I cannot take credit for inventing this one - I found it on Pinterest - but I wish I could, because it's genius, costs next-to-nothing, and takes about five seconds (not counting the twenty minutes I spent hunting for a box of Band-Aids to add the all-important finishing touch).
Obviously you need to make a puking pumpkin this Halloween. My personal preference is to do the bare minimum with the pumpkin (does it have a mouth? does it have eyes? you're done.) and just throw on a whole bunch of Costco-brand guacamole, because come on: it's a vomiting pumpkin - how much more do you need?
But if you want to get all fancy and particular about it, here are a whole bunch more ideas for how to completely gross out your guests.
Ew. I know. But Bloody Brains score extremely high on the effort/impact scale: they take just a few minutes to make, and everybody will have something to say about them. (That something will probably be "ew.")
Note: Popcorn balls are always best when they're super-fresh, but you can make these up to a day in advance provided you wrap them individually in plastic wrap and put them in an airtight container; the jelly will retain its shine really well.
The hardest part of making these was keeping my children from eating all of the lollipops quicker than I could wrap them up. The second-hardest part of making these was the fact that my three-year-old REALLY wanted to help, and obviously you need to let children participate with Halloween decoration-making, but girlfriend seriously needs to work on her ghost face-drawing skills, just saying.
These ghosts make cute party favors for kids, but you can use them to decorate in lots of fun ways: use string to hang them from light fixtures and such; fill a bowl with them for a centerpiece; line a mirror or mantle with them. (One caveat: if you're hanging them with string, make sure the string is clear, or the effect can be a little too macabre for a kids' party.)
OK, caveat: I am aware that the macaroni and cheese shown above does not look particularly delicious. It was actually delicious, because all Mac 'n' cheese is delicious and that is just a fact, but it probably would have been more delicious had we made it before people arrived, as opposed to making it in advance and reheating it.
Macaroni and cheese just doesn't look as great post-reheating.
But still.
