Spooky-licious scary food recipes: ghoulishly gruesome Halloween party foods

Hosting a Halloween party? Want to scare up ghoulishly gruesome (but spooky-licious) snacks your little hob-goblins? These spooky snack recipes guaranteed will gross out the bravest guest. Set up DIY make-your-own snacks and get double duty of party foods and crafts. Or do triple duty with a game thrown in. Organize them by Halloween creature. Play a blindfold touch and feel game. Have guests guess what foods are. Set out labels so guests know what creepy confections they ate.

Ghosts

--flesh: marshmallows

--guts: marshmallow fluff or vanilla frosting

--ghost guts cookies: pinwheel cookies

--blood: milk

--brains dipped in ghost blood: raw cauliflower dipped in ranch dressing

Vampires

--teeth: red apple wedges dipped in Hershey's Strawberry Syrup (blood)

--bloody fingers : hot dogs with ketchup

Haunted Jack-o-Lantern

--pumpkin blood: orange juice

Bats

--teeth: black and orange candy corn

--wings: grape fruit leather or prunes

Mummies

--brains: popcorn (being dried out, mummy brains are shrively and crumbled.

--people mummies brains: make popcorn balls with marshmallows and red M&Ms.

--cat mummy brains: popcorn and red M&Ms (Egyptians loved their cats and mummified them).

--zombie Barbie brains: whole walnuts

--wrappings: cotton candy

--guts: assorted dried fruit

--hearts and ears: pretzels

Skeletons

--fingers: mozzarella cheese sticks or pretzel rods

--faces: yogurt-covered pretzels

Witches

--brains: broccoli

--blood: milk and green food coloring, limeade

--guts: pistachio pudding or guacamole (serve with tortilla chips called dragon scales)

--eyes: green grapes or sliced kiwi

--Witches' brew: mulled spiced apple cider. Have children watch as you describe and prepare. Heat monster blood (apple cide) with eye of newt (whole cloves), dragon claws (cinnamon bark), Slenderman eyes (lemon slices), toad eyes (raisins), dash of skeleton paste (butter) and ground scorpion (nutmeg).

--Witch blood slushies: frozen honey dew melon or kiwi, blended with Greek yogurt and lemonade.

Miscellaneous

--Frankenstein --Nuts and Bolts: Chex Mix or Cheerios Trail Mix

--zombie sandwiches (as in for, not made of): Sliced lunchmeat (brain cross-section) sandwiches with guts and blood (mustard and ketchup).

--eye slices: sliced kiwi or cucumber

--werewolf gut and blood sandwiches: PBJ sandwiches

--toasted spider legs: chow mien noodles
For tons more Halloween activities visit Halloween Harvest & October and for recipes come to Great Food 4u. Need educational printables try Free Printable Lesson Plans and for holiday cards try Free Printable Cards 4U

Free printable Valentines Day crafts, valentine activities for kids

At each holiday, there are a few good websites to check for free printable holiday greeting cards, crafts, party decorations and coloring pages. Here are the best free printable Valentines Day crafts, greeting cards, valentines for classroom exchanges and children's Valentine's Day activities.

Start at The Toymaker for whimsical, Victorian-inspired Valentine's Day crafts. This link takes you to the Holidays - Valentine's Day page, but be sure to check out all the free printable toys, stories, games, crafts, cut and paste, holiday activities and novelties for children. The Toymaker, whose name is Marilyn makes all these free printables herself. For Valentine's Day crafts, there are free printable valentines greeting cards, treat boxes, a cute elephant valentine holder, valentine ornaments, a Celtic Valentine's Day treat box, a pixie box, door hangers, party decorations and more. These free printable crafts are perfect for preschool, homeschool, classroom and nursing home craft activities. Remember senior friends at Valentines Day when you exchange greeting cards.

Free printable brings you the best of web in freebies to print. This links takes you to the free printable valentines, just perfect for children's Valentine's Day exchanges. There are cute valentines with animals, hearts, frogs, flowers, dinosaurs and more. There are Valentine games, puzzles, decorations and other crafts, too. Be sure to scroll around for the multitude of other free printables.

Free Kids Crafts is another great free printable crafts clearinghouse. Sign up for the newsletter to see what great new activities are available. The link takes you to the first page of free printable valentines and Valentine's Day crafts. This page has 12 different styles of valentine crafts. Note that this is just the first page--there are four more pages of free printable valentines greeting cards and crafts alone (not to mention all the stuff to print for other holidays. Print valentines with animals, cartoons, hearts, candy, toys and more. You can make free printable Valentine's Day bookmarks, treat holders, paper glasses, party decorations, games, activities and more.

