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These are the best Halloween costume stores online, and have been around awhile. Excellent selection, especially of the latest trendy Halloween costumes including Captain America, Lady Gaga, Harry Potter, Transformers, Zombies and many more. Discounts and coupon codes also valid on wigs and other accessories you may be needing.

1/2 Cup Shortening
1 1/4 Cup Brown sugar
1 cup Pumpkin puree (fresh, not canned)
2 Eggs
2 Cup All-purpose flour
2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Ginger (fresh or ground)
1 tsp Ground cinnamon
1 tsp Ground nutmeg
1 cup Raisins
1/2 cup Nuts (chopped)

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and spices in a bowl. In another bowl, cream together the shortening, eggs and brown sugar, mixing well. Gently stir in the pumpkin puree. Then add the chopped nuts and raisins. Stir in the dry ingredients, gradually, mixing well. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto an ungreased baking or cookie sheet. Bake at 375F for approximately 10-15 minutes.

Most Popular Halloween Costume of 2011

Charlie Sheen – Yes, Charlie Sheen, the actor who spent much of the year acting crazy and coming up with catchphrases. What do you need to dress up like Charlie Sheen, or create your own Charlie Sheen costume? A pair of Rayban Wayfarer style sunglasses and maybe a fake machete or you can buy a mask for just under $20, which includes that famous grin of his.

More Top Halloween Costumes of 2011

Jersey Shore Costumes – Pauly D and The Situation were popular last year, but it looks like Snooki is more popular this year. What do you need to dress up like Snooki? A short skirt and, of course, a fake tan. Don’t forget to put your hair up.

Lady Gaga – Popular again this year is dressing up like Lady Gaga. From the outrageous meat dress to her other weird outfits, people are enjoying dressing up like the pop diva. What do you need to dress like Lady Gaga? Forget about the meat, there are costumes available featuring her blonde wig, big glasses and make-up instructins.

Zombies – Thanks to popular shows like The Walking Dead and Zombie Apocalypse, zombies are hot this year. Unlike Angry Birds, which would require a costume, all you need to look like a zombie is some make-up and dirty clothing. Don’t forget the fake blood!

Little Red Riding Hood – Another costume made more popular by recent movies, Little Red Riding Hood is one of the most popular costumes for adults this year.

Pirates – With another hit Pirates of the Caribbean movie released this year, pirates are once again in. You’ll be seeing many Jack Sparrow’s on the streets and at parties this year.

Most Popular Halloween Costumes for Kids

Angry Birds – The kids are going crazy this year for Angry Birds costumes. Whether red or yellow, it looks like lots of Angry Birds will be at your door this Halloween. Surely, they will also be incorporating the evil bird laugh as well!

Batman – Batman never seems to go out of style, especially for the boys. Popular costumes include The Joker from The Dark Knight and the classic Batman costume for children and toddlers.

Captain America – Thanks to the movie from earlier this year, Captain America has made a comeback among kids and teens. Look for muscle bound toddlers and kids on the streets this Halloween.

Harry Potter – Still enjoying massive popularity, the Harry Potter robe style costume is a top seller for kids. It is also easily accessorized with glasses and a wand.

Spider-Man – Spider-Man is always popular and this year is no exception. Spider-Man comics, cartoons and even the Broadway show are keeping the superhero at the forefront.

Darth Vader – With more attention on Star Wars thanks to the new DVD versions and the popular Super Bowl commercial, Darth Vader is making a big comeback this year. Lots of children are seeing Star Wars for the first time, so look for lots of new, young fans to dawn Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker costumes this year.

Strawberry Shortcake – Strawberry Shortcake is enjoying a comeback with kids this year, so look for lots of little Strawberry Shortcake’s this Halloween.

Classics Costumes Always Popular

Despite the popularity of the latest trends, like Charlie Sheen or Jersey Shore, the classic costumes are always the most popular, by far. With the economy still in the doldrums, look for the classics to be even bigger this year, with many people opting to make a simple costume at home, on the cheap. Classic costumes include ghosts, vampires, witches and monsters.

