A Marvel-ous Halloween

The Avengers: Infinity War that sent the Marvel Universe reeling, launched a movie marathon at our house over the summer. There are, in fact, 19 Marvel movies that have been produced over the course of 11 years. With Halloween approaching, it was time to get to work on costumes for this group of kiddos, especially since my oldest has a penchant for choosing obscure characters. Nothing off the rack for this one! I had to piece together something resembling a certain Avenger's brother, the mischievous anti-hero, Loki:

Loki's trademark golden antlers were forged from cereal boxes and a Google image, and Loki was reimagined.

Then, he was joined by a certain god of thunder, Thor:

It was a "rocky" first meeting for Loki and The Hulk:

But it wasn't long before they were "friends from work".  (Well, sort of)

When they are not smashing things,

or fighting alien invaders...

or each other (for that matter),

these Avengers definitely know how to strike a pose:

If DC superheroes are more up your alley, then take a look at photo ideas from Harris Sister Donna's Justice League family Halloween costumes.

Hope you had a very Happy Halloween!

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The Only Country Halloween Playlist You Need

It's Halloween-time, and that means you are likely hearing more of "The Monster Mash", "Ghostbusters" and "Thriller" these days.  But if your tastes tend more toward country music, as mine do, I thought I would share a little Halloween compilation of country music songs with you.  

In truth, only one of these songs actually has anything to do with real ghouls and goblins, and that distinction goes to Buck Owens and his 1974 Monster's Holiday.   The others fall more into the category of Halloween- related.  See my notes below, and let me know if you think of any others that belong on this list.  Oh, and give each one a click to see and hear its YouTube video. 

Modern Country: 

• Ghosts - Ross Ellis  
• This one is brand new, just released in 2018, and with a name like "Ghosts" it was sure to make my list.  
• Halloween - Walker Hayes
• The name says it all.  And even though this one isn't technically about Halloween itself, it's still a great song.  AND this fella is one of my neighbors!  Give it a listen.  It's GO-OOOD!
• Better Dig Two - The Band Perry
• It doesn't get creepier than digging not one, but two, graves. 
• Creepin' - Eric Church
• Here's another one that I included because of it's name.  I mean- creepin'.  Yep, as in someone is creepin' up on you. 
• Bones - Little Big Town
• "You've got bones in your closet."
• The Thunder Rolls - Garth Brooks
• This one is spooky- not in ghostly kind of way.  But spooky nonetheless.  And with a similar forecast for our Halloween night this year, I think Garth Brooks may just be singing our song. 

Traditional Country: 

• Ghost in this House- Alison Krauss
• Let's be clear.  Everything this woman sings is haunting.  In a GOOD way.  That voice.  But c'mon-  "I'm just a ghost in this house..."
• Midnight in Montgomery - Alan Jackson
• This one is a close second in the spook factor.  If you followed 1990s country, (and I did) then you will remember this one that is actually about an encounter with a ghost.  But not just any ghost- the ghost of Hank Williams. 
• (It's a) Monster's Holiday - Buck Owens
• Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman, Hunchback- yep, they are all accounted for in this country classic. 
• Diggin' Up Bones - Randy Travis
• For my money, it doesn't get much better than Randy Travis crooning about diggin' up bones. 
• Gravedigger - Willie Nelson
• This one makes the list because of it's name, obviously. 
• Elvira - Oak Ridge Boys
• Here's another that has nothing to do directly with Halloween.  But it's Elvira.  And who doesn't like to geek out on the "oom poppa omm poppa mow mow"?
• The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia - Reba McEntire
• If you are really old school, go for the Vicki Lawrence version.  
• The Devil Went Down to Georgia - The Charlie Daniels Band
• If that fiddle solo doesn't give you the chills, then nothing will. 
• Haunted Heart - Sammy Kershaw
• Even the video is a little spooky!  This was was contributed by blog reader, Jackie Furr.  Thanks, Jackie!
• Ghost Riders in the Sky - Johnny Cash
• Another oldie, but goodie, and another Jackie contribution.  

Even though all of these songs made my personal Halloween playlist, they do not complete my list of Halloween tunes.  Check out Harris Sister Donna's Halloween playlist for even more songs to add to your lineup this Halloween. 

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Halloween Home Tour 2018

If you follow us on Facebook, you might have caught our Facebook Live video earlier this week with our Halloween Home Tour for my 2018 Halloween decorations.

But, if you didn't get a chance to catch the video, I thought I would also write up a quick post for you so that you can pin these images as inspiration for your own Halloween decorations for next year!

