Treat guests to a ghoulishly good party
At Halloween, it's tough to be a kid who's too old to trick-or-treat, but too little to drive.. Older kids may still want to gather all that candy, just like their younger brothers and sisters, but may not want to be seen on the street doing that ''kid stuff.''
If your kids are just a bit too big to trick or treat, or if your adult friends are game to conjure up a little Halloween frivolity, follow these ideas and create a spooky fest at home. No one will miss what might be going on outside.
Create Atmosphere
Set the mood at your Halloween haunt with low lighting,candles and even weird music your local music store will have several choices of scary sound effects and Halloween theme songs.
Decorate your yard by placing stuffed costumed ''scarecrows'' out there, recommends Ellen M. Pals in ''Create a Celebration'' (Aladdin Publishing). Make a ghost by stuffing the center of a large sheet with newspaper and tying it at the neck for the head, says Pals. Or stuff handkerchiefs with a plastic foam ball and tie at the neck for the head.
Rig a ghost on a pulley by tying a wire from a tree to the house and hanging a large ghost on the pulley, purchased inexpensively at a hardware store.
Drape black gauze over chairs, pictures, tables. And. ...
''Create a secret trapdoor,'' suggests Pals. ''Use a real door or make-believe door and write the word 'Beware' on it.''
Place a lamp and hang paper skeletons behind a hanging sheet, using black or orange light bulbs to cast spooky shadows.
Ideas for a ''Nightmare on Maple Street'' party for all ages come from ''The Penny Whistle Halloween Book'' by Meredith Brokaw and Annie Gilbar (Fireside/Simon & Schuster).
''You cannot overdo the decorations for this party,'' they say. ''The more spiderwebs, plastic insects, phony tombstones, hanging ghosts, balloons, witches and bats, the better.''
Place candles in pumpkins carved with faces of ghouls to light the front walk.
Hang ghosts made from white pillowcases (two black eyes can be added with a felt-tip marker) from trees, fences or lampposts; let them hang loosely so they look like they are floating.
Make tombstones out of plastic foam sheets, which you can find in art supply or large party stores.
''Set decorators will tell you that the best and easiest trick to create instant atmosphere is to use colored lights so change all the light bulbs inside to blue,'' say Brokaw and Gilbar.
