Halloween Ideas

[lllucas 0]

Hi, AD's! :-D

 

On October 29th from 6-8 we have invited the children of the community, who are 12 and under, to Trick-or-Treat at out facility. All children must be accompanied by and adult. We provide the residents with candy to give out and invite the visitors to parade up and down the hallways in their costumes.

 

We also award door prizes throughout the evening and offer refreshments and a steady flow of popcorn :pint: . We used to have a haunted house but with increased census we have no longer have a space to set it up :-D .

 

Question: What are you doing for Halloween?

 

Linda Lucas, AD ;-)

http://www.theactivitydirectorsoffice.com

[gina 2]

Hi All,

Today we had a Trick or treat party with children from my dtr.'s preschool come in and it was a blast !!! :-P

We had them(the kids) in a parade and they went room to room to trick or treat and then the kids paraded again and the residents picked the three best costumes then they got prizes for the costume contest.

We served halloween punch :pint: and cookies and then let the residents and kids mingle in the courtyard.

We are also having a Halloween Costume Contest on the 31st with all our residents and res.families.

We have been doing halloween crafts such as: Tootsie Pop ghosts, Pumpkin Pins, Trick or Treat Cups, and Halloween Mobiles and Wreaths.

We have had a Candy Corn count going on all month and ghost bowling and a candy toss game too.

We also are having a Pumpkin decorating contest next week....

Have Fun! gina :-)

[gina 2]

Candy Corn Votive Cup

 

An easy votive cup to paint for Halloween or Fall.

This project is rated AVERAGE to do.

 

What You Need

 

 

 

Small to Medium terracotta pot (that will fit your candle)

Yellow craft paint

Orange craft paint

White craft paint

Paintbrush

Wax paper

White "Painters" paint marker

 

 

How To Make It

 

 

Lay out a piece of wax paper to protect your work surface.

Cover the entire pot with a base coat of white paint. Let dry.

Painting one color at a time, paint on the yellow, orange, and white stripes so it looks like a candy corn.

After the paint is dry, use the white paint marker to paint a face on the front of your votive cup.

Put a candle in the bottom of the pot and enjoy!

[Miguel 4]

Hey Hey,

My entertinment canceled on me last week, and I have had no luck getting someone to replace who I hired origianaly, I wanted someone to do something Halloweenish and I cant find anyone, I tired contacting some local schools but all said their would be a busing issue. So I am trying the day cares. -Miguel

[gina 2]

Hi Miguel !! :-D

Are you near any apartment complexes?

One year I had kids from local apartments come in and have a trick or treat party.

I made flyers and went out walking in the complexes and invited them,we had over 50 kids come in and we had a costume contest too!!Everyone had a great time and it was a wonderful community builder( the local news came out too!)

If not, how about having a Halloween Talent Contest with your residents and staff?

Ask the staff to get one or two residents to work with and have them sing a song(The Monster Mash,One eyed one horned flying purple people eater,or other Halloween type songs) or have them do a small skit/play, etc.

At last but not least,Maybe have a scavenger hunt...Make a list of weird items to find throughout the facility.

Maybe these will help....Good luck and have fun!

Gina

[gina 2]

Hi All,

With Halloween fast approaching, here is some fun trivia to share with your residents.... ;-)

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

The History of Chocolate - 1900's

 

 

1900 Milton S. Hershey introduces the Milk Chocolate Bar. He also begins the production of Sweethearts. These are vanilla sweet chocolate candy with a heart imprinted on the base. They will be discontinued in 1931.

 

1903 Milton Hershey builds a chocolate factory and a town for his workers near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

1904 The Cadbury Company develops a dairy milk chocolate.

 

1906 The town of Derry Church, Pennsylvania changes its name to Hershey to honor Milton S. Hershey.

1907 On July 1, 1907 the first Hershey Kisses are made.

 

1908

Theodore Tobler develops the unique triangular nougat filled chocolate candy bar called Toblerone.

 

1908 `The Hershey Chocolate Company makes the first milk chocolate bar with almonds.

1909 The Hershey Chocolate Company states making Silvertops. This is a version of the Hershey's Kisses that are sold individually. They are discontinued in 1931.

1911 Frank and Ethel Mars build a candy company in Tacoma, Washington. Later it become the Mars, Inc.

1912 Jean Neuhaus, Jr. invents the first chocolate covered praline. He fills the empty chocolate shell with pralines invented by his father.

1912 The Whitman Company produces the boxed assortments called Whitman's Samplers. This is the first company to have a drawing of where the different chocolates are located in the box.

