Grands!® Halloween Recipe Easy Edible Art Bento

Grands!® Biscuits Easy Recipes for Halloween

Halloween is our favorite time of year! We love carving pumpkins and creating fun, edible art or Bento lunches with a Halloween, holiday theme. So, when Pillsbury Grands!® asked us to come up with a Halloween recipe, we were happy to oblige. Enjoy!

Hooty owl biscuits for Halloween.

The Hooty Owls are our favorite Halloween biscuits. Before baking, we made a slice in each side of the biscuit and pulled them out to look like wings. Then, we cut a sausage triangle for a nose. Snack pepperoni makes perfect owl eyes. Bake according to package directions.

Grands!® Halloween Recipe Easy Edible Art Bento.

This easy Grands!® Bisuit Halloween recipe is fun for toddlers or preschoolers to make, and it makes a great after school snack for elementary age students. They can choose their favorite Halloween character. We made Jack-o-lanterns, Jack the Pumpkin King, creepy monsters, and little hooty owls!

Creepy monster Halloween biscuit with pepperoni and sausage.

For this creepy monster, we sliced the pepperonis in half. Then, we sliced the sausage lengthwise cutting out pieces for a long nose and two eyes. Just push into the raw dough. They will bake in place.

Below, we made Jack the Pumpkin King with just sliced sausages. As you can see, these are easy for little ones to make. Just pre-cut the meats for them, and let them stick into the biscuit for some sensory, fine motor skill practice.

Skeleton biscuit is easy edible art for Halloween.

Easy Jack-o-lantern pumpkin biscuit is fun to make for Halloween.

Owl edible art craft for preschoolers or toddlers.

Cute, baby owl edible craft for Halloween.

Grands!® Halloween Recipe Easy Edible Art Bento ideas.

You can share our photos with the kids to inspire them, but let them make their own edible creations.

• Set out several small cups, each with a different ingredient.
• Remember, pepperoni, sausage, hotdogs, Zucchinni, Summer Squash, and peppers work best.
• Give each child a paper plate with a raw biscuit.
• Let them create!
• Bake according to package directions.
• Enjoy with milk or apple juice for a fun snack.

Grands!® Biscuits Easy Recipe for Halloween.

Be sure to share your creations with us! We love to see your creative ideas.

Recommended:

Cool Lunchbox Ideas

Owl Paper Crafts for Halloween

Halloween Cupcake Pans*

Plan a Make Believe Bakery Companion Activity




*This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Pillsbury. The opinions and text are all mine.

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products. *We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Chitika, Google Adsense, and Social Spark ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Teens Halloween Party Ideas Cool Activities

10 Halloween Decor, Games, and Activities for Teenagers
 

Ah, your little preschool darlings have blossomed into not so darling teenagers. Sigh. At least a few times a year, you'll still get some of those old time, good vibes with birthdays and holidays. Halloween is our favorite time of the year. Rarely have we lived in a place where trick or treating door to door was a possibility, so we've always gotten creative. Throw your teens a Halloween Party with these cool ideas and activities for Halloween! Oriental Trading generously sent us the supplies for this post. We hope you enjoy our tips for Halloween decor, games, and activities for teenagers!

This post contains Amazon and other affiliate links. 

Teens won't admit it, but they love to play funny games and win prizes. Sure, they'll groan how uncool you are, but inside they'll feel all giddy and look forward to the fun! This Halloween, tone it down, be cool, and have fun!

10 Cool Halloween Activities for Teens

Dragons guard the Halloween candy dish.

• These Cheesy Ghost Chicken Nuggets taste delicious and make a spooky appetizer for a Halloween Party. Be prepared to work quickly, the cheese gets solid fast.

• Use a paint marker to write 'Boo' on the bottom of one mini popcorn bucket. Have everyone check their  buckets. Whoever gets the 'boo' wins a special prize. Be sure to tell everyone else to boo the winner! Teens like that stuff, you know.

We like to use these Mythical Halloween Creatures from Oriental Trading as boo prizes.

• Tell teenager party-goers the story of how the Jack-o-Lantern originated and carve Halloween Turnips instead of Pumpkins to keep with the tradition.

The REAL story of the Jack-o-Lantern started with a turnip.

Oriental Trading has tons of cool decorations for Halloween parties. Our teens chose to go with a dragon theme for their Halloween party. We ordered dragon skeletons, swords, gloves for knights in shining armor, and more. 

• For the Halloween party tablescape below, we used a black light up bat wreath as a centerpiece decoration for our candy dish. If you're having a sleepover party, build memories by making a Halloween wreath as a favor to take home. 

