Halloween Birthday Party

My birthday is on Halloween...I LOVE IT! =) It's so much fun. I remember each year on my birthday we would go trick-or-treating and end up at my grandparent's house and celebrate my birthday there...since I was born on my grandfather's birthday, we celebrated our birthdays together. =)


Now that I'm married and my husband and I have our own house my family comes over on Halloween.

I grew up in a small town and we never got trick-or-treaters, and now that my husband and

I live in a developement we get tons of kids. My mom LOVES giving out the candy to them.

We gave away over 160 soda cans and all of the candy you see here!!

Here are a few of the trick-or-treaters that visited...

This girl's mom made her costume! What a cool mom! =)

This kid was funny...he said, 'Watch this!' and when he tapped his

sword against the door it made a swoosh sound...haahaa! =)

This little guy, Isaiah, was the cutest of them all...He knocked on our door and my mom asked, "Weren't you here before?" He answered, "Yes, can I come in?" We asked him where his mom was and he's like, "She's standing right there." and proceeds to come in!! haahaa!! He was hilarious!! My dad asked him if he could try on his alien hat. =) Isaiah has "green" teeth because we gave him a green witch's finger sugar cookie to eat. =)

So, my nephews came dressed up as Branson! haahaa!!! Brendon was 

Lumberjack Branson, Hunter was Gamer Branson, Trey was Mexican Branson, 

and William was Asian Branson...the funny thing was Branson has worn his 

facial hair each way the boys had their facial hair drawn on. haahaa! =)

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 pinch ground cloves

1 pinch ground nutmeg

1/2 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside.

3. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

Brendon made this jello brain...You can get your very own mold from here: ShopPartyTime

Brendon also made these candy apples. He did an amazing job!
He followed this tutorial from YouTube

My sister-in-law made this Cheesenstein (Frankenstein Cheese-ball). 

It was delicious! For a printable version visit: Taste of Home

Cheesenstein

Ingredients

2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

3 green onions, thinly sliced

2 cartons (4 ounces each) whipped cream cheese

Moss-green paste food coloring

1 can (4-1/4 ounces) chopped ripe olives, drained

2 pepperoncini

3 colossal ripe olives

2 slices peeled parsnip

Black decorating gel

1 pretzel rod

1 small cucumber

Assorted fresh vegetables

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce and pepper sauce until smooth. 
2. Stir in the cheddar cheese, bacon and onions. Shape into a 5-in. x 4-in. x 3-in. rectangle; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled.

3. Unwrap rectangle; place on a serving platter with a 3-in. side on top. Tint whipped cream cheese green; spread over top and sides of rectangle.

4. Add chopped ripe olives for hair and for ears. Cut one colossal olive in half; add parsnip slices and olive halves for eyes. With black decorating gel, pipe the brow, mouth and stitches.

5. Break pretzel rod in half; add a colossal olive to each end. Press into sides of head for bolts. Cut a small piece from end of cucumber for a nose (save remaining cucumber for another use). Serve with vegetables. Yield: 3 cups.

My niece made these witches hats. Aren't they sooo cute! I love them! 

They couldn't be any easier to make. Basically the ingredients are Keebler 

Fudge stripe cookies (turned upside down), Hershey Kisses attached 

with orange Wilton tube icing. Super easy!

My sister made these green Witch's Finger Sugar Cookies. 

These are super easy and yummy too!

Witch's Fingers Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

Green food coloring (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. In a large bowl, cream butter, and sugar until well blended

3. Beat in egg and extracts, mix well

4. Combine flour and salt, add to butter mixture, beat well

5. Chill dough for at least an hour (it's easier to handle)

6. Roll dough into balls

7. Place on cookie sheet and press into oval (finger shapes)

8. Take a toothpick and press into cookie for knuckle lines

9. Bake for 8-10 minutes

10. Add almonds for nails

11. Cool 5 minutes before removing from cookie sheet

So...I love anything Butterfly Art Works. I'll let you read what they are all about. 

It's actually really cool what they do...no, they don't kill the pretty butterflies. =)

My sister bought me these panda things from the San Diego Zoo when she was out there visiting. The funny thing the notepad is made from panda poo!! haahaa!!

From my niece, Tashia...this just adds to my project list. =)

My big brother made me this copper wire tree using a piece of wood that was Branson's grandfather's. My brother is amazingly talented and can make anything! =) The ornaments hanging on the tree were made by Branson's sister last year as our Christmas present. If you want a custom designed piece yourself, contact her at: Xtophy Design Studio

Hope you had a fantastic Halloween...maybe you could

use some of these ideas for next year's Halloween party!