1914 L. S. Heath & Sons, Inc. makes the first Heath Bar in Robinson, Illinois.

 

1919 The Fry family merges with the Cadbury Brothers.

1921 The Hershey Food Corporation begins to wrap the Kisses by machine and add the flag to the wrapping.

1921 The Mounds candy bar is invented by Peter Paul Halijian. He sells it under the name Peter Paul Mounds.

 

1922 H. B. Reese makes the first Reese's peanut butter cup using Hershey's milk chocolate.

 

1923 Frank Mars creates the first Milky Way candy bar. This candy has a nougat center.

 

1923 Hershey Foods Corporation registers the name Hershey's Kisses as a trademark.

1925 The Hershey Chocolate Company makes the first Mr. Goodbar.

 

1927 Baker's Chocolate Company is bought by General Foods Corporation. They move the company to Delaware.

1927 The Hershey Chocolate Company is renamed Hershey Chocolate Corporation.

1928 L. S. Heath & Sons, Inc. develops the toffee candy bar called the Heath Bar. This candy bar can be bought on the home-delivered dairy order form.

1929 Frank Mars opens the Chicago candy plant.

1929 Peter, Cailler, and Kohler merge with Nestlé ending 30 years of rivalry between the two companies.

1930 Frank Mars makes the first Snickers candy bar.

 

1938 The Hershey Chocolate Corporation makes the Krackel bar.

1939 Bloomer Chocolate Company begins manufacturing in Chicago, Illinois. It will become the largest commercial chocolate manufacturer in the United States.

1939 Hershey makes the Hershey's Miniatures chocolate bars.

1941 Forrest Mars returns to the United States from England. He goes into business with Bruce Murrie, who is the one of the president of the Hershey Chocolate Company. They call their new company M & M Ltd. Together they make the first M & M's.

1947 Peter Paul makes the first Almond Joy.

 

1950 Sam Altshuler starts the Annabelle Candy Company, Inc. He names his company for his daughter and makes the first Rocky Road candy bar.

1962 Hershey's Kisses are wrapped in colors other than silver for the first time.

1963 Hershey Chocolate Company buy H. B. Reese Candy Company, Inc. for $23.5 million.

1966 The Campbell Soup Company buys the Godiva Chocolatier, Inc. of Belgium.

1969 The Cadbury chocolate business merges with the Schweppes soft drinks to form Cadbury Schweppes.

1970 The Tobler company merges with the Suchard to become the largest chocolate company.

1970 Because the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are so popular the company has to double its size.

1973 The Cadbury Company opens Chocolate World theme park in Bournville, England.

1973 The Hershey Foods Corporation opens its theme park, Hershey's Chocolate World.

1973 Hershey Foods begins putting nutritional information on their labels.

1976 Hershey Chocolate Company adds chopped peanuts to the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups to make Reese's Crunchy.

1977 Hershey Foods makes the first Golden Almond chocolate bar.

1980 An employee of the Schare-Tobler tries to sell secret chocolate recipes to Saudi Arabia, China, and Russia. Luckily he was unsuccessful.

1988 Nestlé buys the British chocolate and candy manufactures Rowntree. This makes Nestlé the world's largest chocolate manufacturer.

1988 Hershey Chocolate Company is renamed Hershey Chocolate U.S.A. The company buys Peter Paul.

1989 Hershey Chocolate U.S.A. makes the Symphony milk chocolate bar with almonds and toffee chips.

 

1990 Hershey sends 144,000 of their heat-resistant candy bars to soldiers in the Gulf War, Desert Storm.

1991 The recipe for Reese's Peanut Butter Cup is changed to add three times the amount of peanuts.

1993 The first Hershey's Hugs and mini Hershey's Kisses wrapped in white chocolate are sold.

[lllucas 0]

Hi, Gina! :-D

 

I should have replied to this post a week ago. My question is this...do you have some chocolate samples you could send to me? I'd REALLY appreciate it!

 

Sincerely,

 

Linda Lucas, AD

A devout chocoholic!

[dankkie 0]

8-) Hello from the sunshine state.

Our facility is a three story ALF which has several vacant rooms on the third floor. We are located on beautiful Davis Island in the Tampa Bay area. We were fortunate enough to get local businesses and organizations to sponor a room, decorate it and provide the activity for youth ages 3-12 years old. I must tell you, it was awesome on Oct.30, 2004.