• The black light up bat wreath is perfect for various themes. In fact, it can be used as a centerpiece decoration for a Medieval-themed Halloween party. Be sure to include other Medieval decorations. For starters, give your walls an ancient look by covering them with stone wallpapers and hanging shields. Also, provide minimal natural light using chandeliers and torches. Equally important, don't forget to dress appropriately for the event. Men can sport a "noblemen" look by wearing tunics, leggings, and breeches. Meanwhile, medieval costume ideas for women include long gowns and ankle-length tunics belted at the waist.

We filled these mini milk jugs from Oriental Trading with assorted M and Ms.

• Play ring toss with the candy filled milk jugs and some Halloween bracelets. When the kids toss a bracelet over a jug, they win the jug and the bracelet!

Halloween Party Candy Theme Table Decorations.

• Creature Pizza Biscuits are easy and fun to make as a Teen Halloween Party Activity. Just dip them in marinara sauce for a tasty appetizer. Learn how to make them here: Pumpkin Face Pizza Biscuits.

Edible Art: Pumpkin Biscuits.

• The large Dragon Skeleton is perfect for posing for pictures for teens to share on their social media! #HalloweenGames  After they've posed, blindfold them, tape a paper flame (with tape on both sides) to the end of the sword, and play PIN THE FLAME ON THE DRAGON.

Pin the Flame on the Dragon Party Game.

• Make your own Halloween Pumpkin and Ghost lights with plastic cups and cheap string lights. Learn how here: Pumpkin and Ghost Lights for Party. When teens arrive, give them each a cup and some markers. Let their creative juices flow and then collect the cups and pop them on a strand of lights. Hang it on your entry way, so they can see their art work as they head home.

• Don't forget the worms! For a cool teen HALLOWEEN party the best ideas are the grossest (is that even a word) ones. Our world famous SLURPIN' FOR WORMS game is a necessity! Especially, when you use the realistic gummy earthworms from OTC.

Realistic Earthworm Gummy Candy from Oriental Trading.

How to Play Slurpin' for Worms Game.

• On Halloween, a house party full of teens needs haunting! Hang sheets to make mazes throughout the rooms, turn out the lights and light the way with strobe lights or flickering string lights. Add creepy creatures at every corner, and make the final exit a 'dead' end.

Dragon Skeleton for Yard.

Follow us on Pinterest and Instagram for more fun Halloween Party Ideas!

Recommended:

Cool Games and Songs for Teen Parties

Get Halloween Costumes for Teens from Amazon

More Halloween Activities and Recipes from Kids Creative Chaos

Halloween Ideas: Diy Decorations

DIY Halloween Decoration Ideas

Halloween is so much fun! The holiday seasons begins with hayrides, bonfires, and pumpkin patches. To get you into the holiday spirit, we're sharing some Halloween decor ideas that you can make at home or purchase online at Oriental Trading and display around your party area. Make homemade Halloween lights to show off your festive Halloween decor. Enjoy!

Oriental Trading supplied these items in exchange for a post. 
This posts contains affiliate links for your convenience*

Owl Halloween Paper Crafts

Cute Paper Crafts for Halloween with Owls

We just discovered Whisker Graphics. They are a cute, online craft store. While we were perusing the "aisles", we found free owl print outs for cupcakes and bag decorating. This creator of Divine Twine™  offers lots of cute, Halloween Paper Crafts on Sale. We picked out some of our favorite items. Scroll down for the Free Printable Owl Labels and Invitations. Enjoy!

These Chevron Bitty Bags™ come in all colors. What a fun way to customize your Halloween goody bags for trick or treaters. You can add cute tags too. Best of all, these bags are food safe, biodegradable, and recyclable!

Chevron Halloween Trick or Treat Goody Bags.

Don't miss out on this Halloween Special. It includes tags, bags, papers, Divine Twine™, and more. Check here for more details: Halloween Paper Crafts. You can create personalized invitations and adorable wrapped packages with this kit.

Halloween Paper Crafts Kit available at Whisker Graphics.

Here's the best part, you can get these adorable owl printables for FREE! Just hop over here: Cute Owl Print Outs, and download the PDF. They are fully customizable too! How fun is that?

Printable Owl Labels and Invitations.

There's a bonus Halloween Printable on the Skip to My Lou blog.