Halloween Sunroom Decorations

We started our tour in the sunroom, where I have decorated with traditional paper decorations and lots of orange and black! This vintage 1987 Halloween hanging mobile by Beistle is the centerpiece of the room.

It is joined by Halloween party decorations like paper fans, banners, and lanterns to create a fun display! These are great because they all fold flat for storage.

I also have my Halloween tree in the sunroom with a stuffed Snoopy and Woodstock beneath the tree. A vintage find that I added to my Halloween decor this year also sits beneath the tree: The Secret Door board game with haunted house graphics on the box. The game still includes all of the pieces and was a whopping $1 investment!

One of my favorite decorations on the tree is the Halloween bubble lights. These are shaped like jack-o-lanterns and have spiders on them. They light up orange and add a retro look to the room!

These paper candy containers are manufactured by Primitives by Kathy and designed by Johanna Parker. They have the fun vintage style designs of a black cat and a scarecrow, and are currently hanging in the sunroom as decorations (too pretty to give out as treat boxes!). These were also a $1 thrift store find - all four of them were still new with their original tags.

Halloween Mantel Decorations

In the family room, I decorated my mantle in a witch theme this year.

I started the display by draping the entire mantel with "creepy cloth" (black cheese cloth). The upper left corner has a witch vending machine and a collection of owls on books. Some of the owls are new, and some of them are vintage owls that Deanna received as a gag gift one year for Christmas.

The upper right side of the mantel is decorated with potion bottles, a framed "spell" (poem), and a spell book. Both the framed spell and the potion bottles labels are free printables. The Spells and Potions "book" was a promotional/giveaway item from Hallmark stores in the 1990s - it is actually a box that plays spooky music and witch cackles when you open it.

The lower left corner includes a cauldron and a few more owls for good measure.

The lower right corner includes a wooden broom, a witch's hat, three owls on a birdcage, and a lantern.

BONUS! Family Room Halloween Decorations

If you took the video home tour with me, you might remember me panning over to a corner in my family room with a vintage lava lamp and a large jack-o-lantern candy container. I have since added these two pieces to my collection.

These sizeable vintage style pieces are marked Especially for You Lord & Taylor, so I'm just guessing that they originally cost a bit more than the $8 total I paid for both of them at the local thrift store. 

Pro Tip: If you're building a collection of holiday decorations, don't count out shopping right before the holiday. I literally purchased these 5 days before Halloween! It's almost like they were waiting for me!

Halloween to Thanksgiving Transitional Decor

Next up is a brief stop in our living room for a tip for decorating from Halloween all the way through Thanksgiving. This is my milk glass collection, which stays out year round. To get it ready for the season, I added this collection of sparkly pumpkins! This is the perfect decoration for all of the fall season and can stay up through Thanksgiving. 

When you're ready to put up your Christmas decorations, pop over to our 12 Vintage Days of Christmas post to check out photos and ideas for how to decorate your milk glass collection for the next holiday! And then don't forget to check out our Vintage Easter and Spring Decor Ideas post for how to decorate milk glass for springtime.

Black and White Halloween Dining Room

And in the dining room we have our skeleton couple enjoying a fancy dinner with their skeleton dog. (He's a Hallow-weenie dog!)

Their table is set with white china, a black napkin, and DIY Halloween napkin holders that I made with dollar store vampire fangs and rubber bands. Their glasses are Black Magic beer glasses, which were another thrift store find.

BONUS! Vintage Halloween Album

My dapper skeletons are listening to the smooth sounds of this 1977 vintage Halloween Horrors: The Sounds of Halloween album on the Crosley record player I have in my dining room. This album was actually a Christmas gift from Harris Sister Deanna! You know you're on the next level of Halloween decorating when people start buying Halloween things for your Christmas presents!!!

The album cover has awesome vintage Halloween graphics. Here's a look at both the front and the back of the album:

Make sure to take a peek at the video tour (linked below) for much more footage of the rest of this room and tips for how to get the look!

BONUS! Halloween Kitchen Display

I'm including a few bonus photos of the small Halloween display in our kitchen. We didn't tour the kitchen in the video, so you get an exclusive look at these today! Here's the full display:

You can see in the close up of the top shelf that I've included a vintage Pyrex Butterfly Gold Cinderella bowl with my vintage style pumpkin man beverage dispenser, Black Magic beer glasses, pumpkin platter, and purple glitter owl. It mixes well with the other oranges in this display!

The middle shelf includes this paper mache jack-o-lantern, candy corn cake stand, orange and black polka dotted bowls, and another glitter owl.

