place glass mug or cup in freezer to frost.
• Scoop ice cream and drop into blender.
• Pour cream soda into blender. Adjust amount based on desired thickness.
• Add butterscotch syrup and rum extract to your concoction.
• Blend on high until sufficiently mixed.
• Pour carefully into your frosted glass.
• Add a dollop of whipped cream, a small handful of butterscotch chips, and carefully drizzle more syrup to top it off!
• Sip away!
• 

Notes

Adapted from The Disney Diner

“The stories we love best do live in us forever, so whether you come back by page or by the big screen (or perhaps by kitchen), Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.”

– J.K. Rowling

If you liked these Butterbeer Shakes and Pumpkin Pasties, try our Polyjuice Potion!

Looking for more Harry Potter posts? One of our blogging friends is a huge Harry Potter enthusiast! Raegun Ramblings. Her Happy Harry Potter series is amazing! Then enter below for her Harry Potter Giveaway.  Just look at what she will be giving away!

Check out these items that will be given away.  Enter for a chance to win below!

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Prize Pack #1

See more about each prize and sponsor at this giveaway post and be sure to enter the other equally awesome prize pack while you’re there! Winner must have a US address or be willing to pay for international shipping.

• Maroon and Gold Magic Wand Holster and Magic Wand (toddler, child, or adult sizes available)
• Hogwarts House Scarf (choice of which house)
• Hogwarts Graduation Year Shirt (choice of baby to adult size with custom graduation year)
• Librarian Glasses Pillow
• The Unofficial Guide to Crafting the World of Harry Potter
• Personalized Hogwarts Acceptance Letter
• Illustrated Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
• Hogwart’s House Tie Necklace (choice of colors)
• Owl Crate Upcoming August Box
• Lit Joy Crate May Box
• Classic Maillot Swimsuit SEWING PATTERN

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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The post Butterbeer Shakes and Pumpkin Pasties appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

1.  Halloween Bark from Bakerella is adorable!

2.  Ping Pong Ball Ghost lights from Unoriginal Mom are a perfect way to add a little spook to your home.                          

3. These Strawberry Ghosts from Candiquik are nothing to be afraid of.

4.  Ghost Footprints from Crafty Morning are a good way to keep the little ones involved in the holiday.                                                            

5. These Boo-nana Pops by Skinny Taste are a good non-candy treat for Halloween.                                                                                 

6. Cheesecloth Ghosts from Made From Pinterest add a little color to the typical white ghost.

7. Nothing screams Halloween more than these Chocolate Cupcakes with Meringue Ghosts by the Comfort of Cooking.

8. These Glue Ghosts by the Best Nanny are so fun for kids

9. This Boo-licious Pizza by A Pretty Life in the Suburbs is great for Kids and Moms.                                                                                                 

10. DIY Hanging Cheesecloth Ghosts  from Crafts Unleashed are an inexpensive decoration and a craft for kids.                    

11. Ghost Cake Pops by Bubble and Sweet are a perfect Halloween party treat.                                                                     

12. Ghost Bombs in a Mummy box from Made From Pinterest are fun and safe for kids!

13. Graveyard Pudding Cups by Party Planning are perfect for parties are a fun treat for your kids.

14. These Gourd Ghosts by Made from Pinterest are perfect for fall and they last forever!

16.  S’more Ghosts by Blondie and Brownies are cute, simple, and yummy.

17. These Halloween Rock Magnets by This Heart of Mine are a nice fridge decoration your kids can make.

18. Ghosts in a Jar by Landee See Landee Do are much less spooky when they are behind glass.                                                       

19. This Self-Inflatable Ghost by Mama Smiles is a perfect way to spend the day before trick-or-treating.                                               

20. These Spirit Jugs by Eighteen 25 are a fun and crafty way of recycling.

21.  Yarn Ghost Garland by Eighteen 25 is a great project for decorating the house.

22. Rice Krispie Treat Ghost Pops by Hungry Happenings are almost too cute to eat.                                                             

23. These Google Eye Donut Ghosts by Your Homebased Mom are easy!

The post 20+ Easy Ghost Crafts and Treats appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

 25 Simple Witch Crafts and Treats

1. A cute and funky idea for a delicious cupcake will have the kids laughing and having a blast! From Food Network 

2. These broomsticks will make your front yard spectacular with their glitter and design! From Ann’s Entitled Life

3. Dressing up your little kids just got easier, especially in an adorable witches tutu dress. From Pottery Barn Kids

4. Need more decoration in the house? Change it up and hang some witches hats! From EasyDay

5. How about some yummy cupcakes? While you’re at it, add a polka dot cupcake liner on top to make it look like a witches hat. From The Cake Blog

6. This creative but spunky witches decoration can go inside or outside your house! From Dave Lowe Design

7. For those Harry Potter fans out there, here is a fun caramel treat mimicking the sorting hat! From Candy Bar Cupcakes

8. Turn a wedding dress into this year’s Halloween Witches costume, the “perfect” dress! From Made From Pinterest

9. Here is a simple and funny way to put those popsicle sticks to good use! From This Girl’s Life Blog

10. Try this deliciously heart warming white hot chocolate for the Halloween spirit! From Lil’ Luna

11. An erie and spooky way to decorate your yard for the neighborhood. From Better Homes and Gardens

12. Check out these adorable tutu costumes, turn your kid into an adorable little witch! From Sara’s Code

13. “Ding Dong the witch is dead” how cute of an idea, check out those sparkly shoes! From Positively Splendid

14. Some fun Halloween and Fall games to keep the kids busy. From My Life and Kids

15. Witches Brew Cookies, they are fun, creative and delicious! From Doughmesstic 

16. Everyone loves candied apples, especially toffee covered ones, with a black glaze to make them look like “poison apples”! From Simply Delicious

17. A fun crafty game to play with your family and friends, Witch Pitch! From The House of Whimsy

18. Throwing a Halloween party? Jazz it up with eatable witch’s broomstick snacks, From Mom Foodie

19. A creative way to welcome your little trick-or-treaters this Halloween season! From Design Dazzle

20. These really cute and simple fascinator hats are good to wear through all Halloween! From Handmade Mood

21. A yummy treat that is simple to make with your Rice Krispies and turn them into candy hats! From Two Sisters Crafting

22. There are a ton of crafts out there with Tomato Cages, but have you ever thought of a Halloween Tree? From Made From Pinterest

23. Delicious Witches Hat cookies for all to eat! From Achica

24. Dressing up your toddler just got so much more fun and adorable! From The Makerista

25. Check out this DIY Witch Cape with other accessories! From A Thrifter in Disguise

I hope you have enjoyed these 25 Simple Witch Crafts and Treats like I did, and enjoy this Halloween season with all these witch crafts and treats!

