So you've decked the house out in creepy accessories, and picked out the perfect costume. The candy is ready to go for the trick-or-treaters and the music for your Halloween party is downloading into your MP3 player. What else could you possibly do for the holiday? Why not come up with some fun Halloween items for lunch or dinner? Here are some fun ideas to get your creative juices flowing while you are planning your menus.

Ghost sandwiches

The best way to make these is with all white ingredients – think of things like turkey, swiss cheese, white bread, miracle whip, etc. Make the sandwich like you normally would, and then use a large, ghost-shaped cookie cutter to cut it into a ghost shape or cut the sandwich with a knife. You could even use a small amount of ketchup or other condiment to draw eyes and a mouth on your ghost.

Bat and Cat cookies

The easiest way to do these is to buy a tube of your favorite sugar cookie dough from your local store. Roll out the dough, and use a cookie cutter to cut them into bat and cat shapes. Bake the cookies like you would normally. While the cookies are baking, melt some dark chocolate. When the cookies are cooled, brush the chocolate over the top to create “black” cats and bats. If you are feeling very creative, consider using red or green candies or sprinkles to give your animals creepy looking eyes. Allow the chocolate to harden, and keep cookies in a cool place to prevent them from melting.

Pumpkin Wraps

Take a tortilla and spread it with your favorite orange ingredients – pimento or cheddar cheese, slices of ham, orange peppers, etc. all work well. Roll the tortilla tightly to create a wrap, and then cut into half inch slices (you may need to use a toothpick to hold the wrap slices together, consider getting the decorative ones in green to be the “stem”). Lay slices on their sides, and using small pieces of veggies or cheese to create the eyes, nose and mouth on your pumpkin.

Pumpkin Pizza

Spread your favorite pizza dough or ready-made crust with sauce and cheese. Then, using pepper slices and pepperonis, create the ridges of the pumpkin and the face of the jack-o-lantern. Bake as usual and serve.

Graveyard Dirt

You can make this dessert in one large pan or individual cups, depending on the size of decorative tombstones you can find. Start by crushing an entire package of chocolate sandwich cookies (like Oreos) and layering a portion of them in the bottom of the cup/pan. Combine ½ cup of butter, 8 oz of cream cheese, 1 cup of powdered sugar and ½ teaspoon of vanilla and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine 3 cups of milk with 2 – 3.5 ounce packages of instant pudding (your choice vanilla or chocolate). Fold in 1 12 oz tub of Cool Whip (again, your choice regular or chocolate). Then fold together the two mixtures. Layer a portion on your cookie layer, then continue layering pudding mix and cookies until all have been used. While you are creating your layers, you can consider hiding in some gummy worms or plastic skeletons so that bits and pieces poke at the top. Garnish the finished product with a couple of decorative tombstones and you have a creepy Halloween dessert.

Use these and your own ideas to create some fun and creepy Halloween meals!

Planning a Halloween party can be a very fun thing to do. Whether you will be hosting adults, children, or a mix of both, Halloween parties are fun and exciting to have and to attend.

To help plan your Halloween party, and have it be the event of the year, here are some ideas to get you started in your planning:

Halloween Party Idea #1 – The first thing you need to do is to decide on a budget for your party and if you will be having adults, children, or both in attendance. Once you have made these decisions then it is time to start planning your event.

Halloween Party Idea #2 – Food and drinks are always a big part of any Halloween party. Here you can be very creative with items such as “scabs” other wise known as dried cranberries. Items such as bleeding cupcakes or things which look like eyeballs are generally a hit. Or you can go with a more traditional fare of cookies and candy.

Halloween Party Idea #3 – For beverages for your party you can make a great slimy punch out of lemonade, sugar, meringue powder, and seltzer water. To this add some green food coloring and stir. The mix will be slimy and frothy.

Halloween Party Idea #4 – Always a fun idea at Halloween parties is the addition of dry ice to beverages. This will make them send off fog and is always a hit with both adults and children.

Halloween Party Idea #5 – Decoration for Halloween is fun. You can make tombstones in the yard with simple Styrofoam cutouts and even hang lights and ghosts in your trees. Inside your home you can decorate with spider webs and other spooky items which you can purchase at any local store during the Halloween season.

Halloween Party Idea #6 – For a Halloween party you want your home to be dimly lit but not too dark so that people are tripping over things. Also a fog machine or cauldrons with dry ice in them can give a great effect.

Halloween Party Idea #7 – Music is always nice for a Halloween party. However, rather than have it playing in the room your guests will be in, try setting your tunes in a near-by room so that people can still talk and enjoy themselves. If you have a adult party use scarier music than if you are hosting children.

Halloween Party Idea #8 - Playing games is always a hit at any party. A fun game for adults is charades using scary movies and themes. For children, bobbing for apples can be fun if the weather and space allow for it. Also, contests for the best costume always go over well. (Let your guests know this on your invitations.

Halloween Party Idea #9 – If you want to amaze your friends, you can write secret messages on your drinking glasses. To do this, take a mixture of dish soap and water and write messages with it, using your finger, on the outside of some drinking glasses. Once you are finished place them in the freezer to frost over. As your guests drink, and the glasses warm, your messages will come into view. This is always something people will be amazed at and talk about for a long time to come.

Halloween Party Idea #10 – One of the best things you can do while you are planning any party, especially one for Halloween, is to go online and search for creative ideas. You will find a wealth of creativity to help you make the most of your party experience.

With the current popularity of Renaissance fairs, it's no wonder that traditional Renaissance costumes are equally popular. Not only reserved for the fair workers and those who attend them, Renaissance costumes also make charming additions to Halloween and costume parties.

So, what are the basics that encompass the Renaissance period? Well, it all depends. The era spanned over a long period of time and the costumes largely depended on the specific year, social standing, and the country.

So it is one thing to decide that you want to dress in traditional Renaissance costumes and another to understand exactly which type of costume you would like. In addition, you have a few options in obtaining a costume.

If your main purpose is to attend a Renaissance fair, you may want to contact the fair itself to see where they suggest you get the costumes. Some have a booth where they sell the costumes or if you want to rent, you may be able to do it at the fair or they can suggest a shop nearby that will accommodate. If you are a frequent attendee of the fair, you may want to consider obtaining your own Renaissance costumes.

If you want to wear your Renaissance costumes to a costume party or for Halloween, you may not need to worry so much about authenticity. At the fairs, more people will probably scrutinize your outfit. At a costume party, you are probably just looking for something that is fun and will look great. In this case, you can take dressing up in a Renaissance costume as far as you want it.

You can find Renaissance costumes at Renaissance fairs, and at costume shops. You can also find them at online auction sites or at online costume stores. Of course, there is also the possibility of making your own from a pattern you design or purchase.

Keep in mind that if you do decide to purchase your own costume they can get expensive. Some people specialize in making authentic, home sewn Renaissance costumes. If you choose to purchase one of these, you will certainly end up with a striking outfit. The only drawback is that it may cost a lot more than you were expecting to pay.