"Booing" our neighbours has been a tradition in our house for many years. If you aren't familiar with "booing", here's how it works... you wait until after dark, sneak up to your neighbours' houses, and try and leave treats without getting caught.
This year, we decided to make different types of treats and deliver them at different times... to prevent our neighbours from figuring out the source of the "booing". We made some Halloween Candy Bark and some Ginger Halloween Cookies.
If you have never tried "booing", you totally should! It really is a fantastic Halloween activity. Here's a look back at the fun my boys have had over the last few years:
2011 - This was the first year my boys tried "booing". They were super-cute and super-excited, and you can read all about it here.
2012 - We found adorable ghost buckets at the dollar store, and filled them with mini chocolate bars. You can read all about it here.
2013 - We got creative and designed a new version of the "you've been BOO'ed" printables, which you can download here. We switched it up and "boo'ed" the neighbours with Kinder Surprises. It was lots of fun, and you can read all about it here.
2014 - We stepped it up with a new design and some adorable packaging. You can read all about it, and download the printables for FREE, here.
"Booing" has created a lot of memories for my boys, and I know it will be part of our Halloween celebrations for many years to come.
♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)
I have been baking almond bark at Christmas (for many years) because it is easy to make, and it always tastes great. This year, I decided to "switch it up", and I made some Halloween Candy Bark... and it was DELICIOUS!
The only supplies needed for Halloween Candy Bark are: wax paper, white baker's chocolate, and an assortment of Halloween candy.
To make the Halloween Candy Bark:
1) Melt the chocolate according to package directions (break up pieces of chocolate, microwave on medium for 1-2 minutes, and stir until smooth).
2) Pour the melted chocolate onto a piece of waxed paper, and spread it out (gently with a wooden spoon).
3) Place bits of chocolate and candy on top of the melted chocolate.
4) Allow to cool and harden, and then break up the chocolate.
My boys ate some of our bark, and we packaged the rest of it up to share with our neighbours.
The Halloween Candy Bark was a big hit at our house, and the boys have already requested that I make it again. I know what I'll be doing with our leftover Halloween candy!
♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)
It is always fun to make fun cookies for special occasions... and these Ginger Eyeball Cookies are perfect for Halloween. I guarantee that if you "scare" up a batch, you will not be disappointed!
To make these deliciously simple cookies, you start with my favorite ginger molasses cookie recipe.
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground all spice
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup white sugar (+ 1/2 cup for rolling)
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup fancy molasses
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk together: flour, ginger, cinnamon, all spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together: oil, white sugar, brown sugar, egg, molasses, and vanilla. Keep whisking until all the ingredients are well mixed. Add to flour mixture, and stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
Roll into 1 inch balls, coat each ball with sugar, and place 1 inch apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes (until crisp around the edges and cracked on top).
Then, while the cookies are cooling, you insert candy eyeballs into the tops of the cookies. My 6 year old loved helping me with this part.
We ate some of the cookies, we put some in the freezer for lunches, and we packaged up some to share with our neighbours. They really are one of my favorite cookies, and now they are perfect for Halloween!
♥Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)
I teach a weekly class of 3 and 4 year olds, and each week we have a fun Preschool theme. Today, I am sharing three easy and inexpensive FARM ANIMAL crafts and activities that Preschoolers are guaranteed to love!
We had some farm animal fun by: making a free standing pig, crafting a fluffy sheep mask, and practicing cutting.
To make the pig:
1) Download the pig template that you can find here, and print it onto a piece of cardstock.
2) Color the pig, cut it out, and glue on two googly eyes.
3) Use a hole punch to attach a piece of curling ribbon, and use scissors to curl it.
4) Color clothespins pink, and attach to pig.
To practice cutting (with some help from some adorable farm animals):
1) Right-click on the picture below.
2) Save the picture to your computer.
3) Print the page (like a regular 8X10 photo).
4) Cut along the lines until the child reaches the farm animal.
To craft the soft and fluffy sheep mask:
1) Cut the centre out of a thick paper plate.
2) Dip cotton balls in glue, and attach them onto the paper plate until it is covered.
3) Use tape to attach a popsicle stick and ears (if desired).
You can also draw a simple "headless" farmer for the kids to colour. Then, have the kids glue on their head to create a farmer that looks just like them!
Aren't these farm animal crafts and activities totally adorable? I think they are perfect for Preschoolers (and older kids too).
♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)
Making 15 school lunches each week makes me crazy, so I am always looking for ways to make my life a little easier. My oldest son isn't a big fan of sandwiches, but he loves homemade biscuits. Today I am sharing my lunch box biscuit recipe and a school lunch HACK that I find really helpful!
Here's the recipe I use...
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
3 tsp white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold butter
1 large egg
2/3 cup 2% milk
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2) In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
3) Use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
4) Whisk the eggs and the milk together in a small bowl.
5) Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir (just until moistened).
6) Move biscuit dough to a well floured surface knead/fold about 15 times. Roll to 3/4-inch thick, and cut with a 2-1/2-inch biscuit cutter. You'll end up with a dozen biscuits. (Note: I always roll the dough out on a piece of wax paper for easy clean up.)
7) Place on lightly greased baking sheet or Silpat, and bake for 8-10 minutes.
Now, here's my secret shortcut...
I let the biscuits cool completely. Then, I cut them in half, butter them, individually wrap them, and stick them in a freezer bag. I leave them in the freezer, and I just take them out as I need them for lunches. Simple, right?
My oldest son likes to take a biscuit, rolled up (preservative free) ham or organic pepperoni (from the farmer's market), and some yogurt. I add some fruit, and we end up with a lunch that we are both happy with.
Do you have any school lunch HACKS you'd like to share? I can use all the help I can get!
♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)
PS... You can find more of my family favourites here.
Dressing up and imaginative play are important parts of childhood. I love filling my boys' dress up bin with fun costumes, but I don't like to spend a lot of time and money doing it. Today, I am sharing two costumes you can put together in about 5 minutes, and there is no sewing required!
The key to this no-sew mad scientist costume is an oversized white t-shirt. All you need to do is cut a slit up the front of the shirt, and you have a perfect no-sew lab coat. Add some test tubes or pens to the pocket of a plaid shirt, some silly glasses or goggles, and some yellow rubber gloves and you've got a fantastic costume. Crazy hair and black socks add to the look too!
A no-sew explorer costume is one of the easiest costumes you can put together. My son already had a white golf shirt and khaki shorts, so we added a dollar store hat and a pair of binoculars. It is a simple costume that uses stuff you already have lying around the house. You can't beat that!
Seriously.... how cute are my boys? :-)
I love how simple these no-sew costumes are, don't you? They are perfect for a dress up bin or a last minute Halloween costume. Pretty fun, right?
♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)
Holiday crafting is always a lot of fun, and today I am sharing a bright and cheerful tissue paper turkey craft. It's easy to make, it uses simple supplies, and it's perfect for Thanksgiving.
To make this adorable turkey craft:
1) Use white glue to cover a paper plate with 1-inch tissue paper squares. Use Fall colors like green, orange, red, and yellow.
2) Use white glue to attach a round head (cut from brown construction paper), two googly eyes, a yellow beak, and a red snood.
3) Cut two feet from a piece of orange construction paper and attach to the paper plate with glue.
This craft is fun to craft, and it makes great holiday decor for Thanksgiving. Hanging it on a window creates a beautiful stained glass effect too. Happy Thanksgiving!
♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)