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My Halloween specialty is making a dinner with appropriately gross food and my kids love it.  We’ve had meatloaf rats, bloody nose soup, eyeballs and a jello brain amongst many other things.  Last year we had a Harry Potter Murder Mystery Dinner that was a blast.  I just love that kind of stuff!

Even though things can get pretty gruesome around my place during Halloween, I also like to decorate with a little sparkle!  Enter these Glitter Pumpkin Candy Holders.  Made out of craft pumpkins, these are super easy to make but will really stand out in your home.  I get a lot of compliments on mine!

But enough yakkin’, let’s get crafting!

Here are the items that you will need for this project:

• Craft Pumpkins
• Martha Stewart Fine Glitter 1.48 oz bottle.  I used gold, turquoise and a light green for the stem. I get mine at Michael’s. Picture below
• Box cutter, picture below
• Elmer’s All-Purpose Glue
• Paintbrush.  I used a foam one.

Determine what size of pumpkin you are going to glitter and then I just eyeballed it and with a pen, drew a mouth on my pumpkins.  Make sure it will be large enough to fit a hand into and don’t go too low so that there won’t be any room to hold candy.  You could also draw eyes and a nose to cut out but I wasn’t interested in doing that to these two this time.

With your box cutter, cut on your mouth lines.  If it is not exact or if there is some line still showing on the pumpkin, don’t worry because it will be covered with the glitter!

Remove the cut-out part and then clean up any rough edges.   Now for this next part, make sure you have your pumpkins on some newspaper or a trash bag because there is going to be lots of overspill of your glitter.  You will want to be able to keep the spilled glitter to put back into your bottle.

With your paintbrush, apply the glue to your pumpkin.  I usually work in smaller sections. Make sure that you have good coverage but not too thick or else after you apply the glitter, the glue will start to slide and cause a glob.   Don’t ask me how I know that.

Sprinkle your glitter over the glue.

Tap your pumpkin to remove any excess glue.  I glittered most of the top part of my pumpkins first, let them dry overnight and then I glittered the bottoms.   I also glittered the exposed edges where I cut the pumpkin and don’t forget to glitter the stem!  Same procedure.

I also glittered one pumpkin at a time so that I wasn’t mixing up the two colors of glitter.  You can just pour the excess glitter back into your jar to use again.  You will be surprised at how little glitter it actually takes to make these beautiful pumpkins!

If you see any areas that didn’t glitter, don’t worry.  Just apply some more glue, sprinkle your  glitter, then tap and that should take care of that.

When your pumpkin is completely dry, take a damp cloth and wipe out the inside of your pumpkin of any glitter residue.

Fill with your favorite candy and you are ready to go.

Happy Halloween everyone!

You can also find us on Pinterest │ Facebook │ Twitter │ Instagram │ StumbleUpon │ Hometalk

Check out these other great Halloween ideas!

Bloody Shirley Temples

Chocolate Chip Spider Cookies

Halloween Hot Chocolate

The post Glitter Pumpkin Candy Holders appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

I’m Amy from Atta Girl Says, and today I have a gorgeous pumpkin project to share with you, Painted Metallic Foil Pumpkins.

Now, I  think pumpkins are gorgeous as they grow. But I am also of the opinion that everything looks better with a little shine!

And since I’m all about using nontraditional colors in my fall decorating this year, I decided to paint some inexpensive foam pumpkins from the dollar store in shades of blue, aqua, purple and gray and embellish them with metallic foil.

I’ve gilded before with gold leaf sheets that you find at the craft store, but this time around, I used the kind of metallic foil that decorative painters and faux finishers use. I bought mine from a local paint and home decor store, but you can also find it online from places like Royal Design Studio. I like using the foil because it’s easier to work with and comes in an array of finishes: antique gold, copper, bright gold, silver, bronze soft gold and even colors.

I started out with some cheap foam pumpkins from the dollar store.

I gave each one a couple coats of chalk paint until none of the original orange showed through.

Next, I used a foam brush to coat each pumpkin with adhesive size. Allow that to dry until it’s tacky, or sticky.

Then you want to take your metallic foil sheet, shiny side up, and press it on the sticky surface of the pumpkin.

Like so. Press firmly to transfer the foil to the pumpkin, then peel off. Repeat all over the pumpkin.

Your goal is a mottled effect, with some of the paint showing through.

You can foil the stems, as well, or use a product like Rub’n’Buff was or DecoArt Metallic Lustre to coat them.

After you’ve applied the foil, the pumpkins will remain sticky with the adhesive size. Use a clear sealer or acrylic spray to seal them.

I’m kinda in love with these Painted Metallic Foil Pumpkins. I’ve used them to make a fall wreath for my front door and also in our dining room table decorations.

I’ll hope you’ll stop by Atta Girl Says for a visit. You never know what I’ll be up to! Crafting, cooking, decorating, painting furniture, entertaining — I do it all. I’d also love to have you join me on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Here are a few things I’ve been working on lately:

Pumpkin Patch Sign

 White Chocolate Dipped Cannoli with Strawberry Cream

Caramel Macchiato Apple Bites

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Hello everyone! Amber from rick•a•bam•boo here again. This month I am going to share a really fun recipe with all of you. How to make your own Candy Googley Eyes. These are so fun and are perfect for Halloween! Well, anytime really. Isn’t all food more fun with little candy eyes?

