Halloween

Halloween 2016

November 1, 2016

Our Halloween was very relaxing this year. I have been having a lot of strong contractions the last few days, so we weren’t able to do as much as I had planned, but it was still a good day. We read a lot of pumpkin books, watched Halloween episodes of their favorite show, and rolled pumpkins around the room. #toddlers We ended the evening trick-or-treating. We took the kids around my parent’s neighborhood and out to see my grandparents who had a treat for them! They did surprisingly well trick-or-treating for the first time.

DIY Splatter Paint Pumpkins

October 6, 2016

It is officially my favorite month (technically a week in already) and we are just now starting on our fall bucket list! Better late than never, right? We have a really full next couple of weeks with lots of fun things going on including the pumpkin patch, holiday market, Ryan’s birthday, our anniversary, family coming to visit, etc. We are so excited for all of the fall fun to be had! We will be celebrating Hampton’s 3rd birthday, welcoming our new baby boy and moving into our new house at the end of this month/first week of November, so we have a lot to get in these next two weeks starting with a fun little pumpkin craft! These DIY splatter paint pumpkins were so much fun to make, and the whole family got in on it!

My nephew helped me paint the big pumpkin white, then my brother and Hampton helped me splatter the paint on the pumpkins after I covered them with Hefty Ultra Strong Kitchen Trash Bags with Arm & Hammer Odor Control. I will say that painting with two little boys is no easy task. Sometimes I feel like I need John Cena out there with me to help wrestle them.

Here is how we made the DIY splatter paint pumpkins:

First, lay a Hefty Ultra Strong Kitchen Bag on the surface you are painting on to protect it.

Second, paint the entire pumpkin white or black. After it dries, you will probably need to do a second coat.

Third, paint the stem the opposite color.

After the pumpkin completely dries, cover the top half with a Hefty Ultra Strong bag and rubber band to hold it in place. Put a little water on your paint brush and add it to the paint to help it splatter easier, and then begin to sling paint on the pumpkin. Have fun with it!

Take the bag and rubber band off of the pumpkin and let it dry.

It is a really easy DIY, but it does take a couple of hours because you have to wait for the pumpkins to dry completely before beginning the next step.

The kids enjoyed playing in between our painting and it was a really fun afternoon to spend with the family doing something we all enjoy! Of course, I couldn’t have done it as neat with those boys “helping me” if it had not been for Hefty! We bought our Hefty Ultra Strong Kitchen bags in citrus twist scent and I love them because they have Arm and Hammer patented odor neutralizer and are the best bag Hefty has ever made at a lower price! They have active tear resistant technology for superior strength and have a break resistant grip drawstring. I am happy to report that not one drop of paint got on my white table, so I am a happy camper! Hefty was there to protect my table, and it was there for the big clean-up afterwards! We are also starting to pack a few things to get ready for our big move, and we have already filled a couple of bags with pillows and blankets for easy transport! There is no end to their usefulness. Be sure to get your $1 off coupon here!

Halloween Round-Up

October 30, 2015

Tomorrow is Halloween! It kind of snuck up on me this year. Our family has wild plans to go to my grandmother’s and hang out with family and of course, do a little trick-or-treating! I’m excited to get the kids all dressed up in their costumes to show everyone how cute they are! We participated in our church’s Trunk or Treat Wednesday and had so much fun seeing our friend’s kids all dressed up. I love how some people go all out and really get creative.

Halloween Round-up of recipes, decor and more!

I compiled a few of my Halloween related posts and other blogger’s posts that I have read recently and put them all together for you in a Halloween round-up! I hope you enjoy reading through some of them. I have a lot of fun reading them and I am constantly inspired by these wonderful women.

Mummy Dogs Recipe

Easy Halloween Carnival Games

Halloween Tablescape

Frankenstein Guacamole Recipe

TMNT Halloween Costume and Spooktacular Extravaganza at Party City

Trunk Or Treat Tutorial

Easy Not So Spooky Halloween Party Ideas

A Day at the Pumpkin Patch

The Funniest Halloween Books We Have Ever Read

Candy Corn Caft

Halloween Hayride Costume Party

15 Fang-Tastic Healthy Halloween Snacks

DIY Kid Costumes

Candy Corn Punch

Halloween Printable Activity Sheets

Happy Halloween!

What are your Halloween plan this weekend?

Candy Corn Punch Recipe

October 29, 2015

Halloween is in 2 days! T W O! I am so excited! We have ha a lot going on with Trunk or Treat last night and getting ready for this weekend’s festivities! My cousin is coming into town and we are really more like best friends rather than cousins. We talk multiple times a week and keep each other sane in this crazy world. I love her to death and have missed her so much, so I am getting really excited to see her. And, I may have just squealed a little. Now, on to the candy corn. I mean, punch.

This past Sunday, our life group met at our house and because it was the week of Halloween, I wanted to make some yummy punch to mix things up a little and make it a little more festive to get everyone in the pumpkin spirit. Plus, I challenged myself to at least one new recipe a week, and I slacked off last week, so I figured this would sort of make up for it. Right? I looked at some recipes and kind of did a variation of several mixed together just to experiment a little and it turned out to be delicious! In fact, I downed the entire glass after I took these photos! So good.

