Halloween is a big deal at our house. My husband has always had a fine appreciation for all things creepy and I have to admit that I didn’t love Halloween until I married him. I’ve always loved everything about the fall season (like the menu and the wardrobe), but just not the Halloween holiday itself. But that has changed over the years and now I can honestly say that I love Halloween! Almost 8 years ago we brought our first baby boy home from the hospital on Halloween day. Since my little guy’s birthday is so close to the holiday, we often have Halloween-themed birthday parties and I’ve made quite a collection of easy kid-friendly party food. I wanted to have them all in one place here so that when you’re planning a party you won’t have to search far! If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that you can turn any food into a Halloween food with the addition of a) eyes or b) plastic spiders. Seriously. But here are some of my favorite things that make appearances at our house around this holiday. The great thing is that a lot of them are healthy (or semi-healthy) options, which is a nice thing compared to the loads of candy you usually see. Enjoy!
These are super duper easy, and a great make-ahead treat.
I think these are so stinkin’ cute. They’d be adorable for a monster-themed party.
This is a childhood favorite and always the most popular of our Halloween spreads! Cut crescent roll dough into thin strips and wrap around hot dogs. Bake according to crescent package directions and use ketchup or mustard for eyes. I cut my hot dogs in half to make them bite-sized.
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Quarter apples and take a wedge out of the center of each quarter. Dunk them in water with a little lemon juice to prevent browning. Use slivered almonds for teeth (I toasted mine for color and taste!) Eyes are optional. I stuck pretzel rods in and attached candy eyes with peanut butter.
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Use breadstick dough (store bought or homemade) and cut into strips. Use scissors to snip the ends into 2 pieces and roll them down to make the bone shape. Dip in “bloody” marinara! For extra flavor sprinkle with garlic and Parmesan or this seasoning.
Easy peasy! Plain cheese pizza, just make a ring of cheddar around the outside edge and mozzarella in the center. Cut into wedges to make the candy corns.
Super kid friendly- who doesn’t love string cheese?? Again, I cut them in half to make them kid-sized. Use the flat side of a knife to make the knuckle marks and attach slivered almonds with a dab of cream cheese for the nails. I also used a knife to shave off just a bit of the cheese at an angle before attaching the almond.
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You’ll need maraschino cherries for this one. Make sure you buy ones with stems. Drain them and dry them well with paper towels. Dip in almond bark, or chocolate bark. When they are semi dry, attach a chocolate chip for a nose, slivered almonds for ears, and little candies or sprinkles for eyes.
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Another classic. Use chocolate pudding for your mud and put some crushed Oreos on top for dirt. Hide those gummy worms in there for eeek factor!
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This is a great staple for a Halloween party spread because it pleases both kids and adults, and is something with substance! Use Halloween cookie cutters to cut your bread. I like to fill some with peanut butter or cream cheese and orange-colored jam (like peach or apricot) for the kiddos, and something more sophisticated like Teriyaki Chicken Salad for the grown ups!
Nutter Butters are naturally ghost shaped, which make them perfect for dipping! Give them a bath in some almond bark and put on a couple of mini chocolate chips for eyes. And might I add that white chocolate covered Nutter Butters taste really good!
Dipped Pretzel Rods are instantly transformed into “Witches Wands” with a little Halloween pizzazz! I sometimes have a hard time finding them in stores, so you can get them here if you find yourself in the same boat. Put them in containers with candy corns to hold them up. The little mini buckets pictured are from the Target dollar section. SO cute!
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Red Hots and licorice turn Oreos into creepy (but kinda cute) spiders. Shoestring licorice is hard to find these days, but I did find some here. If you don’t want to order online, Twizzlers makes “Pull-Apart” candy that works perfectly.
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This trick works for pretty much any dip that you could pipe sour cream on top of! I always do a basic 7-Layer taco dip. Put some sour cream in a plastic baggie with the end snipped off and use it to draw a web pattern. Throw on a fake spider or two and your favorite party dip is instantly creepy!
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My son seriously thought these looked too gross to eat-he wouldn’t even touch it! Just slice hot dogs and drop them into boiling water for just a minute or two and they’ll curl a bit. Dunk them in some BBQ sauce and you have slimy worms 🙂
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Witch Hats
One of the easiest Halloween tricks (and treats!). Place a Hershey’s Kiss on top of a Keebler Fudge Strip Cookie (in case you need a mental image of the cookies I’m talking about, here you go) and you have a little hat. Use the little tubes of frosting you can buy in the grocery store baking isle. Pipe a ring around the outside of the bottom of the kiss and press onto the cookie. It will squeeze out and make the ring around the kiss. Then pipe on the bow.
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A witch with a cute hat needs a broom to match! Use cookie dough to form a broom shape around the end of a large pretzel rod. Use a tooth pick to make indentations in the cookies if you want. If your cookies spread too much during baking just use a knife to trim the edges when they come out of the oven and are still warm. Then decorate as desired. I just used a packaged PB cookie mix to make it easy, but I added a bit of flour to make the cookies hold their shape better. You could also use this PB cookie dough or this sugar cookie dough.
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These not-so-spooky Oreo Bats look great on a plate, or you can easily stick them on sticks for bat pops! Find recipe here.
One of our favorites gets a Halloween makeover! Click here for the recipe.
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Halloween Cookie Pops
Here’s a great sugar cookie recipe and a tutorial on both glace icing and cookie pops. Make some spooky shapes and let people pick up some yum on a stick! Click here for a tutorial on making the spider web designs.
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We started a trend with these adorable candy corn themed cupcakes. Click here for the recipe, and also a how-to on making those pretty swirly tops!
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Autumn Pretzel Turtles
These quick and easy bites get a quick fall makeover by using Reeses Pieces in the centers, or drizzling colored candy melts over traditional nut centered ones. Click here for the recipe.
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Stove Top Kettle Corn
You don’t need a fancy machine for this classic fall treat. Just a pot on the stove top and our tutorial and you’ll be snacking in no time. Click here for the recipe.
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Chocolate-Dipped Owls
You’ll be amazed by how quick and easy these little owls are! Click here for a tutorial
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Caramel Apples
What’s a fall party without caramel apples? Click here for great tips!
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Honey Caramel Apples
Speaking of caramel apples, here’s a great honey version. This homemade caramel only requires 2 main ingredients! Click here for the recipe.
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Caramel Apple Cider
Need a drink to serve with all these goodies? Look no further than this delicious Caramel Apple Cider. Click here for the recipe.
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Shrunken Apple Heads
Click here for the tutorial.
Mason Jar Lanterns
These easy-to-make mason jar lanterns instantly add festiveness to your party!
Click here for the tutorial.
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Glow in the Dark Drinks
Curious? Click here to find out how to turn any drink into a spooky glowing one!
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Slime
Makes a great goopy party favor! Or have kids stick their fingers in it while blind-folded. It’s sure to get some screams! Click here for the recipe.
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This is such a quick and easy way to completely wow kids at a classroom party or adults at a grown-up Halloween party. Feel free to use your favorite brightly colored drink when you’re brewing up your crazy concoctions! Click here to see how we did it!
