What Your Halloween Costume Says About You

Look around the room at this year's Halloween costume party. What do everyone's costumes say about them? Psychologists say your Halloween costume actually says a lot about your personality. Experts say our costume choices aren't random, even if we think they are. Halloween, they say, is an occasion for people to either dress up as someone they love or would emulate or someone they hate and therefore want to mock. According to a report by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, psychologists offer the following explanations for the costumes you choose.

Sexy costumes: French maids, hot nurses or prostitutes can represent one's own repressed sexuality. They also can be healthy expressions of someone who is not very repressed. The increasingly popular "pimp and ho" characters may represent inner struggles between being pure or letting loose.

Celebrities: people may simply wish to display a knowledge of current events or share their interests. Or they may use them to express personality traits or social issues that are associated with the celebrity's image (sensuality, intelligence, power, corruption, rebellion, etc.).

Scary characters: zombies, vampires, skeletons and other monsters show our fascination with the macabre, the grotesque.

Innocents: fairies or princesses represent one's lost innocence or beauty, or a return to a safer and simpler time.

Animals: generally, animals represent strength, basic instincts, with other specific traits for specific creatures. For instance, cats are sensual, purring, soft creatures.

Comic/cartoon figures: clowns and the like represent whimsy, playfulness and youth. People want to leave their serious natures behind on this holiday.

Evil characters: evil costumes allow people to safely -- and even creatively -- express their dark side without guilt. Some people may use evil or aggressive costumes as a way (consciously or unconsciously) to alienate others, which indicate anxiety about intimacy and being vulnerable.

Powerful characters: Can express underlying feelings of helplessness and insecurity.

Costume Party Ideas and Supplies

Host a costume party at your next Halloween party and make the theme a superhero one. Who doesn't love to fight crime and save the day? Whack! Pow! Zonk! Your muscle-rippling heroes will unleash enough power and bravado to make your costume party a hit. Any costume you can think of, whether it is Batman, Spiderman, Wonderwoman, Catwoman...can be found in a costume shop or by ordering online. Have fun picking out your alter ego!

Put the Batman and Superman theme music on the sound system or pop the movies in as background noise. Serve good food and drink, plan some activities and you'll be off to save the day. Put together a trivia quiz, hero-themed Pictionary, and, quite naturally, a costume contest. Award medallions to the mightiest of the mighty. It could be The Incredible Hulk, a Power Ranger, one of the X-Men or Superman (phone booth not required). Ask each superhero to do a routine for extra laughs.

The sky is the limit when it comes to laughter and fun when you and your best friends are parading around in tights and capes at this year's Halloween costume party!

Recipes for Halloween

Dracula´s Eyes recipes for Halloween

These are really good and easy to make.

1/2 cup peanut butter
3 tbsp butter, softened
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
5 ounces vanilla-flavored candy coating
6 candy-coated milk chocolate pieces
Red decorator gel icing

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together peanut butter and butter.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar, stirring until combined.
3. Shape into 1-inch balls, place on waxed paper.
4. Let stand about 20 minutes or until dry.
5. In a small saucepan, melt candy coating over low heat.
6. Dip balls, one at a time, into coating. Let excess coating drip off peanut butter balls. Place on waxed paper.
7. Immediately press and candy-coated chocolate piece into the center of each peanut butter ball.
8. Let stand until coating is firm. Drizzle red gel onto balls for bloodshot eyes.

Makes about 20 eyeballs.

Online Help With Your Halloween Costume Party Planning

If you are planning an elaborate costume party this Halloween and don't know where to begin, there are websites designed to help you. For example, online invitation sites promote experts that offer budget calculators so you'll know how much money the party will cost you. Plan on having to pay for food, drinks, entertainment and decorations. Many sites also have party check lists to keep you on point.

Gross Halloween Recipes - Creepy Ice Cubes

Want to gross out your guests? Then try these!

What you´ll need:

Ice cube tray
1 cup orange juice
Assorted gummy worms or bugs

1. Fill the ice cube tray with orange juice
2. Add a worm or a bug to each cube
3. Place tray into the freezer until the cubes are solid
4. Add one or more Creepy Ice Cubes to your guests drink glass

Household Items Can Make Spooky Sound Effects

So you're throwing a Halloween party and you want everything to be homegrown -- from the costumes, to the food to the sound effects. A great (and economical) Halloween party idea is to use regular household items to create creepy sound effects. Here are some tips, courtesy of www.familymanagement.com, for creating your own spooky Halloween party soundtrack.