I saw these on Instagram from My Name Is Snickerdoodle and immediately went over to Pinterest so that I could pin them for later. I didn’t know at the time what I would need them for, I just loved them. They ended up being the perfect thing for a monster themed birthday party for Thor.

The recipe is simple. But I’m not going to lie, they can be really hard to pipe. My piping skills are a bit rusty, but if you are a master piper then you should be fine.

Print

Candy Googley Eyes Recipe

Course Candy

Author Amber Simmons

Ingredients

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 5 TBSP meringue powder
• 1/2 cup cold water
• TOOLS
• black gel food coloring
• 2-3 cookie sheets
• parchment paper
• 2 pastry bags fit with a #3 tip OR a freezer bag
• 2 large drinking glasses

Instructions

• First line your sheets with parchment paper.
• Then in a mixer blend together the powered sugar, meringue powder, and cold water. Beat for 3-5 minutes to make it nice and smooth. When the you lift the whisk out of the mixing bowl the part that drizzles back down should absorb back into the rest in 10 seconds or less. Add more water or powdered sugar as needed to achieve the desired consistency.
• When you have the right proper texture place your white piping bag, tip down, in to a large drinking glass. Roll the top of the bag down around the glass and start filling your bag. Leave about 3/4 a cup in the mixing bowl.
• Add the black food coloring a few drops at a time to the remaining mixture. Continue until you reach the desired darkness.
• Fill the second pastry bag with the black mixture.
• Pipe eyes starting with the white on to the prepared trays. It's okay if some of them stick together. They are googley eyes after all.
• Once the white as dried a bit it is time to start adding the black. The whites are probably dry enough once you finish piping them all. Just start adding black to the first whites you made. You can add the pupil anywhere, in the center or off to the side.
• When you are finished let the eyes dry for 24 hours and then store them in an air tight container. They are good for a whole year.

Don’t worry if all your whites aren’t perfectly round. That just makes the eyes more expressive. I basically just touched the black to the white to make the pupils. I didn’t squeeze at all, but my black was probably a bit on the thin side.

This recipe makes a ton of eyes so you can have fun with your food all year long.

Here’s a peek at how awesome Thor’s monster birthday cake turned out.

Be sure to follow me so that you don’t miss any of the awesome Halloween stuff I have planned!

Pinterest  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Google+  |  Instagram

Here are a few of my recipes that you will enjoy also:

BBQ Pork Wonton Tacos

Scrumptious Italian Pasta Salad

 Honey Sriracha-Glazed Chicken

The post Candy Googley Eyes Recipe appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

Everyone in my family knows that if they are not sure what to get me for a present, I am sure to like any kitchen gadget. I can spend hours in a kitchen store. Every gadget I see, I am sure I need it. One of my recent favorites is a Pizzelle maker my family got me for Christmas! LOVE IT! I justified the purchase by making Mascarpone and Fruit Filled Pizzelle Cups. And it got me thinking. About waffle cones. And Minerva McGonagall.

So I just had to get myself a Waffle Cone Maker. My family began to think I was going crazy with batch after batch of botched hats and trashed cones. I wanted to mimic the way her hat droops at the top, the floppy brim and I wanted to get everything to be the right proportions.

The next hurdle was getting M and M’s in the Gryffindor house colors. So I was off to Candy World at the mall. I placed my bag, pulled the lever and heard the pleasing sound of M and M’s spilling into my bag. Then I weighed it. Okay, FYI, those candies come out of the dispenser really fast! I was up to $17 and all I had were maroon M and M’s! I did much better on the gold M and M’s, but not good enough. Friends, learn from my $30 M and M mistake and get 7 to 8 ounces of each color. Nobody needs that many Gryffindor colored candies.

It took me a while to work out my design for Professor McGonagal’s hat, but once I did, it was really pretty quick and easy. So I have worked out all the bugs, cleared out all the cobwebs and shazaam accio! Now you can see how easy  it is to make your own in this short video. Mrs. Weasley couldn’t have done better with magic! Make sure to scroll down for the printable recipe after viewing. Hope this helps you have a magical Halloween!

Print

Candy Filled McGonagall Hats

Servings 10

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 stick half cup melted butter, cooled
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoon black gel food coloring
• Colored Candies to fill the hat
• Black decorating icing

Instructions

• Whisk eggs. Add sugar and continue whisking until light yellow and well combined. Add melted butter and flour. Whisk until it is free of lumps, add vanilla and food coloring. Mix well.
• Next, follow manufacturers directions to make cones, BUT undercook them. 40 seconds was perfect on my cone maker. This way they stay soft enough to punch the tops and bend it over. Otherwise they will be to crisp to do that. The cones will be very hot. I used a spatula or a kitchen knife to remove them from the cone maker. Lay a towel on the counter as a work surface.

For the cones:

• Three small cookies scoops was the perfect amount for my waffle cone maker to make a full size cone. To make the hats, make full size circles and cut them in half. Then lay one half back onto the heated plate to keep it soft and pliable. On one corner, put a dab of black decorating icing. Take your cone form with the tip along the straight edge and begin rolling at the icing free edge of the cone along the form, keeping edges even, towards the dab of icing. You may want to use a towel or cloth as the cone will be hot. The dab of icing helps the cone hold tightly. Slide the form out of the cone slightly, pinch the top of the cone and hold in place with a kitchen towel. Remove the form. Cool for 50 seconds to a minute. Repeat with the other half.

For the brims:

• Lay five large spoons in a circle, with the handles out. Make a cone with two scoops of dough for a smaller circle. Lay the circle on the five spoon. Lay the handle of a knife in between each spoon to create an undulating edge. Cool 50 seconds to one minute.

To assemble the hats:

• Turn the cone upside down and fill with candy. Pipe decorating icing along the rim of the hat. Place the brim of the hat over the cone and press into place. Turn the hat over and let icing harden for about 20 - 30 minutes before serving.

Notes

Each full size cone (3 scoops of dough) makes two hats. You will need 5 full size cones for 10 hats.
Each small cone (2 scoops of dough) makes one brim. You will need 10.
Make sure to handle the hats from the base. If picking up the hat from the cone, the brim may fall off.
If ordering specialty colored candy, 7 ounces of each color will be plenty.
These are best fresh, but the cones and brims may be made 1 or 2 days ahead and kept in Ziploc bags or an airtight container.