Recommended:

Owl Crafts

Cute Baby Owl Costume*

Owl Food Craft for Preschoolers



ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products. *We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Blogvertise, The Blogger Network, Chitika, Google Adsense, and Social Spark ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

20 Easy DIY Halloween Costume Ideas for Kids

DIY Halloween Costumes

Looking for SUPER EASY homemade Halloween DIY Costume Ideas for Kids? Over the years, we've thrown together a ton of quick Halloween costumes for kids. Pre-teens and Teens love them too. All of our costume ideas are no-sew and most were made by Mayhem! She loves to create something from nothing. All are easy to throw together in an afternoon. So, what will you be for Halloween? 

20 Easy DIY Halloween Costume Ideas for kids and teens.

Do you have Transformer fans like we do? This Optimus Prime costume made from a box is the bomb! It even transforms to a truck when not in use. Way to go, ModernKiddo.

Optimus Prime Homemade Costume from ModernKiddo.

We know your baby is super, so show the world with this fun DIY Clark Kent costume from CostumeWorks. Tip: Works for super Dads too!

Clark Kent DIY Costume from CostumeWorks.

Do you have a teenage boy who needs a Halloween costume? Try this head-in-a-jar costume from ThirtyHandmadeDays. They've got an amazing tutorial!

DIY Jar Head Costume by ThirtyHandmadeDays. 

More Easy Halloween Costume Ideas for Kids from Kids Creative Chaos

• Costumes for Elf on the Shelf
• Make a Paper Chef's Hat
• Day of the Dead Costume Ideas
• Phineas and Ferb Mask
• Perry the Platypus Box Costume
• Make a Chicken Hat Band with Construction Paper
• Counting Sheep Costume 
• Pretty Pirate
• Monster Hunter & Kid Detective Costume Idea
• Bunny Costume from a stuffed animal
• Doctor Costume
• Rock Star Kitty
• Kid Made Pillowcase Ghost
• Native American Dress from Paper Bag
• Ninja Spy with Construction Paper
• Kid Made Nerf Gun Protective Gear
• Mary and Joseph No Sew Costume (Also includes sweatshirt donkey.)

If you try any of these diy Halloween Costume Ideas for kids and teens please share your images on our Facebook page.

Hope you have an amazing Halloween!

Fall Funtastic! Fun October things to do for Halloween in Indianapolis Indiana

Fun Fall things to do in October for Halloween in Central Indiana

At last... In the Fall of 2009, my kids suffered with the launch of my "Fun Kids" business. For them it was more like torture. This year, we were determined to find and do all of the fun things in October for the Halloween season.

Mayhem on a preschool hayride at Beasley's Orchard.

We only visited "Waterman's Farm Market" in Greenwood, Indiana to watch the pumpkin eating dinosaur, race big trikes around a track, pet a few goats, get swallowed up inside a stack-of-hay maze, and follow the trail in a field of corn on a very cold day during Fall-Break.  Oh what fun!  Waterman's is great, don't get me wrong; the kids love it.

This year, determined to make it up to them, I scheduled fall-fun into every spare minute.It started with a trip to "Trader's Point Creamery" during Oktoberfest; although the event seemed well received by others my kids gave it six thumbs down. It was crowded, hot, and we walked a lot.


However, it is a lovely fund-raising event for adults. Vendors sell their wares in a cozy farmer's market.  The farmer's offer crafts, fruits, jellies, jams, and warm, seasonal specialties.  If you come hungry eat here first.  The restaurant is closed while they serve gourmet burgers and organic items in the barn.  While these items were healthy and delicious my hungry kiddos didn't find anything appetizing (hot dogs ran out early) and my significant other spent around $40 on himself alone walking away in need of "real food".  Luckily, the dairy had cheeses and organic milk.

The kids did not enjoy the hayride thru the farm's hilly landscape to see the non-existent cows. The cows had come home for milking.  Nor did they dance a jig to the happy, live Polka Band.

Calves cried at the door to see their Mamas who were standing on the other side in line for the milking machines. The real pitchfork my son used to grab the hay was a big hit as was the tour of Milking time.

Not a big hit $13-40 pumpkins that were grown elsewhere. These were our first pumpkins of the season so the kids were overjoyed at the sight, but I bribed them with mega pumpkins two for $6 at Meijer. While they were kicking and screaming on the way out, I did notice a farm vendor selling little pumpkins for $1 each. C'est la vie.

Awesome, educational corn maze at Jacob's Orchard in New Castle, Indiana.

Needless to say, I had some fall-fun making up to do! On the next outing, I took them to a tiny apple orchard in my hometown, New Castle, Indiana. Previously known as Anderson's, the new owners renamed it "Jacob's Orchard" which made for a nice photo op for my son (and the 90 million others) named Jacob.

