Halloween Express

Ghosts, ghosts and more ghosts!  They are the staple of every Halloween season.  There are so many crafts and decorations you can do using the ghost theme.  “You’ve been Ghosted” is a great way to say Happy Halloween to your neighbors.  Check out my blog from July 18th where I talk all about being “ghosted” and how you too can start a new tradition in your neighborhood or at your school with this spooktacular game.

Here are some great ghost crafts you can make.  They are quick and easy to do with your kids and a lot of fun too!

Ghost Wind Socks

• white construction paper
• black permanent marker
• stapler
• white crepe paper
• tape string

1. for each wind sock, decorate a 6-by-18 inch piece of white construction paper with ghostly eyes and a frightening mouth.
2. roll the paper to form a tube shape and staple the ends together.
3. cut eight 8-foot-long strips of crepe paper and drape them over the top edge with both ends hanging down to create "tails." Secure with tape.
4. for a handle, cut a 30-inch piece of string and staple the ends to opposite sides of the top of the decoration.

Ghost Leaf

• hole punch
• fallen leaves from your yard

1. with a hole punch, make 2 eyes and a mouth in an assortment of fallen leaves, one for each place setting.          
2. tuck each leaf stem under the edge of a dinner plate or inside a napkin ring.

Ghost Handprints

• black construction paper
• white paint
• crayons
• paper plates

1. pour paint onto paper plate and let your child rub both their hands in the paint until it is all over the bottom of their hands
2. press their hands to the paper (then wash hands)
3. turn paper upside down to where the palms of their handprint is the ghosts head and their fingers will be the bottom of the ghost
4. they can finish their picture by giving a face to their ghosts and coloring in pumpkins, bats, tombstones, full moon, etc…

Halloween Express has some great ghostly decorations that are sure to add that fear factor element to any home or yard.  From our hanging ghost in chains Hanging Ghost Chains to our inflatable 5 foot tall ghosts Inflatable Ghosts Halloween Express has it all.  Check out all of our ghostly decorations and costumes at Halloween Ghost Costumes.

Have you seen our new line of Everlast costumes?  They’re the satin boxing shorts, robes and gloves with Everlast printed on them.  Today, with as big as the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is, this costume is sure to be a huge hit.  The great thing about this costume is that it comes in boys/mens sizes toddler, child and adult and girls/womens sizes child and adult.  There is even an Everlast costume for women as the Ring Card Girl.  Check out all our Everlast costumes at Everlast Halloween Costumes.

There were some great cartoons on Saturday mornings when I was growing up.  Two of my favorites were the Flintstones and the Jetsons.  They were on complete opposite sides of the spectrum where the Flinstones was a great cartoon about two friends and their families from the past where as the Jetsons was a really cool cartoon about a family that lives in the future.  Both were great shows!  Who can forget Fred Flinstone and Barney Rubble or George and Jane Jetson.   If you had two couples and needed a costume idea for a group, what about Fred, Wilma, Barney and Betty?  Or if you’re going as a couple you could always go as Pebbles and Bam Bam.  Make sure you check out our whole line of The Flinstones and The Jetsons costumes at  The Flinstones and Jetsons Halloween Costumes.

Tim Burton is a film director known mostly for the quirky and gothic atmosphere of his films.  Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are just a few of the movies he has directed.  All of these movies have excellent characters to base a Halloween Costume on - Edward has hands made of scissors, Jack Skellington, and Willy Wonka are all fun characters to play.  You can see these and much more at  Tim Burton Movie Halloween Costumes.

What would Halloween be without a great carved pumpkin?  To me it never really feels like the Halloween season until you see that big crate full of pumpkins at your local grocery store.  I’ll see costumes, candy and plenty of Halloween decorations, but that first pumpkin sighting means it’s officially Fall for me! 

