Halloween Tricks For Your Treats

Isn't Halloween so much fun? I just love it!

I wanted to share with you some simple ideas on how to dress up Halloween candy. These ideas are good if you are planning a party, going to a party, or just want to give someone a nice Halloween gift without breaking the bank.

I like to start with simple items and dress them up. Here are 3 examples of easy ways to get fancy for Halloween.

1 - Candy Corn

A classic Halloween favorite (NOT one of mine...eeek!)

Let's say you have a friend or a client that you know absolutely LOVES candy corn and you thought it would be a nice gesture to send it to them for Halloween. How nice of you! Most candy corn can be found in any grocery store usually like this...

How boring is that?

With some simple changes - a clear cello bag and some coordinating ribbon, your boring grocery store item now looks like this...

Big difference, right?!? Now you have a real gift!

2 - Party Favor

This next idea can work in so many different scenarios. Party favors, place settings at a Halloween dinner party, or even little gifts for your employees. Little gestures go a long way!

You can find inexpensive Halloween containers at any dollar store right now. I found these small plastic cauldrons.

I think they came in a pack of 6 for $1. Great deal!!

You can fill them up with whatever you like. I used Hershey's mini chocolate bars that I wrapped with a personalized wrapper, filled the cauldron and tied a polka dot ribbon on one end.

So cute and it was so simple!

3 - For my next "trick", I'll show you how to dress up this plain black gable box.

I like keeping a bunch of these boxes on hand because they are perfect for so many types of gifts. I try to stay with the solid colors because I can use them for so many different occasions. No sense in getting stuck with a ton of pumpkin themed boxes that you'd have to wait till next Halloween to use again. See, always thinking!

When I was at Costco this weekend I saw that they had their holiday ribbon out. They have amazing deals on ribbon at this time of year. You should definitely check it out. I saw one that was white and had a black velvet design on it. I knew I could use it in an elegant Halloween design as well as for other future events.

I made a double bow with the decorative ribbon and then used an orange satin ribbon to give it a pop of color.

Can you imagine if you were invited to a Halloween party and showed up with a gift wrapped in this elegant design? You know you'll be invited to next year's party for sure!

The funny thing is, as I looked at this ribbon even closer,

I started to see skulls!

Do you see it also?

Am I crazy? Now I can't STOP seeing it!

Here's the recap of the before and after:

Do you give gifts on Halloween? Do you do anything special to celebrate?

Blazing Pumpkins

I love Halloween. I wish it wasn't over. It's one of my favorite holidays. I just love the creepiness sf it all.

This weekend we went to an event up in the Hudson Valley called The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze. It was on the grounds of Van Cortlandt Manor. As we were getting off the highway you could see the sea of blazing pumpkins from the road.

With my 2 girls, the hubbs, and camera in hand, we followed the crowd and the bright orange lights ahead of us. Wow!!! This was amazing! Hundreds of pumpkins intricately carved and positioned to create different forms. My older one wasn't too impressed. Wanted it to be more scary. "But look at those carvings. Aren't they amazing!!" I squealed. "I'm hungry" was the response I got. My little one was just off that night. You know what I mean? You can just tell when something is up with your kid. Yes, the event we had been waiting for for weeks now, and my little one decides to get sick, and cranky, and tired, and sick, and cranky, and tired. "Pick me up!!" was all we kept hearing. I don't even think she knew where we were! Completely oblivious to her surroundings. Why didn't we think to bring the stroller??

Well, I did manage to take a bunch of pics. Thought it would be fun to share with everyone. It absolutely doesn't even come close to seeing it in person, but I think its worth a look. Keep in mind, this was just me and my camera. No flash, no tripod, no mono pod. Just me, steady as I can, holding my breath and hoping for the best. This is what I got...

Hello there...

flying above us in the trees

OK - here's when the rainbow of lights started. I swear I didn't change the color of these photos in Photoshop. This was really how it looked - the lights on the manor kept changing to give different effects. Cool!!

This one is my favorite. It has a ghostly effect. Extra creepy!

My older daughter liked this one the best. "Pink Mama!" I say purple, she says pink. We settle on purplish pink. That works.

Look who we found lurking in the corner...

The part I actually like best about this next one is the blurry lights in the background. Love the bokeh!!

X-Files anyone??

I know this one is super blurry, but this spider web was amazing in person!! I couldn't resist.

Now we head into Jurassic Park...

followed by a snake pit,

pirate ship,

and of course, a pirate. What's a pirate ship without a pirate?!?

Peace, baby.

Finally a send off from this guy. Bye!!

So, what did you think?!? Did any of you go and see it? Would love to hear about it.

If you want to catch it in person next year, make sure to order your tickets early. They sell out really quickly!!

And, don't forget the stroler.