Halloween Party #2 - The Rat Trap

Our Second Halloween Party This Week.."The Rat Trap"

Seven days ago at this exact same time I was doing the exact same thing but in Pink ... A house full of kids here to celebrate Halloween!! I love Halloween so I enjoy doing it, but boy, two parties in one week created some serious "creation overload".

I survived my daughter's Pink-o-ween party Halloween/Birthday party .. so my son convinced me I could do it all over again for him except this time...no "Foof" .. "just food and hanging with his friends" ... it sounded pretty easy ... then he said I hope you make some cool food for my party too.

So once again cooking, searching recipes, and trying to be creative as I can in a short period of time. And thanks to Anders Ruff Halloween printables for inspiration and to help tie all things together.

I really didn't have a theme, I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do so I headed to my studio and rummaged through fabric, decorations, recipes (yeah .. recipes are in my studio too). I found some black & white fabric, black spider webbing, decorations, etc. So off I went and, in the end, I created "The Rat Trap" (a party created from a pack rat's studio)...






Since there were going to be ten 13 year old boys gathering here for the evening, I had to limit what areas of the house they could go in..the kitchen and the family room only! So I setup a window display in the kitchen with the fabric, spider webs, rats, pumpkins, cauldrons, skeletons, and Anders Ruff Halloween printables ... I made a small Rat Trap banner w/tatters using the printable black & white paper and Halloween label cards..(like I said .. not much time so I had to think quick -that's what makes Anders Ruff printables so awesome-you can create quickly and even on the fly). The rats trapped in the black spiderweb are mice printables from Martha Stewart.







Food was a necessity to keep the boys happy. I served pizza, chicken wings, soda/punch and I made snacks and foods easy to pick up and munch on. In between 'feedings' the boys did some X-boxing (not too much, to my surprise) and they hung outside and played night time football, man-hunt and some Airsoft wars were going on as well.

Sweet Treats

Marshmallow pops decorated with black frosting (did the same thing for the Pink-O-Ween Party), and a cauldron filled with Hershey chocolate bars (these were the favorite treat of the night-imagine that!)

Bloody Brains

I used Duncan Hines Chocolate Cake mix to make cupcakes and then decorated to look like bloody brains using vanilla frosting and red gel (I tried my best).

Peanut Butter Truffle Eyeballs

Peanut butter balls dipped in melted white chocolate and decorated with black frosting (for the pupil) and red gel frosting.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle Eyeballs:

2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
2 1/2 cups confectioner sugar
1 1/2 cup Rice Krispies cereal (optional)

In a medium sauce pan, over medium-low heat, melt the peanut butter and butter. Add sugar and mix until a dough consistency. Add Rice Krispies. You may need to use your hands to get the Rice Krispies mixed in.

Roll the peanut butter mixture into 1 inch balls. Refrigerate for an hour or two so they are easier to handle when dipping. In a double boiler, melt white chocolate (I add some crisco to the chocolate to make it smooth). Dip each PB ball in the chocolate, leaving the top open. Decorate by adding a black pupil to each PB ball with black frosting. Next, drip red gel frosting to make them look bloody. Note: you may use chocolate chips for each eye pupil in place of the black frosting - push the chocolate chip, tip side down, into the center of each PB ball.

Spiderweb Taco Dip

Taco dip made with 8 0z. cream cheese, 16 oz. sour cream, 1 package taco seasoning, green salsa verde, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and then embelished with a sour cream spiderweb.

Parmesan Chex Mix

3 cups Rice Chex, 3 cups Wheat Chex, 3 cups Corn Chex, 1 bag microwave Popcorn (popped), 2 cup Cheez-Its crackers, 1 cup Pretzels all mixed with 6 tablespoons of butter, Parmesan cheese, some garlic bread seasoning (or garlic salt). Shake all together in a large plastic back. Remove from bag and spread out on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 1 hour at 250 degrees, flipping mix every 15 minutes or so.

Bubbling Cauldorn Cheese Dip (I love this stuff!)

1 lb Velvetta processed cheese, 1 lb ground beef, 1 package jimmy dean sausage, 1/2 jar salsa, a few slices of jalapeno peppers. Brown the meats and drain off fat. Aadd cheese, salsa and peppers and slow cook until cheese is melted. Hallow out a loaf of bread to make a cauldron and then fill with cheese dip right before serving.

Breadstick Fingers

"Finger Food" - Breadstick Fingers made from Pillsbury refrigerated Breadsticks.

Separate breadsticks and cut each one in half. place on a greased cookie sheet. Cut pepperoni into fingernail shapes and press into dough. Cut knuckle marks into each finger and sprinkle with dried parsley of rosemary (for hairy knuckles). Bake according to directions on package.

Rotting Swamp Punch/Witches' Brew

I've used this punch recipe for several Hallloween parties. Everyone always likes it. I made a frozen ice brain using a brain mold. Added some green food coloring to the water before freezing. It came out this glowing green color. As it melted it got darker in color. The boys really liked this.

Here are some of the decorations we set up .. there were others but I just didn't get the time to take pictures. Maybe I'll take some more pictures tomorrow before trick or treating.

Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!!!