• To simulate thunder, bang on a large piece of poster board or sheet metal
• Uncooked rice poured onto a cookie sheet sounds like rain
• Crinkle a handful of cellophane to create the sound of a roaring fire
• Snap carrots in half for the sound of breaking bones
• Flap a plastic bag in front of a microphone for the sound of bats
• Slowly blow bubbles with a straw into a bowl for a bog sound
• A squeaky hinge can sound like a coffin opening

If you're looking to save money at this year's Halloween party supplies, just look at household items in a whole new light. Plenty of household items can double as spooky sound effects. For example, a squeaky hinge can sound like a coffin opening and snapping carrots in half sound like breaking bones. Make a tape of these noises or have someone stationed around the house with a different household item to "play" throughout the evening. Volunteers can take shifts!

Pumpkins Can Make Fun Party Games

What is a Halloween party without some great Halloween party games? And what's Halloween without pumpkins? Combine the two and there are several really fun games that can liven up your Halloween party. The experts suggest giving out penny candy as prizes so that there can be a lot of prizes and you can reward your guests without breaking the bank.

The following are Halloween party game ideas that involve pumpkins:

Pumpkin Golf: Bring some miniature golf fun to your Halloween party. Carve out a pumpkin, making the mouth extra large. Build a cardboard ramp that is 1 or 2 feet from the ground that leads into the pumpkin's mouth. Tape the ramp to the floor to keep it stable. Mark a place across the room for both adults and kids to start from. Take turns hitting a golf ball into the pumpkin's mouth. Each time it goes in, the putter wins a piece of candy.

Penny Pitch: Carve out a pumpkin - or two or three - and line the insides with aluminum foil. Or use plastic pumpkins. Stand a couple of feet away. Give each player 10 or 20 pennies and have them take turns pitching them into the opening at the top of the pumpkins. Every time a penny goes into a pumpkin, the player wins candy.

Pumpkin Bocce: Buy a large pumpkin and several miniature or round sugar pumpkins. Place the large pumpkin in the center of the room or yard. Have players take turns rolling (not tossing or throwing) the sugar pumpkins toward the large pumpkin. Whoever gets closet to the large pumpkin wins candy.

If you'd like to play a game that doesn't involve pumpkins, try The Name Game: Write the name of a spooky character or person in magic marker on an index card and pin one to each guest's back as he or she arrives. When the game begins, the guest must guess which person or character he or she is by receiving clues from other guests. You are allowed to ask one question per person in the room about the name on your back and it must be answered with a simple yes or no. The first person to guess who they are wins the game.

Halloween Food Recipes - Witches Hats

This is a really easy treat.

What you´ll need:
24 chocolate wafer cookies
24 Hershey kisses
1 tube of orange decorating icing

1. Unwrap the Hershey kisses.
2. With the orange frosting, squeeze a dime size portion in the center of each cookie.
3. Place a Hershey Kiss on the icing.
4. Complete the hats by piping some frosting around the base of each kiss to resemble a small square buckle.

Halloween Costume Ideas

A BAG OF GROCERIES
What You´ll need:

Large, heavy duty paper bag (leaf bags work good)
Hot glue gun
Brown spray paint
Bag from local grocery store
Wide brimmed straw sun hat
Neutral-colored shirt
Empty food boxes and containers such as soda pop bottles, cereal boxes, jello boxes, candy bags, candy wrappers....

1. Spray paint the entire surface of the paper bag brown.
2. Cut the front of a local grocery store bag (with logo) and hot glue to the front of your bag.
3. Hot glue empty boxes and other food containers to the top of the bag (where shoulders will be).
4. Glue smaller containers to a wide brimmed straw sun hat.
5. Wear a neutral colored shirt with this costume.

Do's and Don't of Halloween Costume Parties for Kids

If you are planning a Halloween costume party for kids, there are some do's and don'ts you should keep in mind, according to experts at wwwfamilyfun.go.com.

• Consider the different ages of the kids invited. If there is a scary display you'd like to put up, don't put it in the main party area. Instead, put it in an isolated room where the bigger kids can go to enjoy it and the littler kids can be protected
• Plan more games than you think you need. Also, have some easier back-up games on hand such as bobbing for apples
• Offer some food besides candy for the children. Otherwise, the simultaneous sugar high of a roomful of children may become overwhelming!
• Don't go overboard with decorations. All you really need is mood lighting, creepy music and a few well-placed decorations. Don't use anything with a flame, it's too dangerous. And keep in mind that kids can be clumsy in clunky costumes so you'll want to keep anything fragile or sharp out of the way.