So, here’s how you make this wonderful candy corn concoction:

Ingredients:

5 Cups of Orange Juice
6 Cups of Ginger Ale
1 Cup of Pineapple Juice (I used organic)
A Handful of Candy Corn

Directions:

Pour 4 cups of ginger ale in a bowl and put the handful of candy corn in it to soak for two hours in the refrigerator. After that, strain the candy corn out of the liquid and pour the candy corn/ginger ale mixture into your punch bowl. Mix in 2 more cups of chilled Ginger Ale, 5 cups or Orange Juice and 1 cup of Pineapple Juice in the punch bowl and mix it very well. Garnish your table with candy corn and fun Halloween straws and you are good to go!

This recipe is so easy and really delicious! Plus, it’s orange, so it is perfect for all of your fall and Halloween themed parties! I hope you enjoy it!

P.S, Are you dressing up for Halloween? What are you going to be?

Halloween Candy Corn Craft

October 27, 2015

Last week, I spent the entire week in zombie land. Ryan was out of town Tuesday – Saturday and the kids being a little under the weather/teething meant that neither of them slept. Needless to say, I didn’t get a whole lot done, and the time I did have to get stuff done, I just couldn’t seem to think or be able to get anything productive done. Have you ever been so bone tired? I’m so happy that it is a new week.

During nap time one day, I grabbed some gum drops and decided to play around with them a little bit. Again, I wasn’t very productive. I had some candy corn sitting out, so the idea struck me to make candy corns with gum drops and toothpicks! Because I used toothpicks, I definitely do not recommend this craft for kids unless they are older. I stuck myself a couple of times making these. I thought they turned out cute and they would make a fun little Halloween party decoration or activity.

Supplies:

Orange, Yellow and White Gum Drops
Toothpicks

Directions:

Using 6 toothpicks, make a 3D shaped triangle and hold them together with the gum drops.

That’s it! It is so easy, but it was fun. I’m always looking for cheap decor or easy DIYs to make our home festive. Bonus points when you can eat your craft!

Halloween Recipe: Mummy Dogs

October 19, 2015

This post is sponsored by Pillsbury but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Halloween has been my favorite holiday for as long as I can remember, but it has been made even better since having kids. I enjoy picking out their Halloween costumes (while I still can – sort of), making cute little crafts, participating in our church’s trunk or treat and making yummy Halloween recipes! Last week, I decided to make H a fun little Halloween themed lunch! He wasn’t feeling great and I wanted to make him a special treat to lift his spirits.

One of H’s current favorite foods is of course, – the hotdog. #AmericanKid Since this is his favorite, I decided to make Mummy Dogs. The perfect Halloween themed lunch!

I preheated the oven to 375 and while I waited for it to heat, I rolled out my Pillsbury crescent rolls and grabbed my pizza cutter and began to cut thin strips. After I had several cut, I dried off my hotdog wieners and began wrapping the strips around them. I didn’t try to make it perfect and in fact, I noticed that the sloppier I got with it, the better they looked, so don’t be afraid to go a little crazy.

I left a little room for the eyes for after they baked. After they were all wrapped up, I placed them on a cookie sheet and popped them in the over for 9 minutes (or until golden brown). Once they were finished, I let them cool for a couple of minutes and then used mustard as eyeballs. I added a little ketchup (or in this case “blood”) to H’s plate because he loves to dip everything.

These were a huge hit with my son! I think I will make it a little tradition in our house to make these every October. They are so easy and a big hit with the kids!

Be sure to grab your $1 off Pillsbury Crescent Rolls coupon while supplies last and enter to win $10 in the rafflecopter below!

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Nickelodeon TMNT Costume and Spooktacular Extravaganza at Party City

October 16, 2015

Thank you to Nickelodeon for sponsoring today’s post and inspiring me to customize Halloween for me and my family thanks to Party City!

We are getting so excited for Halloween! It is by far my favorite holiday as it is during my favorite season and centered around pumpkins, dressing up in fun costumes and sweets! I have had SR’s Halloween costume for months. Yes, months. Before she was even born, I knew what she would be for Halloween and I planned accordingly. This year, H is old enough to where he can now tell me what he wants to be…apparently. I had a really cute little “couple costume” planned for the kids but oh, no! H wouldn’t have it. He knew exactly what he wanted to be! TMNT.

With Ryan’s birthday party happening tomorrow, I had a few last minute decorations to grab while I was there including a birthday banner, confetti, and Halloween paper plates! As always, Party City saved the day because they had all of these items and so much more!

I had also sort of planned to make H a Halloween costume using the accessories at Party City, but I caved when I saw the adorable TMNT costume that he wanted. It was just too cute and he is so adorable in it. It was also the far easier option, and sometimes, I have to give into convenience.

The best part about shopping for our Nickelodeon Costume is that with any Nickelodeon in-store purchase, you will receive a free digital poster for your kiddos. It is such a cute idea and a great way to get them even more excited to be their favorite character.

We had so much fun shopping for H’s costume and he was excited to pick it out. Check out the video I created of our shopping experience! Your heart might melt a little when you get to the end. Can you say adorable kid?

