A Halloween costume just would not be complete without a Halloween mask to complete the look.  As most people first look at your face when meeting, the mask will convey the first impression of your entire costume.

Today, there are so many Halloween masks being sold in various bookshops and specialty stores out there. You can choose from your favorite characters from horror, thriller, or sci-fi movies. You can even find masks which as truly Halloween inspired such as ghosts, ghouls, and monsters.

Some of the more popular masks sold in Halloween stores are the realistic looking Terminator 4 T600 masks, the Joker mask from Batman the Dark Knight, Batman masks, V for Vendetta masks, ghoul masks, Frankenstein masks,  goblin masks, zombie masks, and Hannibal Lecter masks.

However, if you would rather create your own mask and design something unique, below are a few tips.

Improvised latex Halloween masks

Many people would agree that latex or hard plastic masks could be quite uncomfortable once worn. And why not? These are made from synthetic plastic materials and can even be harmful when not used properly. So if are not into wearing latex masks sold in specialty shops, you can create your very own latex inspired mask.

Here, you’ll be needing poster board or light weight cardboard, elastic or tongue depressor, and various embellishments to make the mask stand out. The instructions are quite simple, you need to cut the board with the shape of your face, cut it out, punch holes in each side of the mask and decorate it using various embellishments such as poster paints, feathers, glitter, and everything you wish to put in. The  good thing about this is you can make your mask as scary and as ghoulish as you want it to be.

Simple paper and cloth masks.

This is quite popular and easy to do because all you will be needing is a used cloth which can come from a used pillowcase or shirts, permanent markers, a pair of scissors, and lots of duck tape. Doing a paper and face mask is easy because all you have to do is lay the cloth flat and cut a hole in the center of the cloth. Afterwards, you need to take a piece of paper and draw the mask that you like. Then, turn the cloth inside out and lay the mask face down.

Using the duct tape, tape the sides of the mask down to the cloth and cut the eye holes. Let the duct tape grip the cloth and paper well then you can now decorate your Halloween mask using markers and other crafts and embellishments that you want to include.

Your very own printed mask

If you are not the type who is into work stuff such as cutting, pasting, and drawing, you can still make your very own Halloween mask through the use of computer. Today, there are so many sites, which offer Halloween mask patterns, which are ready for printing.

You can choose from a wide array of styles and characters depending on what or who would you want to portray. If you are knowledgeable on various computer programs and software such as Photoshop, you can design your very own mask and print it out.

Halloween is a favorite time of year.  It is a time to dress up, have fun, and be someone you would not normally be.  It is also the last carefree celebration before the “heavy” holiday season of Thanksgiving and Christmas begins.

To ensure that your Halloween party planning is as carefree as the holiday itself, make a checklist of tasks that must be accomplished and outline what the party will include.  Follow the simple steps below to plan your own party that not only will your guests enjoy, but that will leave you with a smile on your face as well.

Planning a Halloween party

Organizing a Halloween party can be as easy as 1-2-3 if you know the basics. To make sure that this will be a successful one, try conducting a simple research on the things that you can use, tips, and other preparations to make the event easier for you.

Step 1: Plan Your Guest List

Start your Halloween party planning by making a list of the people you would like to invite.  This will help you to determine not only your budget, but also the type of party theme and activities you will have.  It is also necessary before you can decide on a venue and menu.

Step 2:  Sending the Invitation

After your invitation list is finalized, you can now send the invitation.  While internet services such as Evite are popular, they might not necessarily be appropriate if your guests are older or if you know that they do not frequently go online.  Also, if the party is going to be more formal or if you are inviting people whose good opinion matters, skip the online invitations entirely.  While the convenience of online invitations are popular, Emily Post would not approved.   Choose an actual printed invitation and send your invitation by snail mail.

There are numerous resources for printed invitations.  Customizable templates are available online that can be printed on your computer.  Greeting card stores carry a wide variety of Halloween invitations.  Or set your creativity free and create handmade invitations for your guests.

Step 3: Planning the Decor

Once the invitations are sent, the next step is to plan the decorations for your party.  Since it will obviously be a Halloween theme, some staple decorations are witches, monsters, Jack-o-lanterns, and black cats.  Ready to go Halloween decorating kits make planning your decor a snap.  Or you can make the decorations yourself.

Step 4:  Planning the Menu

The next thing that you should pay attention to is the food that you will be preparing. The set of food will depend on the time that you will be holding the party. Since most Halloween parties are usually held at night, you will have to consider a dinner or hors d’oeuvres menu. When it comes to food, it will be your option to mix light and heavy meals, which can satisfy everyone.

Just make sure that all of the food—from the appetizer, soup, main course, drinks, and dessert—will be Halloween-themed. Meaning they should come in Halloween colors such as black, orange, and green.

By Joyce Calcano
www.mypartyplanningsecrets.com

While Halloween decor sets the tone of your party, Halloween themed food adds that extra panache and really adds the final touch.  Finger foods and snacks are the best choices for a party of this type as people will be mingling and not sitting down.  Below are a few of my favorite recipes that are quick and easy to make.If you are throwing a Halloween party, one of the things you have to prepare is the food. Since people won’t be sitting but rather taking a few dips of what is available, here are some great treats you should have.