Unfortunately, Jacob had no desire to attend the event. He complained profusely until he spotted the inflatable tunnel. Success! Goat's, fortune-telling corn-maze, cider doughnuts made while-you-wait, apple slushies in apple-shaped bottles, and if you feel like it, You-Pick apples, sealed the deal. The price is right too.

He got hurt the first time but went back for more.

The angry faces say, "Let me go play".

Hay tower at Jacob's Orchard in New Castle, Indiana.

On a "No Pre-school Friday", Mayhem and I visited "The Old Farm Market" in Avon to purchase old-fashioned pumpkins and giant gourds. Bummer, the have gone out of business!

Mayhem with Fall Pumpkins and Gourds for Halloween.

Mayhem with a Pirate, Arrgh!

Fall Break called for a trip to our local Zoo Boo and the world famous "Indianapolis Children's Museum" for trick-or-treating, pumpkin bowling, and a scare-free haunted house entitled, "Skeletown". My little one tired out after the first treat-post preferring to be carried and then tip-toed timidly thru the haunted house expecting a fright at every corner. It hadn't occurred to me that, at four, this was the first haunted house she would remember.

Vampires, Indians, Scouts, and Racecar Drivers oh my!

Class field trips took us to  "Country Pumpkins" in Zionsville and "Beasley's Orchard" in Danville for hayrides to pumpkin patches topped off with a free mini-pumpkin. You might want to start logging a pumpkin tally about now.

Preschoolers and pumpkins.

Finally, Halloween weekend arrived.  The kids enjoyed our trip to "Westside Retirement Village" for a safe treating experience. The residents were sitting in the lobbies handing out candy and we were pleasantly surprised by a haunted garden on the way to more candy-giving seniors, six thumbs up here.  


My teenager appreciated the duality of the elderly enjoying the children. Such a cute idea transforming a pathway into a spider garden- a giant spider waved happily at the end of the trail to lull visitors into a sense of well-being just before a friendly, smiling ghost popped out to say, "boo".  Unfortunately, the happy boo had my littlest jumping out of her skin.

Now, we aren't known to be a greedy family but while we were waiting for Daddy to complete his projects at work we needed to pass the time, so, we stopped off at "Church of the Master American Baptist" for trunk-or-treat before meeting up for "Ghoulish Garfield" . Forget about icing, Indy Park's Garfield Park, put the cherry on top of the cupcake. Picture perfect.   


The haunted conservatory is scary. My teenager let go of her six-year-old brother's hand  to grab her Daddy's! Daddy carried the shaking little one with one arm and held Sam with the other arm while I led the way with Jake. Seconds after telling a witch he wasn't scared at all some 'air' caused Jake to stick to the floor. The same 'air' that had Sam unglued (go figure, it was literally just air from a blower of some sort). Kudos to the spookmaster.  

The exit led directly to the hayride. "I'm never coming to this park again," exclaimed Jake!  "I know, I got worried when it said, 'not suitable for small children'," winced Sam. No one wanted to take a hayride but the clown taking our tickets (literally) assured us it was only a means of transport so off we went. Unfortunately, we were short on time. The ride leads to the Arts Center to decorate pumpkins and then to the Burello Family Center for refreshments and such. Time was running out so we opted to stay on the wagon.  Neither of us felt the need to walk back to our car toting frightened children through a dark park. An amazing ride thru the park with the full-moon and stars above made for the perfect ending to a fall-fun evening.

I question my sanity, as I remember my first haunted house at the age of six. My uncle was playing Frankenstein. It must have been a scare-free time for everything was well-lit. The coffin and vampire are burned into my psyche forever. Dracula chased us into the next room as my aunt shooed him away with her purse. I recognized my uncle right away - he's well over six feet tall - still I worried about Dracula.

Could Frankenstein stop him from sucking our blood? Could he pry the casket open if the venomous vampire tossed me inside? I have no idea what treasures the other rooms held.  While the smell of alcohol wreaked from the vampire's fangs the smell of fear drenched my aunt's persona. I could not be consoled by their trifling claims otherwise. Isn't it odd that Halloween is my favorite holiday?  

Thanks to that fateful day, I've never met a Creep I've liked since.  To be sure, we're going to have three kids who have an irrational fear of air.

Trick or Treating in Avon's Washington Township Park.

Trick or Treat.

Then, I took the kids to "Washington Park" in Avon for the non-scary, trick-or-treat trail. It's a nice hike thru the woods. Candy stations are sprinkled along the trails, cute, carnival-style games abound, and the kids enjoy a costume contest and $1 pumpkins all before dark.  This one is perfect for even the littlest tykes unless they discover an urgent need to potty. (Don't worry Jessica, we made it back to the public restroom, but I overheard one little boy who had to go behind a tree.)