Don’t forget to have a little Polyjuice Potion on hand to help wash down all that candy!

This post contains an affiliate link which means I receive a small compensation, at no additional cost to you, if you make a purchase using my link. Clearly I am really happy with my waffle cone maker and had a blast designing these hats. I promise I will only recommend products I truly love!

The post Candy Filled McGonagall Hats appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

Okay, okay I know that it is barely September but I can’t help but get excited when my second favorite holiday of all time is drawing near.  I love, love, love Halloween.  And for years I have made this Ghost Decoration, but I have always made them in white.  Well….this year I took things up a notch and decided to liven them up a little bit with some color and I love them! I think these ghosts are so impressive because they don’t look like they should be standing up on their own being made out of flimsy cheesecloth.   The process is super easy, and I love that I pretty much have everything that I need already at home.

What you will need to make these are:

• Cheesecloth
• Sugar
• Water
• Spray Paint, your choice of colors
• Glass bottles with long necks
• Black felt
• Foil

Decide on the size of your bottles and then take your foil and make a ball for the head.  Once you have made your ball, wrap it in a square piece of foil and crimp the bottom into a “stem”.

Insert the “head” into your bottle.

Next, take your foil and make a long “snake” for your arms.  I think I made mine about 20 inches long.  Crimp it together and wrap it around the neck of your bottle.  Bend the arms to where you want them.  I like mine not exactly level but with one arm higher than the other.  Don’t ask me why.

Okay, so now you want to cut your cheesecloth to be long enough to cover both sides of your side with some extra leftover to drape at the bottom which forms your stand.  I can’t really give the length since every bottle will be different so I just eyeball it.

Then you want to take 1/2 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat.  Let it cool and when it is okay to touch, douse your cheesecloth into the sugar water.  Squeeze out the excess but not to a super, duper dry because you want some sugar to stay on the cheesecloth to harden.  This is what helps keep the ghost shape.

After squeezing, place your bottle on a piece of foil or wax paper and drape the cheesecloth over the ghost frame.

Layer the extra at the bottom thickly so that it will create a nice base.  Also, make sure you press down around the shoulder area so that your cheesecloth doesn’t go straight from the head to the arm. You want a nice shoulder area.

Let dry overnight.  When it is completely dry, spray paint with your choice of color.  The biggest thing that you need to do when spray painting these is to look at your ghost from every possible angle so that you can get spray paint into the folds with no white showing.  I sprayed the bottoms and up from the bottom into the inside.  Cut some eyes and mouths from the black felt and glue onto the ghost face.  Voila!  Don’t you just love these colors?

I already have these guys gracing my family room coffee table.

You can also find us on Pinterest │ Facebook │ Twitter │ Instagram │ StumbleUpon │ Hometalk

Need a few more Halloweeny Ideas?  Check these out!

Bloody Shirley Temples

Mummy Mason Jars

Chocolate Chip Spider Cookies

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Hello. Amber from rick•a•bam•boo here with another fun DIY post for you. I am so excited that fall is upon us. It’s my favorite season and it contains my favorite holiday. I love, love, love Halloween. So I thought I would take this chance to share a Halloween craft with all of you.

We all know that Halloween is all about the candy. So why not have a count down to the most candy filled day of the year?

My mom found this super cute Halloween count down from I Heart Naptime last year and we just had to make them. And yes, it is actually 53 days until Halloween. So it is time to panic about costumes. Sorry.

We used her instructions as a guide and made a few small tweaks here and there to better suit our needs. We each purchased:

• Four  5 1/2″ x 6′ fence boards and cut them into 2 foot lengths
• Two  2″ x 2″ x 8′ boards and them cut to 5 1/2 feet

Note: I would buy the boards about a week before you plan to make this project and take them home to let them dry. We thought we chose ones that were pretty dry and went home and cut and assembled our signs. The next day we had slight gaps between the boards from them drying out more at home overnight.

To assemble, we just hammered the fence boards to the 2 x 2 pieces of wood. Don’t worry about lining the boards up to make straight sides. It looks best a little wonky.

Once it was assembled we used a 1:1 ratio of white craft paint to water to give the sign a white wash.  When the wash was dry we used a candy corn shape cut from the silhouette to stencil on a scattering of candy corns. Our candy corns are 5″ x 3.8″.

Start with the white and fill the candy shape as much with white as you like. Then move to the yellow and last paint the orange. By going lightest to darkest we were able to free hand them without any issues. They aren’t perfect lines but they still look great.

We also used the same fonts she did, which were Crackhouse, Addict, and Adler. I downloaded them free online. I just Googled the names to find their free sources. Then I set to work figuring out which font we wanted for which text and how big to make it.

“It’s all about the” – Crackhouse at 400.25 pt
“CANDY!” – Addict at 390 pt
“Days until trick or treating” – Alder at 250 pt
numbers – Didot at about 348 pt

Note: You might have to break up some of the words in order to fit them on to the sheets of cardstock. We had a couple of single letters that we had to tack on to the end of a couple words.

We then cut all of the text from cardstock using the Silhouette. Then, using painters tape or masking tape we gently taped the text in place. There is such a big white area on the bottom so that you can stack pumpkins and other fall/Halloween decor there with your sign.

Once we were happy with how it looked it was time to paint. Using a sponge brush, get paint on the brush, dab off the excess, and lightly apply a thin layer of paint while holding the stencil firmly to the sign. You will want to do a couple layers to get the text nice and dark.

For our numbers we decided that we wanted to make ours weatherproof. We cut the numbers from white cardstock using the Silhouette and mounted them to black cardstock cut to 4 1/4″ x 6 1/2″. Once the adhesive had dried we ran them through the laminator to make them waterproof.

We chose to mount them to the sign with a 1 1/2″ piece of velcro at the top and bottom of each number. That way the numbers couldn’t flap up in the breeze. We adhered the hook half of the velcro to the top of the numbers and the loop part we put on the bottom of all the numbers. Then we used the opposite on the boards to make them stick.