And the bottom shelf includes a set of four vintage Fire King mugs along with a vintage style Halloween platter and a jack-o-lantern pitcher. (The owl is standing on one mug as a pedestal and the other three mugs are stacked behind him.) This is another example of pieces that aren't strictly Halloween, but they fit well because of their bright orange color.

Facebook Live Halloween Home Tour

For those of you who missed it when it originally aired, I've included the full Halloween Home Tour video.

Make sure to take a peek to catch the bonus Halloween decor that we feature in the video. And you don't want to miss the tips and tricks for:

• where and when to find unique Halloween items
• displaying and grouping your Halloween pieces
• shopping your home for additional props and pieces
• how to age and distress a plastic Halloween cauldron
• how to make a plastic cauldron appear to have a colored potion brewing
• how to get the best fitting clothes for your skeletons
• and more!

And of course, not pictured here or in the video is the Halloween Candy Corn wreath I made for my front door this year. Make sure to pop over to check out directions for making one like it for yourself!

Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a very Happy Halloween!

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Butter Cookies with Sprinkles

You guys might remember last week we posted some vintage Halloween recipes and talked about how Halloween was much more of a baking holiday than it is today.

I dug out my vintage Halloween cookie cutters and snapped this picture for that post. The orange ones are a set of 1970s cookie cutters from Amscan, and the copper witch cookie cutter is from the 1950s. The aluminum pumpkin cookie cutter is probably from around the 1980s.

I bought an entire gallon sized Ziploc bag stuffed full of these vintage cookie cutters (and many, many more) for a whopping $1 when I was in college. Although the bag had a lot of awesome cookie cutters in it, I really wanted it because I saw these Halloween ones in the bag!

So, since I dug them out for the photo, and since I was talking about baking last week, I got inspired to do some Halloween baking of my own.

This recipe for Butter Cookies is one that was handed down from my husband Ryan's side of the family. He remembers when he was a kid making these with his mom and grandma (known as Gram to really everyone who knew her, and later Great Gram once the grandkids were born).

And these ladies then carried on the tradition by making these cookies with the grandkids (our boys and their cousins) at Christmastime every year too! So, if you're keeping track, that's Great Gram (1), Ryan's Mom (2), Ryan and Me (3), and Our Kids (4) - this recipe is 4 generations strong so far.

And we want to keep it the tradition going!

If you're looking for a yummy cookie that is not overly sweet, then give this recipe for Butter Cookies a try. It's fun to make because you can cut the dough into any shape that you want (perfect for holiday cookies). And if you are making them around the holidays, it's a nice break from all the other super sweet goodies that might be around - in this case all of the pumpkin spice flavored desserts that are currently in season and all of the fun size chocolate bars that are going to flood the house at Halloween.

I must note here that the original handwritten recipe is just two steps. (Many of the steps are completed from memory.) But, since this was my first time making the recipe, I have added in all the steps that we did. Our cookies came out perfect!

Butter Cookies with Sprinkles

1/2 lb butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg, whole
1 egg, separated (1 egg yolk mixed into dough in step 1 - save the egg white for step 2)
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter. Mix in sugar, whole egg, egg yolk, flour, and salt.
2. Mix together 1 egg white and 1 tablespoon of water and set aside.
3. Chill dough for at least 1 hour. Place egg white mixture in refrigerator while dough is chilling.
4. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
5. Remove dough from refrigerator at least 15 minutes before you want to make the cookies. 
6. Roll out dough on floured surface to desired thickness. Use cookie cutters to judge thickness. (About 1/8" - 1/4" thick.)
7. Use a spatula to move cut cookies to cookie sheets. 
8. Brush egg white mixture on surface of cookies. Add sprinkles to decorate.
9. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes.
10. Cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling racks to cool completely.

This recipe is perfect to make with kids because unlike many recipes that are cut with cookie cutters, these are decorated with sprinkles instead of icing. That is a really easy thing for little hands to do!

Tips for Making Cookies with Cookie Cutters

Since this was my first time making these cookies, I thought I'd share a few tips that I learned from my husband and kids, who are pros at this!

• Unlike pie dough, you don't have to roll the cookie dough all at one time. You can divide the chilled dough into smaller portions and then roll it. It makes the task easier.
• You can buy rubber rolling pin rings to put onto each side of your rolling pin to help you gauge how thick you're rolling your dough.
• Make sure to flour your rolling pin to keep the dough from sticking to it while you're rolling your cookie dough.
• Dip your cookie cutters in flour to help prevent them from sticking to the dough. You can also wiggle them back and forth just a little bit to make sure that you cut all the way through the dough.
• Cookies made with cookie cutters do not spread when baking, so you can place them pretty close together on the cookie sheets for baking.
• Cut your cookie shapes close to each other on your rolled dough to prevent extra scraps and extra re-rolling of the dough.
• Make sure your cookies are completely cooled before you transfer them to a container to store. If you stack or overlap warm cookies, that may cause them to warp or break.