Super easy Halloween Costumes: The kids were done with puppies, ladybugs, clones, hulks and pumpkins. So we went with comfortable costumes; that's a ghost puppy and a skeleton kid.

Halloween Party Activities: Bobbing for Rubber Duckies!

Tomorrow I present, "The Princess and Wanda Witch" at Garfield Park Arts Center, 2:30-4:30 p.m.

Wanda Witch, lead actress in our skit.

Join us but don't dawdle; I have to hurry home to take my kids trick-or-treating, hand out candy, and visit the festivities at "Spirit of Life Church" in Clermont. 

It's hard work making up for lost time. Mayhem has had several different costumes to celebrate the season.



Recommended Reading:

Five Little Pumpkins (A fun Halloween book for children)

A Ghost Went Trick or Treating

Halloween Turnip? Why do we carve Jack-O-lanterns and How to Carve a Pumpkin

Ever wonder why we carve pumpkins on Halloween? 

Why isn't the cartoon called, "It's The Great Turnip, Charlie Brown?" And, why is it called a Jack-o-lantern anyway? Scroll down to find out how the pumpkin carving tradition began. Enjoy!

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Turnip Jack-o-lantern.

Halloween Legend and Folklore

The jack-o-lantern is named after Jack, of course. He needed a lantern. Poor Jack he drank too much. His 18th century, Irish neighbors considered him a drunk and a miser, so they called him Stingy Jack. 

Apparently, Jack invited the devil over for a drink. He tricked the devil into paying (read more about this legend from TLC).  Of course, the devil was angry and he vowed to come back for Jack. Various tales tell the story a bit differently, but it ends with Jack hallowing out a turnip, inserting a burning coal ember, and using it to light his way through HELL or to keep the devil at bay. Afterward, Irish families carved turnip lanterns to keep Jack's ghost away. Thus, the Jack-o-lantern was born.

How to carve a pumpkin.

Once the Irish immigrants saw the pumpkin, they knew the larger veggie would be easier for Jack to see.

Do other countries carve pumpkins?  Here is a little tutorial for turnip and pumpkin carving in case you're new to the tradition. MARTHA STEWART CARVED TURNIPS

Why do we carve pumpkins?

  Grab a grand pumpkin or turnip.

Carved Turnips.

Get a big carving knife, insert about 3" from the stem. It's difficult to cut, you must poke the knife in and wiggle it a little, pull it out, and then begin again until you've completed the circle. 

Once the top is removed you can begin cleaning your pumpkin. Just dive in with your hands and a large spoon and scoop the stringy goo and seeds out. Only pie pumpkins are edible, but the seeds of all pumpkins can be toasted for a yummy snack.

Pumpkin Seeds waiting for roasting.

At first, the turnip seems like it's impossible to carve, but practice makes perfect. Score a ring inside the top layer (from where you removed the lid) and use your knife or a sturdy spoon to scrape out the insides. Leave about a 1/4 inch ring of flesh.

Turnip Jack-o-lanterns ready for candles.

Draw a fun face or artsy, spooky picture onto the veggie. Insert Knife, pumpkin carving tool or even a screwdriver and cut. This is not fun- not for you, not for the littles. It's difficult, but once you've got a good slice going the piece will start to loosen. Let the littles place their hands inside the pumpkin/turnip and push out with their thumb. Oh what fun! It's like a little jigsaw puzzle.

How to carve a pumpkin: Digging out pumpkin guts and seeds.

Pumpkin clean inside and ready for a candle.

Keep your pumpkin dry! If you keep it in the house it lasts longer. Pumpkin Preservation Experiment. We sprayed ours with vinegar then wiped the excess liquid and patted the rest dry (it didn't work). Glue and Petroleum Jelly are only myths- see the preservation link. 

Decorate gourds: Happy Meal Stickers.

Mayhem stylin' with pumpkins.

Pumpkin Decorating Supplies: Stickers from a Happy Meal, Carving ideas, Battery powered Votives from Dollar Tree.

We like to decorate our pumpkins with stickers or felt to keep them thru Thanksgiving season. Don't believe me? Here is our snow pumpkin we decorated for CHRISTMAS with our snowman kit.

Decorate a pumpkin like a Snowman.

Ahh... Halloween, I love you.


Recommended Reading:

The Little Scarecrow Boy by Margaret Wise Brown

Extreme Pumpkin Carving, Second Edition Revised and Expanded: 20 Amazing Designs from Frightful to Fabulous

October Calendar of Special Days