The Brown Spider

For this, you will need a few Ritz crackers, pretzel sticks, a pack of Hershey kisses, a tube or red and white cake frosting. Now take one cracker and spread it with some peanut butter. Then you put 4 pretzels and place this on each side to act as the spider’s legs. Put another cracker on top to cover it up then spray it with cake frosting.

Fungi Salad

Great for your vegetarian guests. For this, you will need creamed spinach, lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes and red onions. Put the spinach in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to cool while you wash the other vegetables in cold water. Dry the lettuce using a paper towel and then cut the other vegetables into small pieces. Put this into bowl and then pour in cooled spinach cream.

Meatloaf Mice:

• 1/2 cup Catsup
• 2 Egg whites; beaten
• 6 ounces Ground turkey
• 6 ounces Ground beef
• 1 Onion; chopped fine
• 2/3 cup Oatmeal; uncooked
• Salt and pepper to taste

For this, you will need some catsup, ground beef, turkey, onions, carrots, uncooked spaghetti noodles, spaghetti sauce, raisins, oatmeal, salt and paper.     Mix the ingredients listed about to make the meat loaf.

After the meat loaf is ready., start by cutting the carrot horizontally to make some mouse ears and vertically to make the mouse tail then steam until it becomes crisp tender.

Put the meat loaf on a baking sheet after you mix the rest of the ingredients and shaping it into a mice shaped loaf before throwing this into the oven. Bake for 45 minutes at 360 degrees and when it is finished, cut little slits so you can put in the carrot ears and tail. Break the uncooked spaghetti noodles into small pieces so this will be the nose of the mouse. Pour the cooked spaghetti sauce and serve.

Pumpkin Cake

If you carved a pumpkin, then this recipe will make the most of the contents you removed since you are going to use it to make a pumpkin cake.

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Put the eggs and sugar into the food processor until it is smooth. Add the other ingredients and stir until it is well blended. When it’s done, turn the batter into two round cake molds that are greased and lightly floured. Put this in the oven at 350F for about 40 minutes. Unmold these and then stack it together. Put orange tinted frosting on top and then put it on the dinner table.

Sewage Slurpers

You will need chocolate chip ice cream, chocolate syrup and club soda.

When the ice cream is slightly softened and easy to scoop, fill your glasses halfway. Now, pour in 3 tablespoons of chocolate syrup. Finally, fill it to the top with club soda and stir well with a spoon. You can top it off with an unwrapped tootsie roll and a straw.

By Joyce Calcano
www.mypartyplanningsecrets.com

Planning a Halloween party for your children can be fun and an opportunity to exercise your creativity.  However, there are several things that should be planned ahead of time for the party to run smoothly.  Also remember that you will be holding a party for kids that are already extremely excited about the holiday and their attention span will most likely be shorter than normal

Rather than taking the militant approach and watching for infraction, a better way to maintain control is to provide plenty of distractions and to direct their attention to fun activities.   Party games are an excellent way of guiding the activies of your guests.

One tried and true Halloween party game is called Mummy Wrap.  Not only is it fun and easy, but it is also inexpensive.  Separate your guests into small groups with several rolls of toilet paper.  Have them designate one person in each group to be the “mummy.”  When you say, “Go,” the teams frantically begin to wrap their “mummy.”  The first group to completely wrap the mummy is the winner.

Even the most familiar party games, such as  musical chairs, can be given a spooky feel by turning of the lights and using candlelight and playing scary Halloween music.  The chairs can add to the theme by draping them with black cloth or spraying them with cobwebs.

And don’t forget the music. You can easily find Halloween music in the nearest record store or download mp3’s from the internet.   For more fun, you can ask the kids to dance in a “monstery” or ghoulish kind of way. You can even give a prize to the kid that will give the best monster dance.

Don’t forget to give prizes to your game winners. This will encourage them to participate in the next games.

Another popular game which is suitable for either a Halloween party or a Fall Festival theme is “Building a Scarecrow.”  Teams of children use pillow cases, rope, old clothes, newspaper, cardboard and markers to create their own scarecrow.  If you have enough teams, you can give several prizes such as “Most Traditional,”  “Scariest,” and “Most Likely to Have a Brain” (think the Wizard of Oz.)

You can borrow an activity from Easter and turn it into your own haunted Halloween hunt by hiding candy around the house and letting the children search for it.  Hide special prizes as well.  Some can be “good” prizes, and others can be “bad,” such as candy eggs filled with play slime or other gag gifts.

A Halloween party wouldn’t be complete without a scary storytime.  If children are younger, it would probably be best to stick to a book that won’t give them nightmares.  If they are older, sit in a circle and let each of them have a turn at telling their own favorite scary story.

There are other ghoulish Halloween party games that can still do. Just remember that this is the children’s day and your objective is to have them enjoy the day.

By Joyce Calcano
www.mypartyplanningsecrets.com