Teachers and homeschool parents, bookmark these sites for free printable party crafts, but also for that student who may have forgotten (or couldn't afford) to buy valentines to share with the class. Don't let her miss out on the valentine exchange fun--print off some valentines for her to fill out and distribute. I worked in high school special needs classroom. On Valentine's Day, many students still wanted to participate in valentine exchanges, but were deemed "too old." They were delighted when I printed valentines for them to make when their classwork was done.

Arts and crafts party for kids: Recycled crafts, DIY children's craft projects

Kids love playing in snow. But below-zero winter wind chills force parents to keep kids in the house. Schools cancel recess if it's too cold. Excess time spent cooped up, makes for restless, irritable children. Looking for cheap, indoor activities for bored, winterbound kids? How about an arts and crafts party for kids? Here are cheap recycled crafts and children's craft projects to occupy sick, snowbound or bored kids.   Arts and crafts party for kids: Recycled crafts, DIY children's craft projects

Free printable holiday color-your-own greeting cards coloring pages

Parents, you know how it's hard to keep kids occupied productively. And you know how bored kids get into mischief. Work-at-home and stay-at-home parents have it doubly tough. Then add to that a holiday, and you have antsy children, underfoot, making preparations even harder. Well, don't despair. Here are boredom busters for kids--free printable color-your-own greeting cards. Put busy-body kids to work making cards to send and share. Use these holiday coloring pages to engage kids in holiday preparations, making decorations. These links have greeting cards to print and color, for all holidays.  Free printable holiday color-your-own greeting cards coloring pages

Free Printable Origami and Kirigami Patterns Templates and Stencils

Origami is Japanese folded paper art and kirigami is the art of cutting paper to create stand up, pop up or 3D figures. Here are free printable origami and kirigami patterns and templates.


Crafter tip: score (make tiny cuts) on the dotted lines, using an exacto knife. Cut along the solid lines using an exacto knife or scissors. Fold on the scored lines and glue cut out to backing to make a 3-D effect.

For more free printable kirigami and 3D pop-up greeting cards, click that link.

Free Printable Father's Day Greeting Cards for Preschoolers and Dad Themed Craft Activities

At your wits end to know what to get dad for Father's Day? Make him something, using these free printable Father's Day greeting cards and dad themed crafts. Good for all ages, even preschoolers! Dad will love your creativity and thoughtfulness.  Free Printable Father's Day Greeting Cards and Craft Activities

Inexpensive Father's Day Photo Frame Crafts from Recycled Materials

Need a cheap (as in cost, not quality) gift for Father's Day? How about a free one? Even better, right? So make photo frame crafts from recycled materials. Personalize with special pictures of you and dad. Here are simple photo frame crafts made by decoration plain picture frames. Collect plain wood, plastic or metal frames. Watch clearance sales, garage sales, rummage sales, even junk piles for photo frames to refurbish. Now read on Easy, Inexpensive, Green Mother's Day / Father's Day Photo Frame Crafts

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Free Printable Jigsaw Puzzles and Puzzle Generators

Do you love puzzles like I do? I've been working jigsaw puzzles since I was very young. I love crossword puzzles, Sudoku, word searches, cryptograms, mazes and word games. I called myself the "puzzle genius" (confident, if a bit bombastic, was me). Back in the olden days, aka when I was a kid, you had to ask mom or dad to buy you a puzzle book or jigsaw. You redid your old puzzles, over and over again. In this digital generation we're lucky to have online or free printable puzzles. Indulge your inner puzzle lover with free online puzzles. Use puzzle generator software to create and print jigsaw puzzle templates. Then carefully cut pieces apart and store in a Ziploc bag. Print hundreds of word games and puzzles from your home printer. Use for day care, Sunday School, homeschool, party games and crafts.

Free Printable Jigsaw Puzzles and Puzzles Generator

Cheap, Homemade Easter Basket Fillers with Free Printable Crafts

Looking to make an Easter basket? You could get the ho-hum candy or you could be creative and fill the basket with nifty, useful toys and gifts. Here are cheap Easter basket filler suggestions. I've included free printable crafts, coloring pages, puzzles, toys and books. As the original minimalist mama. I do natural, sustainable, frugal, recycled. I keep holiday giving affordable and sensible. I've used these candy-alternative Easter basket ideas with our four kids. Inexpensive Candy Alternative Easter Basket Ideas for Little Girls

Easy Ceramic Dish Design Craft

My daughter designed a platter for me for Christmas. She copied a recipe from my grandmother in my grandmother's handwriting on it. As grandma is now deceased, God rest her soul, it's very special. I was thinking how perfect it would be for bored, snowbound kids or adults to make. Shut-in seniors might like making these too. All you need is permanent markers, glassware and an oven. If you're designing a surface that contacts food, use food safe markers.  Snowbound this Winter? Make This Easy Craft My Daughter Made