The spider up in the corner we found at Dollar Tree and just velcroed him up there as well.

We joked about making it so you could put three digits up so that you can just start over on November 1st and leave it out all year. However, I think the neighbors might not like their kids counting down to Halloween all year long.

Want more Halloween fun? Check out these posts.

Zombie Brain Rice Crispy Treats

Printable Hero Masks

Anna & Elsa Crochet Hats

Be sure to follow me so that you don’t miss any of the awesome Halloween stuff I have planned!

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These ultra-soft, and flavorful pumpkin muffins are the perfect way to start your day. With just the right balance of flavors, these muffins are sure to be a crowd-pleaser! Especially when you are hosting guys, and you don’t know what to offer them as a dessert or breakfast option. I can confidently say, with this recipe, these are the best pumpkin muffins I have ever tasted. Join me, and together let’s make some simple, and yet tasty pumpkin muffins of your own.

Easy Pumpkin Muffins Recipe

Hey guys! It’s Margaret Anne here from the Natural Chow blog. I’m back with another delicious healthy recipe to kick off the holiday season. Today I’m sharing with you one of my favorite recipes of all time — pumpkin muffins! I bet you are as excited about this as I am! Here we go.

There are two types of people out there: those who love pumpkins and those who hate them. I’ve always been pumpkin’s #1 fan, but one of my brothers can’t stand the taste of it. They feel it is yuck-ish to even bring it close to one’s mouth. All it took was one bite of these muffins to convert him! You folks who hate pumpkins, I promise you’ll be great pumpkins fans by the time we are done with this post. 

Cooking Pumpkins

How to make the best Pumpkin Puree the easy way.

Making pumpkin puree has never been this easy guys. I am certain that this will be a fun activity and one you’ll be super grateful to come across. 

For those of us who love DIY stuff, this is a great one. And to start off you need to know which type of pumpkin to use to come up with the best puree. Not any pumpkin can produce the great taste of puree but a small-sized pumpkin. Do not let the size of the pumpkin deceive you and end up getting the Halloween-sized kind of pumpkins. You’ll pinch yourself for having a tasteless puree. That’s a tip I’ll give you for free.

The small-sized pumpkins are the best for purees because of their sugary nature. Preparing the puree takes a few minutes. The first task is cutting the pumpkin into half which might require a little more energy than usual. But it ain’t a sweaty experience so don’t fret.

The second step is to have all the seeds from the pumpkin removed and all the stringy membranes in it. This is done using a spoon. Once finished, lay the pumpkin pieces (with the outer cover facing up) on a lined tray for baking in a preheated oven of 425 degrees. Bake the pumpkins for 35 minutes or so.

When they have cooled, remove the outer cover of the pumpkins. Then finally cut the pumpkins into small chunks and use a food processor or blender to make the puree. Easy peasy. Right!

You can prepare this for a whole week’s use and store it in the refrigerator for use while making your pancakes or oats for breakfast. And not forgetting your muffins for that evening snack.

Why Pumpkin Muffins

I can’t stress enough how amazing these muffins are. They are literally the best muffins I’ve ever eaten in my life—and I’ve eaten a lot of muffins! Being a baker’s kid meant never missing on any baked product. They’re unbelievably soft with the perfect balance of spice, sweetness, and pumpkin flavor. Nothing is more than the other. You can literally tell the skill that is put in the process.

All it took was making these muffins once to fall in love with them forever. Did I mention they’re ah-mazing? Ain’t they the literal definition of love at first sight? Because you just love them by a single glance. You can see that in their raw state: with no frosting, no glaze, no drizzle,  and no dusting of powdered sugar, they are super tantalizing.

They are not only soft but also easily melt in your mouth once consumed. The softness of the muffins can stay for a couple of days. Thus one can make more than a day’s muffins for their family to enjoy for long. It sure is a handy recipe, and snack, especially for busy families. 

What You Need For The Pumpkin Muffins Recipe

Coming up with the pumpkin muffins requires nothing out of the blue. The ingredients needed while baking any other time are pretty much what you’ll need for this recipe as well. They are readily available, and you need not rob a bank trying to access them.

These spices include:

• whole milk
• baking powder
• eggs, cooking oil
• all-purpose flour
• salt
• granulated sugar
• brown sugar
• vanilla
• ginger
• nutmeg allspice
• cinnamon
• and importantly pumpkin puree.

For the spices, you don’t have to strictly use the ones I have mentioned. You can use your favorite ones. Also, milk is not a major requirement, especially for lactose-intolerant folks. You can substitute the milk with water.

The good thing is that for most of the supplies you can use them severally in your baking. They last more than one time’s use and are readily available in your local store. 

I’m stocking up on pumpkin puree this fall just so I can have these beautiful, soft, tender muffins every week!

How To Make Pumpkin Muffins

Now that you’ve got your supplies, and all that is needed for your recipe, we can start the baking process. The steps are pretty simple and easy to follow. 

• First, preheat the oven to 375F and add your paper liners to a muffin tin. Or if you don’t want to use paper liners, grease the tin with oil.
• Remember the wet and dry ingredients are whisked separately at first. So for the second step, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices of your choice in a medium/large bowl then whisk together and set aside. 
•  Now on to the wet ingredients. Add oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and milk to a small/medium bowl then whisk to combine. Add the pumpkin puree, and whisk once more until smooth.
• Pour the wet ingredient into the dry ones in the larger bowl, and mix until just combined.
• Once the mixture is consistent enough, use the ice cream scoop to fill the muffin papers with the butter. 
• Place the already filled muffin tin in the preheated oven, and let them cook for about 2-24 minutes. You can also know they are ready if a toothpick inserted right in the center of a muffin comes out clean. 
• Once ready leave them to settle and cool for around five minutes then they’ll be ready to be devoured. 

You can imagine having the muffins with some hot glass of milk. Oh my! It’s literally a heaven on earth experience. 

These really are the BEST pumpkin muffins ever! I hope you guys love them as much as my family did. I made a double batch, and my family of 10 demolished them in less than 30 minutes. And everyone wanted a third and fourth taste of them.

