Kid-Friendly Halloween Party

Follow our tips and How-To Videos to throw an easygoing get-together for your favorite goblins, pretty princesses, superheroes, and their parents on October’s spookiest night.Haunting (but not Daunting) Menu
Serves 8 to 10Onion-Bacon DipAssorted Multigrain and Vegetable ChipsMonster Meatball SandwichesBarbecue StewMummy DogsCereal–and–Granola "Apples"Chocolate Ghost Cakes

Bob for apples without the water and all the mess by suspending them from string. Remember, no hands allowed!

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Recipe: Onion-Bacon Dip

At your Halloween party, your guests are sure to find this appetizer simply scary-delicious. Served in an acorn squash, Creamy Onion-Bacon Dip is sure to be a hit–you probably should go ahead and double the recipe. It mixes all the smoky, salty, flavors of a great, crunchy bacon with the sweetness of a large sweet onion, plus leeks, sautéed in bacon drippings. What could possibly taste better than that? This dip tastes great with everything, so just keep it simple: we serve ours with multigrain chips and an assortment of cut fresh vegetables. Dig in, and dip those chips.

Recipe: Monster Meatball Sandwiches

These 5-ingredient, money-saving mini sandwiches will satisfy the heartiest of appetites. Using premade frozen meatballs keeps preparation swift and simple.

Recipe: Mummy Dogs

A spider web of mustard and ketchup goes perfect with Mummy Dogs. (The secret to the “bun” is refrigerated breadstick dough.) To make the web, fill a small bowl with ketchup. Using a squirt bottle, pipe mustard in concentric circles on top of ketchup. Beginning at the center, draw a wooden pick through the circles in a spoke pattern.

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Recipe: Barbecue Stew

Serve make-ahead Barbecue Stew over baked frozen oven fries for a hearty meal.

Recipe: Cereal-and-Granola "Apples"

Serve Cereal-and-Granola "Apples" for dessert or package them as party favors for the kids.

Keep an assortment of drinks cool in scary spider coolers. Soft copper tubing is oh-so-easy to shape into legs. You can also use wrought iron “S-shaped” plant hangers or pipe cleaners.

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Download Pumpkin Carving Designs

Creating designs on your pumpkins, like the ones shown here, is easier than you think. Kits are available everywhere–from dollar stores to high-end kitchen shops–but you really don’t need a kit. Assemble your own with basic kitchen tools such as a sharp knife, a smaller paring knife, and wide, sturdy spoons to clean out the seeds and stringy pulp. A small handsaw is also helpful.