25 October 2011 (Profile)

Welcome to the kids guide to all things Halloween. From wicked pumpkin stencils to spooky colouring pages, we're offering fun free online interactive activities for kids to enjoy at home. The recipes are great to keep the whole family occupied over the mid-term break and fantastic for a Halloween soiree. Fancy taking the kids to the cinema? We have listed the kids movies too. Or perhaps you want to take the kids on an outdoor adventure? There's lots to do in our Family Fun section too.

GOING OUT THIS HALLOWEEN MID TERM?

Family Films
Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer
Monte Carlo
The Adventures of Tintin

For more family films currently showing, visit our Cinema Section.
 
Family Fun Events
Halloween Camps @ Leisureworld Cork
Mid Term at St Patrick's Cathedral
Halloween @ The National Wax Museum
Secret Castle Of Magic at the 'National WAX MUSEUM Plus'
The Toy Show Experience
Loughwell Farm Park Halloween Party Weekend
Virginia Pumpkin Festival
Galway Aboo Halloween Festival
Spirits of Meath Halloween Festival 2011

Shankill Castle Kilkenny are selling tickets through entertainment.ie for the following:
ScareFest: Wand and Quill Making workshop
ScareFest: Know and Grow Children's
ScareFest: Hallowe'en Costume Making-Children's Workshop
ScareFest: ScareTrails
ScareFeast at the ScareFest

STAYING IN THIS HALLOWEEN MID TERM?

Eats & Treats: Don't forget, you need a grown up present to do the dirty work for you.

Edible Eyeballs
What you need: Chocolate Chips... Red icing tube... Marshmallows
Steps:
1. Grab the marshmallows and push in a chocolate chip in the center of each one. Tip: If you don't have chocolate chips, you can use any round candy to create the eye ball.
2. Draw little red blood vessels around the chocolate chip with the cake icing to make it look like an eye.
3. Put the edible eyeballs on a plate and serve it to your friends this Halloween!

Ghostly Pears
What you need: 4 pears... 4 icepop sticks... White Chocolate Chips... Raisins... Butter... Small bowl... Plate, of course.
Steps:
1. Put a popsicle stick into the stem end of each pear.
2. Put the chocolate chips in a bowl and add a tablespoon of butter. Put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds or until the chocolate chips are completely melted.
3. Dip each pear into the melted chocolate chips. After a minute, decorate the face of your pear ghosts with three raisins, two for the eyes and one for the mouth.
4. Put the pears on a plate in the fridge until they're firm and soon after that, your ghostly pear treats will be ready to scoff.

Caramel Apples
What you need: 1 pack of milk chocolate chips... 2 tablespoons shortening... 400g caramel... 1/4 cup of water... 8 large tart applies... 8 ice-pop sticks.
Steps:
1. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth and set aside.
2. In another microwave-safe bowl, microwave the caramels and water, uncovered, on high for 1 minute; stir. Heat 30-45 seconds longer or until caramels are melted; stir until smooth.
3. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper and grease the paper; set aside. Wash and thoroughly dry apples.
4. Insert a ice cream stick into each; dip into caramel mixture, turning to coat. Place on prepared pan. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Sprinkle with crushed chocolate.
5. Refrigerate until set. Remove from fridge 5 minutes before serving; cut into wedges to make 8 servings.

Pumpkin Cake - here's where things get a little complicated...
What you need: 2 cups all-purpose flour... 1 teaspoon baking soda... 1 teaspoon baking powder... 1 teaspoon coarse salt... 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon... 1 teaspoon ground ginger... 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg... 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice... 1 cup packed light-brown sugar... 1 cup granulated sugar... 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled... 4 large eggs lightly beaten... 1 can pumpkin puree.
Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line baking try with bun cases; set aside.
2: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter and eggs. Add dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.
4. Divide batter evenly among cases, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched and a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean - 20 to 25 minutes.
5. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.


Get Crafty: Wands, and Witch Hats and Slime, OH MY!!!
Again, make sure there's an adult present at all times.

Pumpkin Carving
What you need: A pumpkin... A sharpe knife for carving... Gutting Spoons... a printer for stencils if you so wish.
Steps:
1. With a long, thin bladed knife, cut out the top of the pumpkin around the stem of the pumpkin. The hole should be large enough to allow you to scoop out the guts.
2. As you cut out the top hole, angle the knife so that the lid and hole will be somewhat cone shaped.
3. Use a large spoon to scrap the inside walls of the pumpkin clean.
4. If you're not using a stencil, use a Crayon to draw the face onto the surface of the pumpkin and cut through the lines you drew.
5. When you are finished cutting, carefully push out the pieces to view the final results.
6. Make sure that you have scrapped the bottom of the pumpkin flat, so that the candle will sit level in the pumpkin.