Not only are they sinfully delicious, but these pumpkin muffins pinned from Lovely Little Kitchen are also super easy to make, and clean-up is a breeze! They follow the procedure highlighted above only with a few changes here and there. And they also did a good job on their recipe. 

Print

The Best Pumpkin Muffins {Ever}

These ultra soft and flavorful pumpkin muffins are the perfect way to start your day. With just the right balance of flavors, these muffins are sure to be a crowd-pleaser!

Course Breakfast

Servings 12

Author Margaret Anne @ Natural Chow

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 large eggs
• 1 15 oz can pure pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup coconut oil melted
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375° F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners or grease with nonstick spray. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Whisk to combine and set aside.
• In a small bowl, combine the eggs, pumpkin puree, coconut oil, milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and fold to combine. The batter will be thick.
• Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan.
• Bake for 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before removing the muffins from the pan. Serve.

Notes

You may need to heat up your coconut oil if it is solid.

Nutrition

Serving: 2g

More Pumpkin Recipes 

You can certainly use pumpkins for other great recipes. Such as pumpkin bread, pumpkin spiced latte, and so on.

If you liked this pumpkin muffins recipe, you might want to check these recipes we have for Pumpkin Donuts, Pumpkin Dump Cake, and my absolute favorite – Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.

In Conclusion

Were you one of those who hated pumpkins earlier, and now you are super impressed with how good they can turn out? Promised you you’d be converted by the time we are done! Now, look at you here savoring all the taste!

This was such an exciting journey. I couldn’t wish I’d done it any other way. I love baking, and I love sharing my art with people. This is an amazing recipe, and once you try it, you always stick to it. And your grandkids will be so thankful for a new dessert, snack, and take-to-school extra meal. You can also attest that this is such an easy way to make muffins that brings the family together as it can be a family activity. We would really be thrilled to know how the experience is for you in our comments section.

Did You Love The Pumpkin Muffins Recipe We Got You? Here Are More Great Recipes For You!

• 29 Recipes Your Kids Will Love To Make
• 23 Mouth-Watering Muffin Recipes
• 101 Apple Recipes To Try Right Now
• You Will “Fall” In Love With These Holiday E-bok Recipes 
• 27 Copycat Disney Recipes

Pin it:

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As you probably know, Harry Potter’s Birthday is tomorrow! (Let the Harry Potter Parties commence!) This Harry Potter Polyjuice Potion Recipe is here to help you celebrate!

It looks and tastes amazing! The best part? This recipe is crazy easy to make, too! 

Your grandkids will love it! 

What is A Polyjuice Potion?

If your grandkids are Harry Potter fans, you should know a little bit about wizards and potions.

This potion makes the person who drinks it assume the appearance of somebody else. But first, he has to possess a part of his body to add to the brew. It means that in the brew there should be a hair or other part of the person. It is also one of the most difficult and time-consuming potions. 

Which color is best for the Polyjuice Potion recipe?

The original potion changes color depending on the person you want to impersonate. It reacts to the nature of the person to be imitated. In fact, when everyone became Harry Potter, the Polyjuice Potion was golden in color.

In the recipe, we use neon-bright green coloring because it is very wizardry and beautiful.

Feel free to use different coloring of your choice. The best option would be natural colorings like beetroot, blue spirulina, turmeric, or mango powder. It depends on the color your want to create.

How to serve a Polyjuice potion?

Because there is Sprite in the potion, it tastes best when you serve it cold and in a tall glass. You can also make small shots of the Polyjuice potion as a welcome drink for your party. Make labels for your food and drinks, it will add to the excitement. And it is fun, too!

To have more bubbling and foam, make the potions right before the party starts. As it tends to dissolve over time.

You know how all the potions have some kind of fumes coming out of them. So, we need a bubbly ingredient. You can easily create this using a dash of vinegar and baking soda. It will create some bubbling out of the glass. Your grandkids will be so excited to see this!

What else do you need for your perfect Harry Potter-themed party?

I’ve really missed the Harry Potter craze. The midnight book-selling parties and movie premieres with fans decked out in costume. Now that the series is finished, there are a lot fewer opportunities to get together with my fellow book nerds and party. Thank heavens for Harry Potter parties!

If you want to see other awesome Harry Potter Party ideas you need to check out the blog Raegun Ramblings! She has put together more Harry Potter roundups than I have ever seen!

The theme is wizards and magic, so you need to create this feeling in the atmosphere. It is time to get creative!

Make your home look like Hogwarts using these amazing tips: 

• invitations with wizards and sorting hat elements
• give your room a wizardry feel
• make potions and other magical snacks, food, and drinks
• add an owl element
• decorate with books of spells
• use some Harry Potter sticker labels on the bottles of the drinks to make authentic wizardry feel
• place Harry Potter-inspired labels on the table and try to come up with some witty and magical names for your food and drinks.
• display your Harry Potter hardcover books
• have a Harry Potter photo booth with a sorting hat or a magic wand

To set the mood for your Harry Potter party you need to gather everything you have in your house that you can relate to the topic. In fact, it includes all of your Harry Potter hardcover books. 

Add an owl element to make the atmosphere more wizardry. For instance, come up with names for your Harry Potter-inspired party food, such as Elixir of Life, Unicorn Blood, and much more. Search the internet for some witty names and print them on cardboards. Put labels next to every one of the food snacks and drinks.

What is a party without any fun games? Undoubtedly, these will make your grandkids busy for a while – creating magic wands and play wizards. For example, have a Harry Potter quiz and entertain your grandkids while drinking a Polyjuice Potion. It is a great way to strengthen the bond with them and have fun together.

Bring some fruits and veggies to the table, too. Your grandkids will like the bright colors and would want to have some.

In Hogwarts, there are secret paths and mysterious things hidden around every corner. You can create this feeling by simply hiding some things and make your guests find them.

Another surprise for you

We’ve teamed up with our Harry Potter-obsessed blogger friends to bring you a sweet giveaway package! Enter below to win some awesome Harry Potter swag! 