Homemade Christmas Gifts for Kids, Read-Aloud Story CDs

With costs rising, it's time to think outside the box for Christmas gifts. Like homemade and personal. Capitalize on your talents. I'm not skilled with crafts but I'm a fabulous storyteller. So my homemade Christmas gift for kids is read-aloud story CD and book sets. Here are free printable books for kids to make and then read aloud or have read to them. Plus a tutorial to record books.  Homemade Christmas Gifts for Kids, Read-Aloud Books

Multitasking 2 fo r1 Halloween Costume, Scary and Non-Scary

I'll be dressing up for Halloween this year and needing two costumes. I'll need a non-scary one for helping at my daughter's school concert. The I'm volunteering at our local "Haunted Museum." Here's how I plan to make one costume do double duty. You can make many costumes multitask with a few simple tweaks. Here's how. My Dual Purpose Halloween Costume, Boadicea Scary and Non-Scary

Free Printable Preschool Board Games, Learning Activities

I'm a certified special needs teacher for CI (cognitively impaired) students. I always write interactive lesson plans. Hands-on activities, like games, make content relevant, approachable and understandable for both general and special education students. Preschool kids particularly need multi-sensory learning activities. Happily, there are many free printable preschool games available online. Free Printable Preschool Board Games, Learning Activities

Free Printable Valentine Crafts for Preschool Kids

 With Valentines Day coming up soon, my email box overfloweth with nifty crafts, treats and card ideas to celebrate. Alas, many are also costly. As a penny-pinching teacher and homeschool mom of four, I don't spend big. Here are free printable preschool valentine crafts, lesson plans, learning activities and games, for my fellow fru-gals and guys.  Read more

Free Printable Summer Olympics Crafts, Games for Preschool, Early Childhood

The 2012 Summer Olympics kicked off on July 27 in London, England. They'll run through August 12. Looking for hands-on activities to engage young ones in the Olympic festivities (or keep them occupied so that you can enjoy the events)? Look no further--here's an assortment of Olympic-sized goodies for the youngest fans. Preschoolers and early elementary age kids will love these activities designed especially for their developmental level. Free Printable Summer Olympics Crafts, Games for Preschool, Early Childhood 

Free Printable Eric Carle Very Hungry Caterpillar Crafts

Eric Carle is a beloved childrens' illustrator and author of dozens of books about insects and animals. Here are free printable cut and paste crafts, games, activities, lessons, puzzles and coloring pages from Eric Carle's best known book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. In the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, a little caterpillar eats his way through different foods each day of the week. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is used in preschool and kindergarten classrooms teach and explore caterpillars and butterflies, sequencing and days of the week.  Free Printable Eric Carle Activities from The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Rediscover the Barney bag for green, cheap kids' craft fun

Barney the bouncy purple dinosaur celebrates his 20th anniversary this year. In 1992, PBS adopted the character into the series Barney & Friends. Over the years, the children's show and its outgoing host have gotten mixed reviews; people either love or despise it. I was early in my mom career with a 3-year-old, 2-year-old and infant when the show aired. My children didn't watch much television and when they did, Barney wasn't their first choice. We did pick up one idea that has become a family tradition: the Barney Bag. Looking for green, inexpensive, easy, creative crafts for anywhere-anytime fun? Why not revisit the Barney Bag? Here's a Q-and-A to get started. Read more at Rediscover the Barney bag for green, cheap kids' craft fun

Free Printable Very Hungry Caterpillar Games

Free Printable Eric Carle Activities from The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle is a beloved childrens' illustrator and author of dozens of books about insects and animals. Here are free printable cut and paste crafts, games, activities, lessons, puzzles and coloring pages from Eric Carle's best known book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. In the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, a little caterpillar eats his way through different foods each day of the week. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is used in preschool and kindergarten classrooms teach and explore caterpillars and butterflies, sequencing and days of the week. Read more...

Free Printable Fathers Day Greeting Cards and Craft Activities

Free Printable Fathers Day Greeting Cards and Craft Activities When Father's Day rolls around, it's sometimes hard to know what to get dad, isn't it? Children may find themselves with little cash to buy something. Here are free printable Father's Day crafts and greeting cards that you can make at home. Dad will love your creativity and thoughtfulness. Read more

Easy Homemade Advent Calendar Craft

Advent is the four week period before Christmas. Advent calendars make a great way to countdown the days until Christmas. You can purchase an advent calendar, print of of the many free Advent calendars or make your own with this easy craft. Read on