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Calling All Ghouls and Ghosts
Throw a Halloween Party Adults and Kids Will Love
By Donna Smith
Food for the Adults
Want to serve up something a little more hearty, but don't want to spend all evening in the kitchen? No problem! Soup is a great choice, and you do all the preparation beforehand. Simply prepare the soup the morning of the party, or even the night before, and then reheat when the guests start to arrive. The soup can be kept warm in a slowcooker. Chili is another great choice and can be made well ahead of time. Let your guests serve themselves and set out bowls of chopped onions, cheddar cheese, crackers, sour cream and any other accompaniment you desire and let them create their own perfect bowl of chili. A big pot of spaghetti and meatballs, a pan of lasagna or our Ghoulish Goulash recipe are other good choices.

Let Them Play With Their Food
Let the food be part of the party – literally! Set up a cupcake-decorating table to keep the kids entertained. Make cupcakes in paper cupcake liners – at some craft or dollar stores you can even find Halloween cupcake liners – and set them on a tray in the middle of a table covered with a Halloween tablecloth. Buy cans of ready-to-spread vanilla frosting, black, green and red frosting in the tube, plastic spiders, ants, bats and pumpkins, candy corn, etc., and set everything out on the table. Supply each child with a paper plate and a plastic knife, and let them go to town!