• • 25$ Shop Credit (for in-stock items) from Tiny Book Town (super cute bookish jewelry pictured Narnia book necklace and Mystery and Adventure necklace)
  • 40$ Shop Credit from Rae Gun (pictured above House Elf Apron, but anything in the shop is available)
  • 20$ Amazon.com gift card!
  • The August Owl Crate from Owl Crate (this will include an upbeat mystery novel, as well as a bunch of items paying homage to literature’s most-loved detectives)

The Polyjuice Potion recipe

Just three ingredients are necessary! As a matter of fact, all you need is a little Sprite, lime sherbet, and food coloring if you want the green to pop!

Actually, I got this idea when I saw some fun Harry Potter potion roundups and started searching for non-alcoholic versions. I found a vibrant green Polyjuice Potion Punch on Pinterest from Cooking with Curls and fell in love with the color! 

It was easy to make this recipe non-alcoholic for a kid-friendly version.

Polyjuice potion recipe is:

• • • kid-friendly
    • easy to make
    • non-alcoholic
    • fizzy drink
    • great party punch
    • with bright color
    • tasty and refreshing
    • the ultimate welcome drink for Harry Potter fans

As you probably know, Harry Potter’s Birthday is tomorrow – the 31st of July! (Let the Harry Potter Parties commence!) This awesome Harry Potter Polyjuice Potion Recipe is here to help you celebrate!

Actually, if you don’t find this exact color, use another one that you like.

And now for the Polyjuice Potion Punch recipe!  

Print

Polyjuice Potion Punch (Non-alcoholic)

This is seriously so easy to make! Consider it potions 101!

Course Harry Potter Potion

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Author Maria

Ingredients

• Lime Sherbet 1/2 gallon
• Sprite 2 liters
• Neon Green Food Coloring a few drops

Instructions

• Use scissors to cut open the lime sherbet carton and place it in your punch bowl.
• Slowly poor 2 liters of Sprite into the bowl (it will bubble and foam).
• Add a few drop of the food coloring, until the green really pops!

Fun Harry Potter activities for your party

You have this bubbling Polyjuice potion recipe! What is next? You need to think of a way to incorporate it into your party and have fun with it. 

We have some fun activities for your and your grandkids to try and make your family time memorable.

• • • Try science experiments for kids and make more potions.
    • Try to make different colors of the potion and put it in small glass bottles with labels. The same like wizards in Hogwarts do.
    • Your grandkids can make a drawing of Harry Potter and the Polyjuice potion.
    • Play a game when somebody drinks the potion to become somebody else, and the other players should guess who that person is.
    • Potions was a class at the Hogwarts school where Harry Potter was a student. You can create a fun game with your grandkids and learn about potions and play wizards. 
    • Have a Harry Potter quiz.
    • Create Harry Potter wands.

Facts about Harry Potter to help you impress your grandchildren

Are your grandchildren obsessed with Harry Potter? It is the reason why you know a little about Hogwarts, muggles, potions, and the main characters in the book. But it is not enough. 

You are a modern grandparent, and you should know more about your grandchildren’s favorite movies and books. What is more, this way you can bond with them much more and show that you are interested in their passion:

• • • Rowling and Harry Potter share a birthday.
    • In Hogwarts, there are no lifts or escalators, but a lot of stairs.
    • Every portrait in Hogwarts is magically animated. They can go and visit other portraits, as well.
    • All witches and wizards can see the ghosts.
    • Hogwarts castle is somewhere in Scotland.
    • Harry and Voldemort are distant relatives.

Create conversations, ask questions and show them you care. Learn these facts and impress them!

When is the time to make Polyjuice Potion Recipe?

Are you planning a family movie night or a party inspired by the Harry Potter series? This Polyjuice Potion recipe is a great choice for you. Especially, if you want to make the experience more magical and wizardry. 

It is perfect for:

• • • The ultimate Harry Potter movie-night
    • Harry Potter-themed party
    • Halloween party
    • Grandkids birthday parties
    • Bookclub parties
    • Harry Potter theme day
    • Family dinner inspired by Harry Potter
    • Movie marathon night

In conclusion

In short, get creative and make your party entertaining with this Polyjuice Potion recipe.
It is time to make some family memories inspired by our beloved Harry Potter series! Have fun with potions, owls, magic wands, books of spells, and everything wizardry!

Your Harry Potter party will rock!

Did you like this Polyjuice Potion recipe? You need to check out these other Harry Potter-inspired blog posts:

• 101 ideas for the ultimate Harry Potter party
• 21 essential gifts for Harry Potter fans
• 25 simple witchcrafts and treats
• Candy filled McGonagall hats
• Butterbeer shakes and pumpkin pasties

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Unfortunately I love them.  I know, I know, they are cheap candy made of tons of sugar and high fructose corn syrup.

I get it.

But I still love them.

If you love candy corn, then you will love this recipe that I’m sharing today because they make darling Candy Corn Sugar Cookies.

If you hate candy corn, then you will love this recipe that I’m sharing today because they don’t taste like candy corn.  With almond flavoring in the cookie mix, these sugar cookies are divine!

As soon as I saw this pin that I pinned from Jamie Cooks It Up!  I knew that I wanted to make them.  Except that I had one small problem.

I cannot make someone else’s sugar cookies because I LOVE MY OWN RECIPE SO MUCH!  So instead of using her recipe, I used my recipe that I’m famous for which is for Cream Cheese Cutout Cookies.  Just click on the link to get the recipe!

So after making the cookie dough, divide the dough into three parts and with orange and yellow food coloring, color two of the three parts of dough so that you have one white, one yellow and one orange.  I use Americolor Gel Pastes.  I love the vibrant color they provide!  Then cut each color in half so you end up with six small balls of dough

Next take one of the balls of dough and roll it out to a 4 x 9 inch rectangle:

Repeat with the other two colors:

Then with a pizza cutter, cut each color into thirds lengthwise.  Combine each third with the two other colors so it looks like this:

Take your rolling pin and slightly roll over the dough to help combine the rows together.  Then again with your pizza cutter, cut the dough into triangles:

You may have some extra dough on the sides that is perfect for eating right here and now!  Yeah, the dough is that good.

