I don't have any kids (yet), so I can't really trick or treat, but I'm a big fan of Halloween all the same. Here's how you Halloween with no one under 20 years old...

​After all the lead up, here's how my Halloween went down. Like a bat out of hell, if raced past, even with a bed time of 1.30am! We had soooo many trick or treaters - love it - the food was a success, and everyone got in the spirit/booze. Check it out!

Feeding Frenzy

I made 'dragon's blood' cocktail (sangria, essentially) and non-alcoholic bat's piss (a jug of lemonade) for the t-totals. 'Wink Murder' made an appearance once the food had been devoured. Halloween themed tunes were playing all night - just google 'devil' songs!

That's how you Halloween like an adult. 

Lou x

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Think of a Halloween colour. Orange? Black? I'm going to get you to think green this Halloween. 

How you make your Halloween more environmentally friendly, in other words. 

1. Don't use disposable cups. These are cute, but they're creating unnecessary waste. Try the same idea with cermaic reusable ones, if you're really keen on googley eyes. 

2. When lighting up creepy decorations, try using candles or LED lights - much more energy efficient than normal bulbs. Solar lights are even better, if you're decorating your garden. 

3. Don't make too much food if you're throwing a party. Go with the mantra 'eating is cheating' if you're on the booze! Be creative about the kind of food you can make to make a little go a long way and to reduce food waste. Check out my top foodie picks for Halloween!

4. If your sweet food doesn't get eaten, give them away as 'trick or treat' candy. 

5. Use up old scraps of material for costumes, or raid the local charity shop for ideas or outfits you can 'bloody-up'. 

6. Don't waste pumpkin! Use the soft flesh and seeds you've scooped out of your decorated pumpkin in a soup or pie, and roast the seeds in paprika and salt. Yum!

7. Try to use recycled paper while making decorations. Spooky spider webs and paper chains are perfect for this. 

8. Give your kids reusable containers for their trick or treat loot. 

9. Decorate your house with things you can use again next year. For example, hanging bats made of material, jam jar lanterns, window stickers... Come and have a look at some of my ideas for making your house a horror!

10. Use old tea towels or curtains to make beanbags for 'toss the pumpkin'. 

11. Dig out your old jam jars to use as lanterns or as 'witches brew' glasses for spooky themed drinks. 

12. Recycle your waste into a costume - just wait until you see what I've got planned! 

13. Host a costume swap party. We've all got a costume from the past we could give a new home. 

Statistic images borrowed from Edie.

Are you planning to reduce your environmental impact this Halloween? Let me know if you have any tips by commenting in the box below.
​
Lou x

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Born to be a Tourist

Here's my top 11 picks from the internet for ways to decorate your home this Halloween. Are you going to try any of them?

Two days to go!!!

Stay tuned - I'll be posting something showing you what ended up in my Halloween House this weekend - food, costumes and decor!

​Lou x

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Born to be a Tourist

​We're half way through my Halloween series of blogs here on Miss Write and today is all about food! Hope you're hungry... Here's my top five Halloween finger food picks. 

From the top left, we have...

Werewolf cupcakes 
Monster eye cookies
A pumpkin shaped cheeseball
Doughnut bugs
Devil's Eggs 
Olive creepy crawlies
Mummy croissants

As you know, I love trying new things in the kitchen, but I won't be making any of these this Halloween. I have a few top secret tricks up my sleeve. 

I won't be making Werewolf cupcakes as there will be plenty of cake at my house. Standard. 
Monster Eye cookies - doesn't really work with my aversion to eyes!
The cheeseball looks like it has disaster written all over it, however great it may be as a centre piece. 
Doughnuts are not really in my favourite foods, so I'll give those giant bugs a miss. 
Devil's Eggs - see Monster Eye cookies - ick!
The olive creepy crawlies were a possibility but El Husbandio doesn't like olives, so I can find something we both like. 
Croissants - don't go there. Mine are shortcrust pastry. Deal with it! 

There's nothing to stop you making these though - go for it! They all look awesome and very tasty. Good luck and send me some photos on my Twitter!

Lou x

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Can you guess which books these Halloween costumes were inspired by? Photos from around the internet - answers below. 

​In order of appearance...

Moby Dick
Twilight (duh!)
The Twits / Hagrid
American Horror Story Asylum
The Hobbit
Frankenstein
and my favourite... 50 Shades of Grey

Let me know if you think of your own literary costumes...

Lou x

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22 Halloween writing prompts - go get spooky!

1. A friend of yours has had an ancient curse levied upon him. What do you do to help and what happens to him throughout the curse?
2. What is your favorite horror movie? What do you like about it and how would you survive till the end? Go into extreme detail and feel free to include yourself in sequel ideas as well. 
3. If you had your choice of becoming any kind of vampire, which one would it be? A Twilight vampire, Buffy vampire, True Blood vampire, etc.? Pick one and tell your story of how you were turned and what resulted from that situation.
4. For Halloween, my mum and dad like to …….
5. The zombie apocalypse has begun! Several people you know have already become zombies and now it's a game of survival. What do you do to make sure that you are one of the people left at the end of the movie?
6. I was counting all my candy when all of a sudden…
7. A Halloween party is fun to plan…first you…
8. Write a story about a kid who goes trick-or-treating. Start from the minute he or she puts on his or her costume and finish when he or she gets home and put on normal clothes again. Tell me everything that happens.
9. Write a spooky story to tell around the campfire. Remember, you want to build suspense using onomatopoeia and alliteration. Don’t forget to have a big finale to frighten everyone who is listening.
10. If you could design a haunted house, what would you name it? What types of rooms would you have? Describe, in detail, 3 of the best rooms in your haunted house.
11. If you could be anyone or anything this Halloween, who or what would you be? Why?
12. Use your five senses. Brainstorm a list of all the Halloween sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feelings you can think of. 
13. Pretend that you have to make a pirate costume for Halloween. Tell how you would make it.
14. Write an announcement for a Halloween party. Keep it short, but make sure it captures the reader's attention. Include information on at least three to four fun activities you have planned for the party.
15. Pretend that you are a jack-o-lantern. Describe Halloween from a jack-o-lantern's point of view.
16. If you could make a magic brew, what would you make? Why?
17. Write a Halloween acrostic using one of these words: ghost, monster, mummy, skeleton, vampire, witch.
18. Pretend that you're getting ready to take a younger brother or sister trick-or-treating for the first time. Make a list of ten tips you'll give him or her.
19. Write a journal entry about the best trick you have ever pulled (or the best one that has ever been pulled on you).
20. Some schools are banning Halloween celebrations because of the religious roots of the holiday. Do you agree or disagree with such a ban? Write a two-minute speech arguing for or against Halloween celebrations in the classroom.
21. You are the star reporter for Halloween Headline, and you've just landed an interview with Casper the Friendly Ghost. Write out 20 questions to ask during the interview.
22. Imagine a Halloween with no candy. Do you think you would still have fun? Why or why not? Write a journal entry about it.

Get writing!

Lou x

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