We love going to the pumpkin patch in October.  Being able to pick out that perfect pumpkin becomes a mission that usually takes my daughters about an hour to complete!  But the look on their face once they find it is priceless.  Finding that perfect pumpkin is the easy part, it’s deciding between the 10 perfect pumpkins that they’ve found that’s the hard part.  It’s funny, but I find that I’m the same way.  Wouldn’t it be nice if this really was the biggest decision that we had to make in our day to day lives?  Anyway, pumpkins do come in every shape and size imaginable.  That’s what makes carving them so fun.  Never carry a pumpkin by its stem, it may break.  If it does break-off you can use toothpicks as a basic patch.  If you find a perfect pumpkin but it’s missing its stem, have no fear, you can still use it!  Just carve the bottom out for the opening the same way you would do the top.  Then, just sit your light source on the cleaned bottom piece and sit the pumpkin over it.  This works great and you don’t need the stem for a lid handle.

Many centuries ago, October 31st was a magical night when glowing jack-o-lanterns, carved from turnips or gourds, were set on porches and in windows to welcome deceased loved ones, but also to act as protection against malevolent spirits. Burning lumps of coal were used inside as a source of light, later to be replaced by candles.  Soon after, it was the Irish who decided it was much easier to use pumpkins since they were much larger and easier to carve.

I was looking through a Halloween magazine the other day and couldn’t believe all the cute pumpkin decorating ideas that are out there.  I absolutely love the idea of carving small holes all over your pumpkin and pushing each bulb from a small strand of white lights through each hole.  When lit up the pumpkin looks amazing – and it’s so simple.  Another idea would be to let your children “paint” their pumpkin.  My youngest daughter, Olivia wanted nothing to do with gutting her pumpkin last year, so instead I had her paint a face on.  She loved it!  And even if you have a child that is younger Halloween Express has a “pushpin” pumpkin kit that works just like a Mr. Potato Head.  You just push in the eyes, nose, mouth, ears etc… and you’ve got the perfect no mess pumpkin!  You can find it at Halloween Pumpkin Push Pins. 

Other great ideas include our Witch or Vampire Pumpkin Stand.   These are great if you want to carve your pumpkin with a witch or vampires face because the stand looks like the rest of their body.  You can see these, our stencil books, carving tool sets and much, much more at Halloween Pumpkins. 

Have you ever gone ghost hunting or ghost investigating?  It’s especially popular during the Halloween season.  It’s an annual tradition for my nephew Aiden and his friends to go “ghost hunting” in the month of October and especially on Halloween night.  Last year he stopped by to show me some of the video he captured while walking through an abandoned mental hospital that was shut down years ago.  It’s said that some of the “patients” still wonder around the halls late at night.  For me, just watching the video was so eerily frightening that it had the hair on the back of my neck standing up.  The inside of the building was pitch black and all they had were flashlights to see down the long dark hallways.  It was raining that night which of course makes for the perfect setting.  On the video you could hear the rain hitting the windows of the hospital and in several rooms the rain was running down the inside of the walls.  A couple of the girls with them were scared to death.  It was sort of like watching “The Blair Witch Project” but with a happy ending!  Aiden has been into the whole supernatural phenomenon since I can remember.  He loves to watch a good horror flick and can’t wait for October to come around when he can start his annual “ghost hunting” with his friends.  Not me though, I have to pass on the hauntings - if I went on a ghost hunt all you would here on the video is me screaming!   

Did you know that a haunting is a recurring presence of a ghost, demon, or similar supernatural being at a specific place?  Old houses, hotels, restaurants, pubs, prisons, cemeteries and graveyards are the most common haunted places.  Belief in hauntings and ghosts spans the world and is recorded throughout history in legends and ghost stories. 

There are five primary types of hauntings:

1. Intelligent - may be a ghost or demon.  The entity is aware of its surroundings, including living people who may be present.
2. Residual - the entity does not seem to be aware of any living beings and performs the same repetitive act (often the reenactment of a tragic event).
3. Benevolent - a ghost that seeks to help or protect the living sometimes from an evil spirit.
4. Malevolent - ghost or demon that seeks to inflict harm on the living.
5. Benign – entity that is either unconcerned about the living or unaware of their presence.

