When it comes to Halloween, do you stick to the classics or think up wild and crazy ideas each year? Our latest Favorite Things covers both camps to make this Halloween extra special!
To celebrate this year’s festivities, we’ve put together a list of our favorite Halloween eats, crafts, and even what we are planning to wear! Please share your favorites in the comment section below. We love hearing from you!
🍭The Most Popular Halloween Candy
Did you know that Hot Tamales are ranked #5 on America’s top Halloween candy list? We don’t recall screaming with glee when they appeared in our Halloween bags, but maybe there’s a budding trend of which we are not aware.
For Emily, it’s all about the #1 on the list, which happens to be Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Chocolate and peanut butter wins every time! For those of you who know Ann well, it should be no surprise that her favorite Halloween candy is #3 on the list – M&M’s (peanut M&M’s to be exact).
Skittles, Starburst, Sour Patch Kids, Hershey Kisses, Snickers, Tootsie Pops, and Candy Corn round out the rest of the list.
And while nothing beats the classics, there are some fun new arrivals this year, including White Chocolate Cream Halloween Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, ring pops made in shapes of ghoul’s and goblins, and even Halloween-themed fortune cookies. Will you be giving any of these a try?
🍴Favorite Halloween Recipes
If you want to take one step further and make a fun recipe for Halloween, here’s a list of our favorites which include everything from creative decorating to easy lunchbox additions!
Spooky Spaghetti Stuffed Peppers are one of Ann’s favorites and her kids always loved them. Have fun carving spooky or silly faces on the peppers and fill them with your favorite spaghetti recipe, be it freshly made or last night’s leftovers.
“Spider Dogs” are sure to please and makes a fun project for kids and a crowd-pleasing Halloween-themed meal. Great hand-eye coordination practice for young kids too.
Monster Donuts – need we say more?
Pumpkin Seeds can be simply roasted or topped with cinnamon sugar for a snack-worthy way to make the most of your annual pumpkin carving ritual.
For a twist on savory nachos, why not top apple slices with caramel, peanut butter, granola, and chocolate chips for a finger food that will please kids and adults alike.
The name Spider Cider may be catchy, but the flavor really delivers in this crowd-pleasing Halloween cocktail that you’ll want to enjoy throughout the fall and winter.
Too much leftover Halloween candy? Add it to your next batch of brownies for your own unique Candy Bag Brownies! Perfect for potlucks and bake sales, plus they freeze well so you can enjoy them over time.
Using a sharpie, simply draw on some spooky faces to make these easy but adorable Clementine Jack-o’-Lanterns! (Hint: Sharpies write better on room temperature than on cold fruit.)
🤠😈 👻 Favorite Costumes
You or a family member have likely dressed up as at least one of the top 10 Halloween costumes at some point in your life. So, what are they?
Ann was thrilled to discover that #1 is a witch! In fact, she wears a witch hat for trick-or-treat every year, and her nieces have sported some impressive witch costumes in years past. (The green faces are the best!)
Emily once dressed up as the #2 on the list (a rabbit!) and her then-boyfriend/now husband was a magician – clever, yes?
In general, Emily tends to seek out pop culture costumes. For example, this year she’s considering Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos, dressing in all black with bright red lipstick and dark eyeliner. Or maybe a mustache, a leisure suit, and a soccer jersey in support of one of her favorite shows—Ted Lasso!
For family costumes, the cast of Wizard of Oz is an oldie but a goodie (Ann will play the part of the witch if you like!). Other family movies with great character inspiration include Encanto (my son really wanted to be Bruno but as since changed his mind) or even Inside Out, where each family member can embody an emotion or feeling.
And for those who are curious, here’s the complete list:
1. Witch
2. Rabbit
3. Dinosaur
4. Spider-man
5. Cruella de Vil
5. Fairy
7. Harley Quinn
8. Cowboy
🎃Favorite Halloween Activities
Ann loves the Halloween classics, and she votes that way when it comes to activities too. She loves pumpkin carving (the roasted seeds are a bonus!) and bobbing for apples was one of her favorite Halloween party activities as a kid. (Do people do that anymore? We aren’t sure!).
Emily has heard the festivities at the local Cherry Crest Farm are outta this world! It’s a farm with a 5-acre corn maze, pumpkin patch, slides, wagon rides, a petting zoo & kids’ festivals. She plans to try that with her kids this year with the only worry that she may never get her kids to come home!
So if you’re still bobbing for 🍎, have any festive costume ideas or recipes, or partake in any unique Halloween activities, please share! We love hearing from all of you!