Decorations

You can go as mad as you like when it comes to decorating Halloween parties, start with pumpkins, get yourself a template and carve it up, you’ll be amazed how simple it is, and lots of fun for the kids too. Make sure you have enough room inside for a candle that will last all evening. Other simple ideas for kids parties are cobwebs, mummy statues, scary looking plastic toys that light up, and even fog machines are available to really make the party entertaining. Get a few plastic critters like spiders and rats, and place them around the room to add to the fun of your Halloween party.

Halloween Party Food & Drinks

Kids love the whole scary theme in their food and drinks too, so get creative with everything and give them all Halloween style names, all children’s party must have a good selection of food and sweets so have a good think of what you can do. A few ideas are : Tombstone Cookies – bake some headstones shaped cookies, and add RIP on them. Worms in Blood – buy some candy sweets worms, and set them in red jelly. Mud Pies – crush up some chocolate biscuits, add some raisins and chocolate chunks pour on milk and add whipped cream, serve it a cup or bowl.

Hire Children’s Entertainers

All kids parties need entertainment, and their is nothing more fun then a professional children’s entertainer to keep them occupied for a couple of hours. Halloween parties really get the kids excited with all the dressing up, the decorations and the food, but you’ll need something extra to keep them fully entertained for more then an hour, so if the adults want to relax and have a great time too, then why not hire children’s entertainers to ensure the party goes really well. Professional entertainers for kid’s parties can adapt their acts easily for Halloween parties, with magic acts, balloon modelling and juggling all with a scary twist to them.

Dressing Up

It’s essential that all the adults get involved too, the party and the entertainment may be aimed at the children, but the grown ups must play a part too. Halloween parties are all about fun, so think up some great ideas for dressing up. Mummies costumes, Dracula, witches outfits are all easy to create and the kids will love the fact that parents are up for the fun too.

So when you’re planning your kids parties this Halloween, have a good think of all the little things you can do to make the entertainment fun for everyone.

Visit a farmer’s market, or the vegetable aisle of your grocery store – You can find an endless array of vegetables you can use for your Halloween décor. Make potato stamps for home-made streamers (more in next paragraph). Get pumpkins and squashes of various shapes and colors for Halloween accents. Pick the best produce with your kids. You can even make it a treasure-hunt kind of activity, with the kids getting a different list of produce to get.

Make paper art – Do streamers and stamp them with different Halloween-themed designs. You can trace a simple design (a jack o’ lantern or a ghost perhaps?) on a halved potato, and let your kids carve it out with a spoon or plastic knife, or if they’re a little older, with a safety knife. You can even search the internet for some paper cut-out patterns that you can use to give your lampshades or paper lanterns that Halloween flair.

Draw your own décor – Bring out the colored markers and watercolors. There are colors by number kits you can buy in craft stores or bookstores. You can even ask kids to freestyle it with their own design ideas. This is not limited to paper. Your kids can even decorate your driveway with colored chalk. Clean-up won’t be a problem as these designs will come off with some soap and water.

Dress up your house – If you don’t have the time to make your own décor, you can buy them from the store and decorate your house together. The kids can help you set up those streamers, pumpkins, etc. and put their own creative touches in your house.

Whichever way you choose to decorate your house, we know you’re going to have lasting memories together with your children.

Jason from the Halloween movies – It’s so simple! A hockey mask, black face paint, and some red paint dribbled on the mask makes this easy costume. Pair it with a tattered jacket and pants (dark colored), add a menacing knife with the same red paint dribbled on them, and off your kids can go to scare!

Darth Maul from Star Wars– Red and black face paint is all this needs, in addition to a steady hand and an artistic disposition. You only need to trace the red and black patterns off Darth Maul’s face. When in doubt, free-style it! Just make sure everything’s symmetrical.

Vampires – Vampires are literally commonplace nowadays. If you have a theatrically-inclined pre-teen, we’re very sure that part of his Halloween prospects is a vampire look. They can do classic Dracula, with a black cape and combed-down hair, or the contemporary vampire in street clothes and windblown hair. All they need are the requisite vampire fangs, some pale make-up, maybe a dribble of blood near the mouth.