What better time of year than Halloween to check out some of the “hauntings” in your neck of the woods!  Good luck and happy haunting!

On Friday, September 21st the movie Resident Evil: Extinction was released.  It’s the third installment in the Resident Evil series.  It’s an action, horror and sci-fi thriller all rolled into one.  This movie of the “undead” zombies is just in time for the Halloween season.  The original movie, Resident Evil was released in 2002 followed by Resident Evil: Apocalypse in 2004.

The original Resident Evil made its debut in 1996 as a survival horror video game on Sony Playstation.  Here is a list of the video game sequels that followed:

Resident Evil 2 – 1998
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis – 1999
Resident Evil: Code Veronica – 2000
Resident Evil Zero – 2002
Resident Evil 4 – 2005

The movie received great reviews and took the number one spot at the box office over the weekend and grossed an estimated $24 million.  I have not seen it yet, but I did read that Resident Evil: Extinction is a must-see especially if you’re a fan of the game and to anyone who has seen the previous two movies.  It keeps up a quick pace, great action and many horrifying scares.  Sounds like you won’t be disappointed with this sequel. 
Today Resident Evil is a media franchise consisting of a survival horror video game series, comic books, novelizations, three Hollywood motion pictures, and a variety of collectibles, including action figures, game guides and publications. 

If zombies and the “undead” are right up your alley for a Halloween costume this year check out what Halloween Express has to offer:  Halloween Zombies

Are you throwing a Halloween party this year or maybe volunteering at your son or daughter’s school party?  I’ve got some really fun recipes that are just the thing you need.  They’re easy to make and my kids were able to help with them.

Black and Orange Spook Cups

4 cups cold milk, divided use
1 (3.25-ounce) package Jell-O Chocolate Fudge Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
10 (7-ounce) glasses or plastic cups
1 (3.25-ounce) package Jell-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
Few drops red food coloring
Few drops yellow food coloring
10 Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, crushed
1/4 cup Halloween sprinkles

1. Pour 2 cups of the milk into large bowl. Add dry chocolate pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes or until well blended. Spoon evenly into the glasses, filling each glass half full; set aside.
2. Add remaining 2 cups milk to separate large bowl. Add dry vanilla pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes or until well blended. Stir in food coloring until pudding is of desired shade of orange; spoon evenly over chocolate pudding layers.
3. Top with crushed cookies. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until ready to serve.
4. Top with sprinkles. Makes 10 servings

Candy Corn Fudge
1 (12-ounce) package vanilla or white chocolate chips, melted
2 (16-ounce) containers vanilla frosting
1 (10-ounce) package butterscotch flavored chips, melted
1/8 teaspoon or more yellow food coloring, divided use
1/8 teaspoon or more red food coloring
48 pieces of candy corn

1. Line a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan with foil, leaving a couple inches of overhang on each end; butter foil.
2. In a large bowl, combine melted vanilla chips and half the frosting; mix well. Spread 1/3 of mixture in prepared pan.
3. Combine melted butterscotch chips and remaining frosting in another large bowl; mix well. Add enough yellow and red food coloring to turn mixture orange. Stir until well blended. Spread orange mixture over white layer in pan.
4. If remaining white mixture has hardened, heat in microwave until just melted and smooth, stirring occasionally. Add enough yellow food coloring to turn mixture yellow; stir until well blended. Spread over orange layer in pan. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.