 

At 6pm the door open and it did not stop until 9pm. The residents made popcorn gloves with candy corns in the bottom of each finger to look like nails and they also stuff candy bags in advance to hand out to the children. Other activities included a spook walk up three flights of stairs to the youth's suprise, three haunted room with staff members at their best, :-x spooking everybody daring to come their way :cry: . Downstairs, a costume contest, cake walk and other activities continued to go on. It was wonderful. Staff volunteered their time to decorate on friday and sat, plus worked the event.

The residents had morefun than anybody seeing all the young people in the building and that's what it's all about! making them happy.

[mona 0]

;-) just thought maybe someone would like to hear about our Octoberfest,

I have volunteers work with the residents in a personal care home, they make crafts, bake something, paint pictures, make jewelery, then we have our Octoberfest, we advertise and we got a good turnout last year, and all the money that was earned, was divided with the residents that participated. They each earned $50.00 and I took them to Walmart to Christmas shop with their own money, they loved it... we started working on it already.

[Guest Guest]

Sounds like fun! Is that your only fundraising event during the year?

 

Karen

[Guest Chet]

Hello :-D

I am new to this site & activities. I started as an activities assistant about 2 months ago. :hammer: We are starting to plan for the month of October & I would like to have some ideas that would knock their socks off. I work on a nursing unit with about 12 long term residents & 50 short term/ therapy residents. Does any one have any October ideas, that can be adaptable for the different levels. (not kiddish & not to hard)

 

Thanks, ;-)

Chet;-)

[weda 0]

Hello :-D

I am new to this site & activities. I started as an activities assistant about 2 months ago. :hammer: We are starting to plan for the month of October & I would like to have some ideas that would knock their socks off. I work on a nursing unit with about 12 long term residents & 50 short term/ therapy residents. Does any one have any October ideas, that can be adaptable for the different levels. (not kiddish & not to hard)

 

Thanks, ;-)

Chet;-)

HI Chet,

 

I work for a long term facility in TEXAS and I have been planning a Halloween Carnival. We will have music, a cake walk ,haunted house, fishing game and other simple little games like bingo. You can ask staff to bake goods and donate them .

I hope this will help some! Sincerely from TEXAS Weda

[Ella 0]

Hey Chet:

Halloween is my favorite holiday so to help decorate the facility we have a contest with staff to decorate doors i.e. dining room, offices, beauty shop etc. Then we set rules, decorating has to meet fire safety codes, no lights needing extention cords etc, staff has to buy their own supplies, they cannot ask actitivites for help, suggestion or supplies. They can and do ask residents to help decorate their doors. We set a date to judge the doors and take residents around as our judges. Hospital Aux. or Hospital Admin supplies the prizes which is usually a gift certificate to a local pizza parlor (or something similar) that will deliver to our facility (staff loves this becasue they can get thier lunch delivered!) Our CEO loves this idea because it involves staff and residents and families love to see staff from all departments getting involved.

Another activity we do is pumpkin painting. We purchase small pie pumpkins so the residents can paint them and have them in their rooms for decorations. Make sure to cover the residents clothing because as you know painting can be messy. Some of my residents I just turn loose and let them paint whatever they want on their pumpkin and then end result is nothing like a jack-o-lantern yet very interesting! Others who really want the jack-o-lantern look but need assistance, I draw a face on the pumpkin for them and then they paint it.

Our long term care is attached to our hospital and our x-ray department x-rays candy for our community so we get a lot of kids through our LTC. We ask for candy donations from staff so that we can have candy for residents to pass out to the trick-or-treaters. Many of our residents will take their over the bed table and set a bowl with candy on it along with their pumpkin outside of their room so that the kids will know what room to stop at!

Hope this has helped some ! Happy Halloween!

[LECINSA 0]

Looking for some different ideas to do with our residents and their grandkids on Halloween. Any suggestions?

Thanks all! :-D

[Guest Tinki]

Easy Apple ButterBarb Beck

 

6 (14 oz cans) unsweetened apple sauce

3 Cups sugar ( white, brown, other sweetener of choice)

Note: I often use less sugar (1C) or no sugar if I am using the

apple butter in cooking. Hubby likes it made with the

full amount for his morning toast

1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

1 Teaspoon Nutmeg

1/4 Teaspoon Cloves

 

 

Put applesauce and sugar in crockpot. (If using artificial sweetener do

not add to mixture until after the butter is done and cooled) Cook until

about half the original volume. I usually cook on high during day and low

at night. With my crockpot on my last batch I used high for 3 hours, low

for 9 hours and high again for 8 hours. There is nothing magic about the

timing sequence. I add the seasoning in the last half hour of cooking.

This makes about 6 cups.

 

If your crockpot is too small for all the applesauce, use what you can

and add the rest after it has cooked down for a while.

