What child doesn't love to get dressed up in their favorite costume and go trick or treating!? When I was growing up, it was one of the most fun holidays because we were so involved in deciding what kind of costume we'd wear, and oh my goodness......the collection of candy we would accumulate was amazing! It was the only time of the year my mother would allow me to actually eat candy, so I took full advantage.
When I became a mother, I loved making costumes for my girls, and of course taking them out to trick or treat......and then "helping" them eat all the goodies they were given. Now I'm a grandmother, and the cycle is starting all over.....with a new twist.....I don't have to worry so much about how much candy they're ingesting (that's their mom's responsibility), and better yet.......that candy isn't in my house to tempt me!
When I was a teacher, there were moms who would bring in treats for all the kids.....I included myself in those who couldn't wait to try what was being presented! That got me to thinking....in today's world the cost of food and everything else has gone up so much that doing that could get expensive--especially if you're making enough for 20+ children and one hungry teacher! Not to mention, most of us of stretched for time, so if we can afford the ingredients, we're really pushed to get things made. That sent me off on a quest to see what could be made in the theme of the Halloween holiday, cost effective, and wouldn't take a lot of time to put together.
What I found was amazing, and I thought I'd put them here for anyone looking for some ideas. The tootsie pop spiders above, are adorable (even though I hate spiders), but other than some black pipe cleaners, googly eyes, and a bag of tootise pops, it wouldn't take much time to put these together for the kids. I really like the googly eyes......you know the kids would have a blast playing with these before they got eaten. Easy to transport too!
The Oreo cookies are too cute too. The legs are licorice, the eyes are M&M's attached with some of that gel you can get in the baking section of your grocery store. Again, the time element wouldn't take much to put them together, and you could get all the ingredients in your local grocery store in one stop. You figure two bags of the oreos, one bag of M&M's, and some licorice, and you're good to go. Who doesn't love an Oreo cookie!?
For those of you who like to bake, there were a couple of options that were pretty clever too. The picture to the left is a peanut butter cookie, with a mini Reece's peanut butter cup for the head. You could use M&M's for the eyes, or even Skittles, attaching them with that gel in the baking section. The the legs are again, licorice strings.
The cupcakes are for those of you who like to really get into this sort of thing. The cupcakes could be any flavor or course, then chocolate frosting on top, with the chocolate sprinkles for the body. The eyes are marshmallows that have been sliced into think slivers (I bet that's a fun task to do....), and attached with more of the gel, and then M&M's attached to the marshmallows with more gel. I'm not sure if spiders have noses, but if you'll notice there's a M&M just below the marshmallows that would be that--it might make them less creepy for those who don't find spiders so cute. And I'm sure you've figured out the legs are red licorice.
Regardless, there are tons of ideas on the internet now, and there's something for every budget, skill level and motivation level. My suggestion.....get your kids involved.....not only are you creating something fun to eat, you're creating memories that will last them a lifetime.
Posted first on AdorableBabyClothing.com Blog
What I found was amazing, and I thought I'd put them here for anyone looking for some ideas. The tootsie pop spiders above, are adorable (even though I hate spiders), but other than some black pipe cleaners, googly eyes, and a bag of tootise pops, it wouldn't take much time to put these together for the kids. I really like the googly eyes......you know the kids would have a blast playing with these before they got eaten. Easy to transport too!