Recycle costumes on hand – Did your kid go as a fairy last Halloween? Do an Evil Fairy look! All you need is a darker make-up palette, and a darker dress. You can spray paint the old fairy wings with some black paint. You can also do a dead Elvis, zombie cop, etc., simply re-imagined versions of their past Halloween looks.

Whatever evil, spooky Halloween look you may choose, imagination and a little creativity will make it look good. When all else fails, that’s what the costume stores are for!

Please enjoy these excellent holiday link recommendations:

Christmas 2010 – This site is loaded with free Christmas stuff, from stories, lyrics, free Christmas e-cards, history, fonts, graphics, postcards, recipes, games, music, wallpaper, gift ideas, crafts and tons of other Christmas stuff. This is the coolest Christmas site on the Internet, just loaded with great content.

Thanksgiving Cookie Recipes – Thanksgiving is the biggest food holiday of the year in the US. Well, what could be better for dessert or for your buffet table than some yummy Thanksgiving cookies?

Christmas Cookie Recipes – No Christmas is complete without baking cookies. This site has every possible cookie recipe you could want to bake for Santa Claus or for your cookie exchange parties. They even have a great section with cookie mixes in a jar, perfect for gift giving.

Cocktail Recipes – Over 1000 cocktail and drink recipes, perfect for New Year’s Eve and all your holiday parties.

Be careful when handling dry ice, use leather gloves.

In a 1 to 2 quart saucepan, bring 1 cup of the cranberry juice cocktail and the candied ginger to boil over high heat. Boil uncovered for about 2 minutes. Set aside.

Pare the peel from the oranges. Cut the peel into thin 2 inch long worms. Add the orange peel to cranberry juice mixture. Cover and chill for at least 5 hours or overnight.

Juice the oranges and place juice into a 6-8 quart pan or bowl. Stir in the cranberry and ginger liquid mixture, 3 cups cranberry juice, the apple concentrate, the lime or lemonade, the grapes and water.

If making ahead of time, cover and chill in fridge. When ready to use, add the ginger ale and a 1 pound piece of dry ice. A piece of dry ice this size should give off smoke for about a half hour. Ladle the drink into cups for your guests to enjoy.

Since most families celebrate Halloween every year, people should find a unique way to present designs. People should use different patterns every year. One idea is the use of light shows with scary music. This is practical since no actual figures or designs are attached to the wall. The light show can be done using a machine attached to the computer with a sound system. The lights can represent pictures of monsters, werewolves and vampires. The good thing about this is that hundreds of scary pictures can be flashed and shown. Scary sounds are used to complement the pictures being presented.

Another method which can be used to decorate one’s house is the use of monster puppets. The puppets can be placed around the house. The parents could use the puppets to tell a story to their children. The puppets could be utilized to educate and teach children important lessons regarding Halloween. A lot of children are enjoying monster puppet shows without being scared. This allows them to eliminate their fears and have fun.

You should learn how to decorate your home for Halloween. A lot of useful ideas would give families the chance to enjoy the holiday with their children. Halloween does not need to be scary.

During fall, a lot of darkened brown leaves are disposed. People can keep it and use it as props. By coloring the leaves, it can be transformed into nice decorations such as fake insects and bats. This can be done through the use of simple art materials and tools. The leaves can be colored black using spray paint. Using straws and sticks, the shape of the bird or insect can be created. The colored leaves would be used to cover the sticks and straws. Eyes and teeth can be included to make it more real. The fake creature from leaves would be appealing to people due to its unique appearance.

After fall, farmers dispose of their scarecrows. People can buy the scarecrows and use them as a display for their front yard. People can modify the scarecrow by adding scary elements such as fake knives, blood and worms. The scarecrow would appear like a monster and serve as a very scary decoration.

Other fall items such as twigs and branches from trees can be used to create other decorations. The twigs could be used to create a scary figure of a monster. This is easier than one would think. People can use lights to create a believable and scary face. The eyes and mouth could be accentuated using lights. This is easy to do and would save people a lot of money. It is a good alternative since monster figures sold in the market are expensive.