Halloween round-up...not for the faint-hearted!

Thank you everyone for your comments on my last post, I'm pleased to report that the second Halloween party was a screaming success! 

I cooked an early dinner so we could get out trick-or-treating (truth be told: I was trying to fill their stomachs before the candy feast commenced!). I made spaghetti bolognaise with my hidden-veggie tomato sauce (onion, garlic, carrot, peppers, courgette, whatever else is in the fridge cooked and pureed with tomatoes), so I knew they'd get a good dose of veg, carbs and protein. I topped it with mozzarella balls and black olive eyes, some strips of lasagna noodles, and baked it til the mummy was heated through. The goblins devoured it! 

Notice the change in tableware from the younger children's party in my last post...the older kids are into the blood reds and skulls now, very cool...

We went trick-or-treating for a good long time, lots of children and parents were out and about in the village and we all had terrific fun. The sleepover went well, I heard giggling waaaaaay into the night (Darling Husband was getting a bit grumpy about it, but I remember so clearly being 10 years old and staying up "all night" with my best friend, I told him to let it go!)

Of course one must have a Midnight Feast at a sleepover, especially if it's Halloween! So in addition to raiding their treat bags, I left a cauldron full of goodies in the kitchen and went to bed.

Surprisingly, the veggies were eaten too!

But there were still some shrieks to be heard the next morning, when the girls dined on pancakes with "blood" syrup...

eeewwww!

They loved it, I barely got a photo of a pancake before they were all devoured!

The "blood" is simply maple syrup with some red food colouring added

This looks remarkably like real blood, it's the consistency as well as the colour. My brother and I discovered this when we were children. 

My mother discovered this the hard way when we played a Halloween trick on her...

Now that I am a mother, I must state here, for all to read: Mom, I am *so so sorry* for subjecting you to our pranks! I don't know how you put up with (er...survived?) us! 

The gruesome decorations are being tucked away into their boxes until next year, but the fun memories will be fresh for a long time to come! 

Chrissie x