 

I keep some in a jar in the frig and freeze the rest in small packets

to use later. You can also pour the apple butter when hot in steralized

jars and seal.

 

Barb Beck

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

barb@owlnut.rr.ualberta.ca

 

I'm Dreaming Of The Great Pumpkin

(Sung to: I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas)

 

I'm dreaming of the Great Pumpkin

Just like I do this time each year

When he brings nice toys to good girls and boys

Who wait for him to appear.

 

I'm dreaming of the Great Pumpkin

With every pumpkin card I write.

May your jack-o-lanterns burn bright

When the Great Pumpkin visits you tonight.

~Source unknown~

 

Pumpkin Seed Snack~

 

Scoop out the seeds from your pumpkin, roast them and let your students enjoy a pumpkin

seed snack.

 

2 cups of pumpkin seeds

2 tablespoons of salt

1 tablespoon of butter

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Boil pumpkin seed in about a quart of water for 10 minutes.

3. Drain the seeds and toss them in melted butter.

4. Spread the seeds on a cookie sheet or roasting pan.

5. Roast the seeds for about 30 min. (Make sure you stir and toss them while they bake)

 

Ghost-Centration:

Object of Game: To guess pairs of hidden objects. Like the "Concentration " game.

Preparation:

Take twelve post-it notes.

Using a crayon or marker, number each post -it note from one to twelve on the front, non-sticky side.

On the other side, put on two cars each the words: Ghost, Pumpkin, Witches, Goblins, Treats and scarecrows.Make sure each pair not in numerical order.

You can make up any pairs of names you want.

Put the post-its on a wall in two or three rows in numerical order.

Playing the Game:

Each player takes a turn asking for two numbers to be turned over.

If there is a match, the player wins a piece of candy.

The play goes on to the next player whether or not a match is made.

 

Penny Pitch:

Object of Game: To pitch a penny into a pumpkin.

Preparation:

Method #1: Carve out a pumpkin (or two,or three) and line the inside with plastic or aluminum foil.

Make the top opening big.

Method: #2: Use several small plastic pumpkins(Less messy)

Playing the Game:

Place the pumpkins a couple feet away.

Give each player ten to twenty pennies.

Every time a penny goes into the pumpkin, a piece of candy is won.

 

Pumpkin Ring Toss:

Object of Game: To toss a ring around a pumpkin.

Preparation:

Carve out a one to three pumpkins.

Buy or make three or four rings about twice as big around as the pumpkins.

If you don't know what to use, try an extra piece of leftover electrical cable and tape together with duct tape. (Scouts use this as a "Reduce, re-use and re-cycle" project)

Playing the Game:

Measure back several feet, depending on age group.

Give the rings to the player.

A piece of candy (or two) is awarded for ringing the pumpkin.

You can award one piece of candy for a partial ring and two if the ring is completely around.

 

Tic-Tac Ghost:

Object of Game: Get three O's or X's.

Preparation:

Use a "Toss Across"game.

Tape pieces of candy or small prizes on some of the O's and X's.

You can use a paper note stating the prize. SOmetimes the prizes are too big to put on the game.

Playing the Game:

Each player gets five or six bean bags.

Toss the bean bags at the game. There are two ways to win.

Win a prize by getting three O's or X's.

If the player turns over a prize, they win that prize.

 

Pumpkin Bocce:

Object of Game: Roll a pumpkin closest to the big pumpkin.

Preparation:

Carve out a large pumpkin.

Buy several miniature or round sugar pumpkins.

Playing the Game:

Place the big, carved out pumpkin several feet away.

Give each player a small pumpkin.

Each player rolls (No tossing or throwing) their pumpkin and tries to be the closest to the big pumpkin.

The player closest wins a prize or piece of candy.

Play as many times as you want. (Or until you run out of prizes.

 

ROLLING GHOST

You will need 8 toy bowling pins, black and white construction paper and ink markers. Put black construction paper wrap around the pins. Then cut out white paper ghosts and glue or tape to the black paper that is on each bowling pin. For your finished touch, make faces on each one. The rule is 1-3 ghost down gets a small treat, 4-8 ghost down gets a bigger treat. You may make up your own rules.