Use foil to lift fudge from pan. Turn white side up and carefully peel off foil. Cut into 48 pieces. Press a candy corn into the center of each piece. Store in the refrigerator. Makes 48 pieces

Candy Filled Witches Hat

Self-sealing plastic bag
1 can chocolate frosting
20 chocolate ice cream cones
Candy corn or assorted small candies
20 (2 to 3 inch) chocolate cookies

1. Fill plastic bag with some chocolate frosting. Seal bag and cut a very small end off one corner of the bag and set aside. For each hat, invert one ice cream cone and fill with about 2 tablespoons candy corn or small candies. Pipe some frosting from bag along bottom edge of cone. Press a cookie against frosting. Carefully invert right side up onto waxed paper-lined cookie sheet.
2. Decorate outside of cone with small candies, using additional frosting as necessary. Refill frosting bag as needed. Makes 20 hats

For some additional fun Halloween recipes, check this link: Halloween Recipes

Now is a great time of year to watch all the classic horror films.  With the weather cooling and the official start of Fall being right around the corner, Halloween is in the air.  I don’t know what it is about Halloween, but it’s the only time of the year when I’ll go out and rent scary movies and actually watch them.  What would Halloween be without a few frightening movies?  Of course, my children are still way too young to be watching scary movies so my friends and I pick a weekend in October to spend the day watching horror flicks.  We usually pick one movie (Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street) and watch the entire series of sequels.  Last year we spent all day on the Friday the 13th horror series.  This year since there’s the new Halloween movie that was just recently released, we’ll probably do the Halloween series with Michael Myers.  Some other great horror movies that have you jumping in your seat are:  Carrie, The Omen, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Rosemary’s Baby, Night of the Living Dead, Exorcist, Nightmare on Elm Street, and The Haunting.

Of course for every creepy, terrifying and gruesome Halloween movie character out there - there is a Halloween costume.  If you want to be Michael Myers, Jason, Carrie, Leatherface or Freddy Krueger (just to name a few) look no further.  Halloween Express has an entire line of horror/gothic Halloween costumes at   Halloween Horror and Gothic Costumes.

There are also some wonderful Halloween themed movies for families to watch together.  This year on October 31st on Nickelodeon, kids can watch Halloween themed episodes all day long.  One of the favorites among my children is definitely the movie Hocus Pocus.  It’s about three funny and wild witches played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy that return from 17th-century Salem after they’re accidentally conjured up by some unsuspecting kids.  They set out to cast a spell on the town and reclaim their youth, but first they must get their act together and outwit three kids and a talking cat.  It’s a great movie!  It’s an annual tradition at our house to make a big bowl of popcorn and watch this movie together.  Some more great Halloween themed movies for your family to watch are:  Beetlejuice, Casper and my favorite, It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.  If you have young children try starting a new tradition this year of watching one of these great spooky kid-friendly shows.  Your kids will love it!  And don’t forget to check out our “witches and monsters” costumes for kids at Halloween Witches and Monsters.

Have you ever been watching a scary movie at home with all the lights off and could just tell by the music that was being played that something terrifying was going to happen in the movie?  It’s that eerie, haunting theme music that always sends goose bumps up my arms and has me grabbing for the nearest pillow or blanket to cover my eyes.  It’s amazing that even a couple weeks later after seeing the movie, I’ll hear that theme music and still get scared and catch myself looking over my shoulder. 

A couple weeks ago, I was in a book store with my 18 year old nephew, Aiden when his cell phone rang.  His ringtone was the theme song for the movie Halloween (those creepy piano notes).  Even though it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up I thought it was a great idea for this time of year.  Although I don’t think I’d want to be driving my car by myself at night or walking alone at night and have my cell phone go off.  I’d scare myself to death!

You have to have good classic horror theme music if you’re trying to pull off any kind of “haunted” theme.  Whether it be a haunted house, corn maze, hay ride or even if you want to give your trick-or-treaters that eerie feeling of your yard being haunted.  Just turn up the haunting music and add a fog machine and you have instant hair-raising fright!

Midnight Syndicate are the masters of gothic/horror soundscape.  They are the worlds premiere producer’s of high-end Halloween music and their orchestral, horror movie score-style music with sound effects is exactly what you need for that perfect “haunting”.  And lucky for you, Halloween Express has it - so look no further: Halloween Music & Videos  It’s an inexpensive and fun way to add that nightmarish edge to your Halloween! 

Happy Haunting!