This recipe is also perfect to make Christmas cookies - you just use different cookie cutters and sprinkles to decorate the dough.

Hope you give this recipe a try! It's a fun project to do with the kiddos and it's a fun way to spend an afternoon!

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Vintage Halloween Recipes

Last week on our Facebook Page, we asked you guys if you kept handwritten recipes, recipe cards, recipe books, or if you had all gone digital. The OVERWHELMING response was that you guys are still paper people.

So we're sharing some vintage Halloween recipes with you today! And if you look through your stash of paper recipes, you might be surprised to find some of these. Although, admittedly, Halloween specific recipes are a bit harder to find than Christmas or even Thanksgiving recipes.

People have been kind enough to upload and share these vintage Halloween recipes, complete with their awesome vintage graphics, from cookbooks, recipe booklets, advertisements, magazines, grocery store flyers, newsletters, and various other sources. You might have some of these in your own stash!

Did you guys know that Halloween used to be much more of a baking holiday than it is today?

Back in the 1940s and 1950s, people often handed out homemade goodies to trick-or-treaters instead of candy. It was during the 1950s that the candy industry decided that the month of October (which includes Halloween) had the potential to boost their fall sales.

Throughout the 1960s, though, it was still likely for people to hand out other types of treats. It wasn't until the 1970s that candy came to be seen as the preferred treat of Halloween.

And of course, throughout all of these decades, people were having Halloween parties, and baking treats for those occasions!

Some of these Halloween treats might remind you of your own childhood, while others might be new to you! Try to spot any recipes that you remember from Halloweens past.

We're having a party! Better start with some vintage Halloween invitations! Aren't these just the cutest?

And then we'll need to plan out some party activities.  This page from a 1935 Children's Party Book suggests games like Apple Ducking (bobbing for apples), Bowls of Fortune, Eye Guessing, and Bag Bursting as well as instructions for carving a jack-o-lantern. It also shares recipes for Halloween apples (candy apples), marshmallow faces for hot cocoa, and sand-witches (finger sandwiches). Notice Halloween is still spelled here with an apostrophe.

And now on to more recipes! These are some familiar recipes! Caramel apples, gingersnaps, and hot mulled cider. Do you remember any of these recipes around Halloween time?

And here are some simple directions for making a Pumpkin Face Cake by Betty Crocker in The Golden Magazine. Love the Halloween graphics on this!

Here are two pages from The Holiday Cookbook with cute 1950s vintage graphics. There's a whole list of Halloween garnishes plus recipes for goblin franks, hot spiced cider, tangy cider punch, pumpkin ice cream, caramel apples, and popcorn balls! Notice Halloween is still spelled here with an apostrophe.

A cute cat and witch are showing off recipes for Halloween Party Treats like witch's brew, ghost sandwiches, and goblin cookies on this groovy 1970s page. 

This 1948 ad for Spry shortening includes a recipe for a Choc-o-lantern Cake. 

This 1935 newsletter from Kroger grocery store gives ideas for a variety of Halloween themed party food like harvest salad, devil's cupcakes, hoodoo sandwiches, goblins in sheets, goblin head salad, jack-o-lantern salad, spooky sandwiches, witches' upside-down cake, and caramel apples on a stick.

And this one surely falls into the category of "I haven't seen that one before!" Here's a meatloaf recipe with an orange pimiento cheese sauce for Halloween night from an A&P grocery store flyer! The apple desserts are carved to look like jack-o-lanterns!

Do you have any favorite recipes that you always serve at Halloween? These are a few Harris Sisters' recipes that are perfect for Halloween time. Let us know if you give any of them a try. (Or if you try any of these vintage recipes!)

• Sloppy Joes (Harris Sister Deanna's family eats these every Halloween night!)
• Pasta with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce
• Super Moist Pumpkin Bread
• Butter Cookies with Sprinkles
• Crockpot Witch's Brew (spiced apple cider)
• Pumpkin Crunch Cake
• Chocolate Chip Cookies (with a tip for how to decorate them for Halloween)
• Party Punch (this non-alcoholic punch is perfect for kids' parties and we make it orange or purple for Halloween)
• Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies

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