Join the #SpooktacularSweeps Twitter Party on 10/15 at 9pm EST! Here are the rules for a chance to win a $100 AmEx Gift Card!

What are your kid’s going to be for Halloween?

Halloween Trunk or Treat Tutorial

October 2, 2015

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #TrickOrSweet #CollectiveBias

Halloween is a big holiday for my family. We usually throw a big Halloween party and it is always so much fun. I love seeing all of the creative costumes everyone comes up with. Halloween has always been associated with fall – my favorite season with fun memories. Between Trunk or Treat, picking out the perfect costume and the best Halloween candy in the store, I love every part of the hooplah!

Since my nephew was born, my family has attended our church’s trunk or treat! It has become a fun little family tradition that was made all the more special when my son was born. We took him to his first trunk or treat last Halloween and now this year, we will take our daughter as well! I’ve been planning their costumes since before SR was born and I am so excited about this particular year. While you will have to wait for their costumes, I will reveal how I prepare for our Trunk or Treat.

Trunk or Treat Tutorial:

1. Choose a theme.

2. Buy your candy! I ran out to Walmart to grab 2 large variety Hershey candy bags. I love having an assortment so that the kids can choose which kind of candy they want. My personal favorite? Milk chocolate Hershey’s bars and Reese’s! I love these bags because they are so festive with ghosts, jack-o-lanterns and dracula.

3. Find something to put candy in. Get creative with your candy display, after all, my candy brings all the kids to the trunk, right?

4. Decorate your trunk! Get as creative and festive as you want. Our church members go all out. Some people decorate the beds of their trucks, some bring haunting music, others keep it very simple and traditional. Sky’s the limit!

As you can see, I used a lot of fall decor as well as Halloween. I love witches and skeletons and knew that I wanted to use them. The hanging ghosts and orange lights were a bonus. The ribbon garland is actually the garland I used for Hampton’s first birthday party last year. I mostly used things I already had plus a lot of my mom’s decor. She is a decorator and has more Halloween themed decorations than I do.

Your trunk can be as easy or as complicated as you want it to be. The main points to focus on are coming up with a theme and making a great candy display to show off everyone’s favorite part of the holiday!

I’ve shared how I incorporate Hershey’s candy into my Halloween. What is your favorite Hershey’s candy? What theme would you choose for your trunk?

Frankenstein Guacamole Dip

September 14, 2015

This post is sponsored by General Mills. Opinions are my own.

Fall is my favorite time of year and Halloween is my favorite Holiday. Growing up, my mom went all out for every holiday, but we had extra fun with Halloween. Some of my favorite memories as a child are from Halloween nights. Whether it was hiding in the bushes and ~~scaring~~ handing out hotdog weenies to our neighbors or winning the best Halloween costume contest at our family’s Halloween party (okay, so normally that’s my brother, not me), we are always having so much fun this time of year. I decorated my mantel the last week of August (too soon?) and have already been brainstorming ideas for our trunk-or-treat decor. I am really getting into the spirit which brings me to this:

Let me start off by saying that I had a serious case of writer’s block a couple of weeks ago and ran out to Michael’s. That’s what everyone does when they have writer’s block, right? I found the Taste of Home Halloween issue and bought it immediately. I brought it home and found a similar dish to this titles “Frankenguac.” I knew that I had to make a rendition of this for our Halloween party this year. To give it a try, I gave it the tried and true taste test that is my toddler. Hampton loved dipping the pretzels in this guacamole dip. He wasn’t crazy about the taste of it, but I was! It is delicious! You can either make your own fresh guac dip or do like I did and buy store bought for a quick dish and add a few Avocados from Mexico for extra decor and garnish. I used pretzels for the scar and mouth, sour cream and chip pieces for the eyes, olives for the nose and bolts and black bean chips (that are the bomb) for the hair.

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I’m thinking this dip is going to go over well at this year’s party! What do you think?

Hampton’s Halloween // Mama Mondays

November 10, 2014

I can’t believe I still haven’t shared Hampton’s Halloween on the blog! Oops. Well, better late than never, right? I put a picture on Instagram, so if you follow me there, you at least got a glimpse of him in his koala cuteness.

Funny story: Hampton was supposed to be Thing 1 for Halloween since we already had everything for the costume from his party. The thing is, he refused to wear his blue hair and therefore looked like a kid in a t-shirt. That just wasn’t okay. He definitely needed a cute little furry costume. We ran to Party City the night of our Trunk-or-Treat at church (because I’m a new procrastinator aka new mom) and the line literally wrapped around the building. We definitely did not have time to stand in that check out line. We left kind of disappointed when I spotted TJ Maxx next door. I convinced Ryan to run in there with me really quick just to see if they had anything. They had one boy costume in Hampton’s size and it was half the price of all those Party City costumes. That was it. So without further ado, I give you our little koala bear:

1 and 2 – posing for mommy // 3 trick or treating at his great-grandmother’s house // 4 trunk-or-treat at church

Link up all of your mama related posts below and don’t forget to grab our snazzy button! I hope you all had a Happy Halloween!