 

GHOST BINGO

Make Bingo cards with the letters GHOST instead of BINGO at the top. Leave the squares that the numbers would be in blank. Buy some small halloween stickers that have 6 different objects (e.g. one sticker has a black cat, another has a bat etc.) on each sheet (make sure you have a sheet for each child). Take two small cardboard boxes and cover with freezer paper (or other type of white paper); these will be the dice. On the one put one letter in the word GHOST on each side of the box (you will have an extra side which you can leave blank or put an extra T). Cover with contact paper. On the other die draw a picture of each of the objects on the stickers on each side of the box. Cover with contact paper. Give each child a GHOST card and a sheet of stickers to make their own card. There is a "free" space in the middle and they can put the stickers in any box (some children can put as many objects in a row they want e.g. there may be 3 cats under the G, that's OK). Then roll the dice, if "G" "bat" comes up, the kids with a bat sticker under the G can cover it up (only cover up one bat). Keep rolling untill someone yells "GHOST". Make sure you have someone keeping track of what is rolled so the cards can be checked.

 

JACK-O-LANTERN

This is a game for 2 to 4 players ages 6 and up.

You will need a piece of paper and a pencil for each player. You also need 1 die.

The object of this game is to complete a drawing of a jack-o-lantern before the other players do.

Players roll the die to see who starts. The player with the highest number goes first. You must roll the exact number to draw each item. Each item must be drawn in order. If you can not draw what you have rolled, the turn passes to the next player. (For a faster game, or for younger players, you can draw the items in any order).

Roll a 1.....draw a circle for the pumpkin

Roll a 2.....draw the stem

Roll a 3.....draw one eye

Roll a 4.....draw the other eye.

Roll a 5.....draw the nose

Roll a 6.....draw the mouth.

A variation on this game, for older players, is to carve the pumpkin instead of drawing it. In that case, the player would roll a 1 to scoop out his pumpkin.

 

Halloween Snack Mix

1/2 c blood drops (red hots)

1/2 c cats eyes (blanched almonds) or (gum drops)

1/2 c cats claws (sunflower seeds)

1 c chicken toenails (candy corn)

1 c colored flies (M&M's)

1 c butterfly wings (corn chips)

1 c ants (raisins)

1 c earthworms (cheese curls)

1 c cobwebs (Triscuits) or (Golden Grahams)

1 c snakes eyes (peanuts)

1 c bats bones (shoestring potatoes)

Mix everything together in a large bowl.

Serve with several pints of blood (cherry punch).

 

Spooky Halloween Apples

Peel some apples but don't core them.

Have an adult carve indentations for the eyes, nose, ears, mouth, etc. using a sharp knife.

Place the apples on a baking sheet and put them in a warm place (on a window sill in the sun, near a heater, etc..) until the apples become shriveled and dried

Paste googly eyes, wool for the hair, beads for earrings, etc. to the dried apple heads. Use your imagination and create some spooky heads for halloween.

 

Halloween Cookie Jars

Paint clay pots black and let dry.

Glue orange rickrack around top edges.and write guests names with white paint.

For ghosts you will need peanut shaped sandwich cookies, white frosting, and black gel icing.

To make ghost, frost one side of cookie. Add eyes and mouth with gel icing.

Fill pots with candy corn and ghosts.

[LECINSA 0]

Thanks Tinki!!! Great Stuff. :-D

[trixiedg 0]

We are planning on doing a haunted pirate ship theme. We had a haunted hoedown last year.

[Guest Tinki]

Here are some Halloween Ideas!

 

karen

[Guest Tinki]

Spider Web (placemats, table decorations, or window decorations)

I got these ideas from Redbook

 

First tape down some wax paper to a table

Then draw your spider web with Elmers Glue (Refrigerate the glue for a few hours to make it thicker)

Pour silver, white, orange, or black glitter on the glue and let it sit over night.

 

Next day shake off the excess glitter and let it for 2 more days and then use a spatula to peel it off the wax paper.

[Guest Tinki]

Misfortune Cookies

http://www.bhg.com/bhg/story.jsp?storyid=/....xml&page=3

 

Black Widow Chairs

http://www.bhg.com/bhg/story.jsp?storyid=/....xml&page=5

 

Recipe "chicken Fingers"

http://www.bhg.com/bhg/slideshow/slideShow....xml&page=2

 

recipe "tombstone Sandwiches"

http://www.bhg.com/bhg/slideshow/slideShow...xml&page=11

 

Punch

http://www.bhg.com/bhg/slideshow/slideShow...xml&page=11

 

Candy Corn Magnets or photos holders out of sculpey clay

http://www.bfranklincrafts.com/CraftIdeas/...yCandyCorn.html

 

Halloween Pizza

http://www.brightideas.com/halloween/recipes/r_561_1.jsp

 

Candy Corn Table ware

http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=e04483

 

Glowing Crystal Ball

http://www.thecreativelife.tv/projects/pro...=20041025205434