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Originally Posted On: https://spiceworldinc.com/tips-and-tricks/a-frighteningly-good-halloween-menu/

A Frighteningly Good Halloween Menu

October is a spooktacular time for entertaining! Have no fear: Throwing a Halloween party doesn’t have to be scary. Follow these simple tricks to treat your guests to an un-boo-lievable event.

Get the party started with these fun Halloween games and crafts:

1. Costume contest: Invite guests to dress in their most creative costume. Award prizes for silliest, scariest, best duo or group costume, etc.
2. Host a pumpkin carving (or pumpkin painting) contest: Have guests bring their own pumpkin and you supply the table coverings and tools.
3. Mummy race: This race is fun for adults and kids alike. All you need is a few rolls of toilet paper or crepe paper. Find a flat outdoor space (like a backyard) and wrap your guests’ legs in toilet paper or crepe paper. Then, have guests race toward a finish line without ripping their paper.
4. Spooky slime: Entertaining kids? This simple and stretchy favorite fidget adds creepy Halloween fun with googly eyes and plastic spiders, perfect for a party craft (and to send home as a party favor).
5. Mystery box: This strange, slimy, gooey guessing game is perfect for kids! To set up, cut holes into the side or top of closed cardboard boxes (anything shoebox size or larger will work). Then, place one item in each box. Have guests take turns reaching inside to guess what’s hidden in each box.

Try items like:

• Peeled grapes or whole olives
• Cold, cooked spaghetti
• Mashed banana
• Baby carrots
• Canned peaches
• Dried apricots
• Steamed cauliflower

Scare up some fun with these additional party tips:

1. Set the mood with a Halloween party playlist. Find curated playlists on most music streaming services or create your own from popular favorites that span the decades and musical genres.
2. Decorate your front porch so guests know they’re in for fun: This could be as simple as a few jack-o-lanterns, stacked pumpkins, and a light source.
3. Keep your menu simple so you can enjoy the fun too.

Try these recipes for an eerie-sistible Halloween party menu:

Pomegranate Ginger Punch

This spiked, deep red Pomegranate Ginger Punch is sure to put grown-up guests in the Halloween spirit. Pro tip: serve it in a drink dispenser so you can spend time mixing with friends, not mixing individual drinks.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cold water
• ¼ cup fine white granulated sugar
• 32 ounces pomegranate juice
• 6 ounces Everclear
• ¼ cup lime juice (or about 3 limes)
• 24 ounces club soda
• 1 Tbsp Spice World Squeezable Ginger

Instructions 

1. In a beverage dispenser or large pitcher, stir together the water, sugar, Spice World Squeezable Ginger, pomegranate juice, Everclear, and lime juice, and chill in the refrigerator.
2. Stir in club soda just before serving to maintain carbonation.
3. Garnish with fresh limes and pomegranate arils or add food-safe dry ice for a spooky effect!

For a kid-friendly Halloween party punch, try this Witch’s Brew.

Witches’ Fingers Garlic Bread Dippers

Give finger food a whole new meaning with this Halloween twist on buttery garlic bread.  You may help scare away some vampires, but you’re sure to attract a crowd of hungry party guests.

Ingredient

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp butter, softened
• 2 cloves Spice World Fresh Garlic or 2 tsp Spice World Ready-to-Use Minced Garlic
• Small bunch fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 slices gluten-free bread
• 12 black olives, halved

Instructions

• In a small bowl, mix the olive oil with the softened butter until smooth. Finely mince the Spice World garlic and finely chop the parsley (leaves and stalks) then add to the bowl. Mix everything together until you have a nice, green paste and then season with salt and pepper. Set aside while you prepare the bread.
• Cut the crusts off your gluten-free bread so you are left with crustless rectangular slices. Lightly toast bread on one side only by placing slices on an ungreased baking sheet in a 350°F oven.
• Bake the toast for 4-6 minutes or until the top is golden brown and crispy. Timing will depend on your oven, so check after a few minutes.
• Place the half-toasted bread on a cutting board with the toasted side facing down. Spread the herbed garlic butter all over the untoasted side of the bread. Place a row of black olive “nails” along one of the long sides of the rectangle, then carefully slice the bread into “fingers”.
• Use a spatula to transfer the fingers to a non-stick oven tray and return to the oven for 3-4 minutes or until the garlic bread fingers start to smell deliciously garlicky and have begun to brown lightly at the edges. Serve immediately.

Round out your spooky spread with these additional Halloween-themed foods:

Spiderweb or Monster Face Guacamole

This 5-ingredient Halloween guacamole is so simple it’s scary! Be sure to use avocados that are ripe but not overripe. A ripe avocado will yield to pressure if you give it a gentle squeeze. To help speed the ripening process, place the avocados in a brown paper bag overnight along with some bananas. Bananas release ethylene gas from their stems, which accelerates the ripening process.

Ingredients

• 3 ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
• 1 lime, juiced
• ⅓ cup Spice World Easy Onion
• 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• ½ tsp salt

Toppings: sour cream, whole black olives, black beans, cucumber, blue corn tortilla chips

Instructions 

1. Chop the cilantro. Juice the lime. Peel and pit the avocados.
2. Place the avocados in a mixing bowl along with the lime juice and salt. Mash the ingredients together with a potato masher or fork until you reach your desired consistency.
3. Stir in the Spice World Easy Onion and cilantro.

Spooky Spider Web

1. For the web, scoop about ½ cup of sour cream into a resealable plastic bag and snip one of the bottom corners off using a pair of kitchen shears to create a piping bag. Pipe 4 circles of sour cream onto the guacamole. Using a knife, draw lines from the inner circle to the edge of the bowl.
2. For the spider, use a whole black olive for the body and sliced olives for the legs.

Monster Mash Face

1. Use blue corn tortilla chips to create the monster hair and nose.
2. Use sliced cucumber or sour cream and black beans to create the eyes and mouth.

Gingerbread skeletons

No bones about it: these gingerbread skeleton cookies are sure to be a hit at your Halloween party. Give your cookies a pop of fresh ginger flavor by using Spice World Ready-to-Use Minced Ginger instead of dried ginger. Use 1 Tbsp of Spice World Ready-to-Use Minced Ginger for every ¼ tsp of ground ginger in the recipe.

Ready to be the ghost (or ghostess) with the most this Halloween? Find more entertaining tips and seasonal recipe inspiration at Spice World Inc.