Very carefully, lift each triangle onto a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

After the cookies are cooled, make your frosting (recipe below) and divide the frosting into three bowls and color with the same food coloring as your cookie dough.  I just kept adding color until I liked it.

Put your frosting into three plastic bags and cut a small corner off the bag to pipe your frosting on the cookies.  Feel free to design any way you like!

Frosting

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Maybe it’s because I am a fan of Charlotte’s Web, but I don’t hate spiders. I don’t love them either. This summer I volunteered at a camp for girls. The tents were huge military type tents on wooden platforms. In order to get the girls to even THINK about going to sleep, each night we did a spider check in the tents. We came along with our fearsome broom and swept those spiders away. We were brave. You should be so proud of me.

Even though I don’t want a spider on me, or near me, I appreciate spiders. They eat the other yucky bugs. But really, it is their webs that are so fascinating. Fragile, strong and no one like the other. These Kirigami Spider Webs for Halloween are so easy and fun to make. I didn’t know what Kirigami was until I saw this pin from Omiyage Blogs. Kirigami is like Origami in that it requires folding of paper, but Kiri means cut picture. Remember making paper snowflakes? Did you know you were doing Kirigami? I didn’t!

You can make your Kirigami Spider Webs for Halloween this year from any paper and in any size. The paper just needs to be perfectly square. I used origami paper that was 7″ X 7″.

To begin, fold your square into a triangle, matching tips, and creasing the fold well. Now take the two ends and match them to each other to create a smaller triangle. With the tip pointing down, take the two points on the sides and fold the triangle into thirds. This takes a little practice, but don’t worry! It doesn’t have to be EXACTLY perfect, close enough will do. You will have a long triangle tip with two triangles poking out at the top. Cut off those two triangles. Next cut the top into an inverted curve. Following that cut, continue cutting the triangle into strips, stopping just short of the fold. Don’t cut all the way through! Continue cutting until you reach a small triangle at the bottom. Do not snip off the triangle yet! Beginning at the top, fold back every other strip of the triangle. Once you are sure you have the right amount of strips, then you can either cut another strip if you need one, or cut of off the bottom tip of the triangle if you have the right number. Cut the strips as close to their base as possible. Then the magic! Unfold your spider web! To get mine to lay flat, I put them in between two large, heavy binders for about an hour. You could also iron them on low very lightly.

These Kirigami Spider Webs for Halloween are great to sting into garland, decorate a table, or tape to the wall with some plastic spiders! Get creative and tell us what you do with yours!

Here are a few other Halloween ideas to try:

Bloody Shirley Temples

Halloween Mason Jar Lid WreathDIY Paper Pumpkins 
This awesome post has been shared with: Home Stories from A to Z

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It’s getting close to Halloween and I have a simple homemade treat to share with you today. These cookie truffles would be great to take to a Halloween party if you’re looking for something quick, simple and homemade to take along.

This year I’m living in an apartment building and not anticipating any trick or treaters. This makes me a little sad. I really love seeing all the kiddos dressed up and excited for the impending sugar high they will be on for the next several days. I don’t know about you but I always seem to buy way too much candy. I tell ya, those last few groups of trick or treaters that come by my house are the luckiest ones…they get the candy bowl dumped in their bag so I won’t eat it all the next day! This year I thought I’d make some treats to share with the staff at the apartment building I live in. They’re always so pleasant and always eager and willing to taste test whatever I bring down to them.

I came across a pin for Candy Corn Oreo Truffles from Shugary Sweets that sounded intriguing so I thought I’d give it a try. Have you ever had cookie truffles before? This was my first time I had one…or made them. They’re seriously simple to make, only 3 ingredients (not counting the candy decoration). I think kids would have a ball helping out in the kitchen with these!

Basically all you do is grind up Oreo cookies into fine crumbs, blend them with some cream cheese and roll them into little balls. Once chilled, they get a dunking in melted white chocolate, decorated with a candy corn or some sprinkles and that’s it. Doesn’t get much easier than that does it?

These little balls are pretty sweet! The inside kind of reminds me of cookie dough (I guess that would make sense since they’re made from cookies). I was unable to find Candy Corn flavored Oreos so I used the golden Oreos and added a little orange food coloring to the mix, then topped them off with candy corn and chocolate sprinkles. I imagine with all the different flavors of Oreo cookies that are available throughout the year, you’d be able to make quite a variety of cookie truffles for any occasion. A quick google search showed an assortment of limited edition flavors like Pumpkin Spice (that would be delicious this time of year), Marshmallow Crispy, Birthday Cake and so on. I think I’ll try Chocolate Mint next!

Thanks again MFP for allowing me to contribute to your site this month. See you next month!

All the best,

Judy @ I’m Bored Let’s Go

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Candy Corn Oreo Cookie Truffles

Author Adapted by I'm Bored Let's Go!

Ingredients

• 30 Candy Corn Oreo cookies or use golden Oreos and a little orange food coloring
• 6 oz cream cheese softened
• 16 oz. white chocolate melting wafers melted (I used a 120z. bag of Ghirardelli
• brand)
• Candy corn and/or sprinkles for decoration

Instructions

• Put cookies in a food processor and pulse until you get fine crumbs.
• In a mixing bowl, combine crumbs with softened cream cheese. Blend well until
• completely combined.
• Roll dough into one-inch balls sized balls (doesn't have to be exact!). Freeze balls on
• cookie sheet lined with wax paper for one hour.
• Melt chocolate candy coating according to package directions.
• Dip frozen truffle into melted chocolate, letting excess drip off (I used a couple
• toothpicks to dip the balls into the chocolate) Place on cookie sheet and immediately
• top with candy corn or colorful sprinkles.
• Repeat until all truffles have been dipped.
• Store truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

 If you like this recipe, you might also like these!

Honey Apple Cake

My Favorite Pesto

Ginger Pork

Thanks so much Judy for sharing these treats!  I have just the perfect person in mind to make these for!!

This post was shared with: Whipperberry and Living Well Spending Less

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