Halloween Games - Pin The Tail

Everyone has played pin the tail on the donkey. Well, why don't you pin the hat on the witch or pin the head on the skeleton?

Halloween Party Scenes

Halloween is not Halloween until you convert the front yard into a cemetery. Tombstones can be made out of stiff cardboard a thick black marker. Funny sayings about friends and family always get a laugh. "Here lies Fred – He´s finally dead." Or, "Here lies Matt – bit by a rat."

Beverages for Halloween - Vampire Blood Smoothies

Vampire Blood Smoothies

1 large package frozen strawberries
1/2 gallon strawberry ice cream
1 2-liter bottle strawberry soda
Red sugar


1. Thaw strawberries
2. Pour 1/2 of the strawberries into a blender
3. Add three scoops of ice cream to the strawberries
4. Pour strawberry soda over the ice cream until blender is 2/3 full
5. Blend on high until smooth
6. Add additional ice cream or soda pop until it is the consistency you desire.
7. Frost the rims of the glasses with red sugar. Dip the rims in water then into the sugar.
8. Pour the smoothies into glasses. Add sugar to top. Serve.

Homemade Halloween Makeup

Don't let your pocketbook keep you from looking spectacular at this year's Halloween costume party. If you want to save money this Halloween by making your own face paint for your party costume, there are plenty of recipes for homemade face makeup on the Web. Here are a few, courtesy of FamilyCorner.com:

• Homemade face makeup: you'll need 1 tsp corn starch, 1/2 tsp of water, 1/2 tsp of cold cream and food coloring. Stir together corn starch and cold cream until well blended. Add water, stir, then add food coloring. Apply to freshly washed face with fingertips and/or small paint brush. Washes off with soap and water.
• Homemade bruises: you will need powder eye shadows in the following colors - deep blue, charcoal or smoke gray and shimmery green powder. You will also need a makeup brush. Apply the deep blue shadow with a wet makeup brush. Use your fingertips to apply blots of charcoal gray and more blue. Blot the edges with the shimmery green. Smudge the "bruise" to complete.
  
• Homemade blood: you will need 1/2 bottle of light corn syrup, very hot water, a squirt of liquid soap, red food coloring and blue or green food coloring (optional). Pour the corn syrup into a bowl and add the hot water sparingly as you stir to your desired consistency. Add a squirt of liquid soap to make it easier to clean up later. Tint with red food coloring. Adding a drop of blue or green food coloring will make the "blood" a darker color. Store in refrigerator until use. Smear as needed.

Fall Invitation Themes

Does the start of the football season excite you most about fall? Or does the changing leaves on the trees? Are apples the quintessential fall symbol for you? Or is it pumpkins? No matter what you love most about fall, it is likely available to adorn invitations for a fall-themed party. There is no end to the creativity. Order invitations that resemble a game day ticket or create homemade tickets lined with pumpkins, leaves or apples. The choices are endless and there are many craft stores and stationery stores that can help you with materials and inspiration.

Gruesome Halloween Recipes a Click Away

Looking to create a gruesome-looking treat to raise the fun factor at your Halloween party? There are countless recipes on the Internet for everything from "kitty litter cake" to "critter munch" to "gelatin brains." Check out websites such as www.cooksrecipes.com, www.fabulousfoods.com and www.holidays.net for inspiring recipe ideas. And then all you'll have to do is convince your guests to eat your treats!

Halloween Party Games - Old Dead Joe´s Cave

Old Dead Joe´s Cave

Set up a darkened room ahead of time and place "Old Dead Joe´s body parts" in bowls around the room. Here´s how to make the body parts:

Guts - Fill a large bowl with wet, slimy noodles
Eyes - Put two large grapes in a small shallow bowl of water.
Teeth - Fill a metal pot or bowl with small rocks or candy corn
Hair - Set a wig on a wig stand
Tongue - Place a piece of raw liver in a bowl of warm water
Bones - Use old steak bones or any kind of bones
Ears - Use two large leaves of an artichoke with the sharp tips cut off
Nose - Use a raw potatoes carved into the shape of a nose
Blood - Fill a crock pot with warm tomato juice

1. Blindfold the children who are brave enough to enter the "cave". Holding a flashlight, lead them one at a time from bowl to bowl, telling them which body part is there and asking them to dip their hands into it.
2. The rest of the children sit quietly and listen intently to the screams and squeals of the children being led through the cave.
3. Have a towel ready to wrap around each child´s hands after he or she has dipped them into the fake blood. As you exit, keep up the act, saying, "Hurry, Steven, let´s wash the blood off in the sink," or "Don´t let the blood drip on the floor," etc.