Yesterday while out shopping with a friend of mine, we stopped in a candy store.  I hadn’t been in a candy store in a long time and it was so neat seeing all the old-time candy that I used to buy when I was little at the corner store for a penny.  Now it’s quite a bit more than that!  Wow, did that bring back memories – wax lips, candy buttons, wax bottles, pop rocks, marshmallow cones, razzles, pixy stix, now and later, and zotz (the hard candy that fizzes in the middle).  I wonder what my children will consider their old-time candy favorites when their older?  I do know that Halloween is a good time to get a taste of all your favorite candies.  You can always find something in that trick-or-treat bag that you like (of course, I have to sneak a peak when my kids aren’t looking)!

Speaking of candy, it’s so much easier if you have a nice big bowl to put the candy in that you’re giving out to the trick-or-treaters.  I like to mix all my candy together so that the children have a nice selection of candy to choose from.  A great bowl is Halloween Candy Bowl - it looks just like a witch’s cauldron, or maybe the candy bowl that has witches feet for legs Halloween Candy Bowl.

In the beginning of the trick-or-treat hours I usually give the candy out to each child, however as it gets closer to the end of the evening I’ll let the kids just reach in and grab whatever they want.  It always amazes me that most kids don’t grab a big handful but politely pick out a couple pieces of candy that they like.  I always wondered why people that aren’t going to be home leave a bowl of candy on their porch because you know that the first group of kids that go up (usually older kids) will dump the whole bowl into their bags.  A nice alternative to leaving a bowl of candy on your porch if you’re not going to be home is to just leave your candy with a neighbor for them to hand out.  My neighbor asked me to do that last year and I didn’t mind at all.  Believe me your candy will last a lot longer doing it that way than leaving it on your porch unattended.  My brother and his family live on a street where all the homes are on a little over an acre lot and have pretty big front yards.  Every Halloween all the neighbors put out big long tables in the cul-de-sac and a parent (or parents) from each house sits at the table with their bowl of candy and the trick-or-treaters just go down the line getting candy.  It’s a great idea for both the kids and adults because the kids don’t have so far to go to walk to each individual house and it’s a chance for the adults to get together and have fun.  

I think I’ve pretty much talked about costumes for all age groups, but I did happen to forget one – infants.  This is such a great age because you can put any costume you want on them and they never complain!  I remember when mine were babies and I just couldn’t wait for that first word and that first step.   Then before you know it they’re walking and talking and then you think (as you’re trying to keep up with them) “What was I thinking??”  I’m just kidding, but as anyone with a child out there knows they grow up way too fast!  It was always so much fun picking out the cutest outfits to put on my children when they were babies, until my daughter Sydney turned four and decided I had no fashion sense at all and that she could pick out her own clothes and get dressed all by herself.  That was fun!  There were many days when she went to preschool wearing a tutu over her shorts and her pink cowboy boots (that her dad just had to buy her). 

Anyway, take those first couple years to put on the cutest Halloween costumes you can find.  Halloween Express has five pages of the most adorable infant/baby costumes that I’ve ever seen!  On Halloween night you always see moms and dads following their children around pushing a younger sibling in a stroller.  It’s so cute when the kids come up to the door to trick-or-treat and they have two plastic pumpkins, one for them and one for their little baby brother or sister in the stroller.  I think most of us know that baby’s not getting the candy – it’s really for mom or dad (at least that’s how I played it)! 

Ok, getting back to the infant costumes.  Go to Baby and Toddler Halloween Costumes and see for yourself all the costumes we have to offer.  If you have a newborn, check out some of our “bunting” costumes.  They’re just like a one-piece sleeper that you put on your child.  They’re so easy to put on and also easy if you need to make a diaper change.  Your baby will look precious as a hotdog or tootsie roll; maybe a fireman or camouflage soldier; or even a dragon or a lobster.  There are so many to choose from.  Even if you don’t have children, maybe you have a friend that does, a niece or nephew or even someone in your neighborhood – just look at the costumes, they really are so unbelievable adorable.  You’ll find it hard to decide on just one!