Pumpkin Stencil: Bat
Pumpkin Stencil: Ghost

Witch Hat
What you need: Scissors... Tape... 1 sheet black construction paper... Paint brush... Newspaper... Black paint..
Steps:
1. Roll 6-8 sheets of newspaper into the shape of a cone. This will be the top of your hat.
2. Tape the newspaper to keep the shape of the cone. Of course, place it on your head to make sure it fits.
3. Put the cone on top of the construction paper and with a pencil, trace around the cone base. Set the cone aside and cut the bristol board. You should now have a sheet of bristol board with a circle in the center.
4. Cut another circle three to four inches wide so that you have a brim for your hat. Attach the brim to the base of your hat with tape and paint it black.
5. Let it dry for a few hours, and then take your new homemade witch hat trick-or-treating.

Wizard Wand
What you need: 1 sheet black construction paper... Pencil... Tape... Star stickers... Scissors
Steps:
1. Wrap the black contruction paper around the pencil. Remove any excess paper carefully with scissors.
2. Fold in the ends and tape one end of the tube.
3. Remove the pencil from the tube and tape the other end.
4. Decorate it with star stickers or colored ribbon to rev it up.

Vampire Blood
What you need: 1 cup corn syrup... Liquid soap... Water... Red food colouring... Green food colouring (optional)

Steps:
1. In a bowl, mix the corn syrup with some water. Keep adding water until you get a thick consistency.
2. Add a few drops of liquid soap and mix it together. Note: Do not use if you have any skin allergies.
3. Add the red food coloring and put it in the fridge. Once it hardens, use it your face and body to turn into a scary vampire! Tip: If you want the blood to look more realistic, add a few drops of green food coloring.

Homemade Slime
What you need: Medium bowl... 1 cup water... 1 cup corn starch... Green food coloring
Steps:
1. Pour 1 cup of corn starch and 1 cup of water into the bowl.
2. Mix the two together with your hands until it becomes gooey and doughy.
3. If it's not thick enough, add more corn starch or if it's too thick, just add more water.
4. Once the texture is thick and smooth, add green food coloring to achieve icky, green gooey slime!

Halloween Party Games: Given most of these games are designed to smother you in some way or another, make sure there's an adult present at all times.

Bobbing for Apples
What you need: Large basin filled with water... some fresh apples...
Steps:
1. Wash the apples and remove all stalks.
2. Put a number of the prepared apples into the basin filled with water.
3. Dunk your head in and try grabbing one with your teeth.
4. Dry self off with towel.
5. The person who retrieves the most apples win a prize.

Eyeball Hunt Game
What you need: Ping Pong balls (washed)... cooked spaghetti/noodles...
Steps:
1. Fill a large pot with cooked and cooled spaghetti noodles, and then bury ping pong balls in the noodles.
2. See who can find the most eyeballs in the worms in a set amount of time.
3. For an added twist you can color code the balls and have each color worth a different amount of points.
After the set amount of times, count up the points earned by each player.

Hanging Apples
What you need: some fresh apples with their stalks still attached... A long length of string... a thumb tack... a grown up.
Steps:
1. Tie the string to the stalk of a washed apple.
2. Attach the string to the ceiling with the thumbtack/tape.
3. Try taking a bite from the apple.

Tickle the Zombie
What you need: People who like to giggle.
Steps:
1. One person is 'IT', the others must sit or lay as motionless and expressionless zombies.
2. The person who is 'IT' must do whatever they can to make the zombies smile, giggle, or wiggle in any way without touching them.
3. When 'IT' gets a zombie to wiggle, giggle, or smile, that zombie then joins 'IT' in trying to get others to smile, giggle, or wiggle.
4. The last zombie wins.

Blind Man's Bluff.
What you need: A blindfold... willing participants... A spacious area with no dangerous obstructions,
Steps:
One player, designated as "It", is blindfolded and gropes around attempting to touch the other players without being able to see them, while the other players scatter and try to avoid the person who is "it", hiding in plain sight and sometimes teasing them to make them change direction.



Quiet Games
Hallowe'en Word Search
Fancy colouring a bat having a nap?
Or perhaps a pumpkin straddling a bucking horse?
 

Finally, some Halloween Jokes. Apologies in advance.
Why didn't the skeleton cross the road? He didn't have the guts
What did the ghost buy for his haunted house? Home moaners insurance
Why did the ghost cross the road? He was haunting the chicken
Why don't angry witches ride their brooms? They're afraid of flying off the handle
Who won the skeleton beauty contest? No body
What do skeletons say before they begin dining? Bone appetit!
Where do baby ghosts go during the day? Dayscare centres
Who did Frankenstein take to the prom? His ghoul friend
What’s a monster's favourite play? Romeo and Ghouliet
What do witches put on their hair? Scare spray
What do you get when you cross Bambi with a ghost? Bamboo
What kind of mistakes do spooks make? Boo boos

I'll get my coat...