TEN TIPS FOR A SPIRITED HALLOWEEN PARTY
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document.write( "BY LILLIAN VERNON
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document.write( "FOUNDER OF THE LILLIAN VERNON PRINT AND ONLINE CATALOGS
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document.write( "WWW.LILLIANVERNON.COM
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document.write( "Halloween is a fun holiday because it gives you a chance to dress in\n" );
document.write( "costumes, enjoy treats and play innocent tricks. Although once considered\n" );
document.write( "a children’s holiday, Halloween is no longer a celebration solely for kids\n" );
document.write( "but a day that everyone can enjoy. With the recent emphasis on Halloween\n" );
document.write( "safety, adults and children are choosing to have parties at home rather\n" );
document.write( "than participate in traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating. “A\n" );
document.write( "Halloween party that guests will remember includes unique decorations that
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document.write( "set the perfect mood,” according to Lillian Vernon, founder of the Lillian\n" );
document.write( "Vernon catalogs and website which market Halloween decorations and\n" );
document.write( "specialize in costumes for children.
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document.write( "Here are Lillian’s tips for the perfect Halloween party:
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document.write( "OUTSIDE THE HOUSE
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document.write( "1. Start by decorating the outside of your home since this is the first\n" );
document.write( "impression your guests will have and it will help put them in the party\n" );
document.write( "spirit. Arrange a “family” of pumpkins sitting on a bench or on lawn\n" );
document.write( "chairs set up in your front yard. Decorate the pumpkins with painted\n" );
document.write( "faces, wigs and hats. Use festive and colorful clothing for their bodies\n" );
document.write( "and stuff them with plastic bags filled with newspapers.
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document.write( "2. Hang a seasonal wreath or swag on the front door. The arrangement can\n" );
document.write( "be simple autumn leaves in fall colors, Indian corn tied together, or, for\n" );
document.write( "a more dramatic look, a wreath lit in the center with a battery-operated\n" );
document.write( "jack-o-lantern. For another welcoming touch, greet your guests with a\n" );
document.write( "seasonal doormat shaped like a pumpkin, ghost, or witch.
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document.write( "3. Illuminate trees in your front lawn so they sparkle with garlands of\n" );
document.write( "Halloween-themed lights from pumpkins to witches or ghosts. Position\n" );
document.write( "black cats on metal stakes around the trees and on the walkway leading up\n" );
document.write( "to your house.
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document.write( "4. Turn the front yard into a spooky cemetery by erecting several\n" );
document.write( "tombstones on the lawn made from plywood or foam board painted gray. Add\n" );
document.write( "funny epitaphs to the tombstones under headings such as Count Dracula, the\n" );
document.write( "Mummy, the Werewolf of London and Frankenstein. For an even scarier\n" );
document.write( "effect, place a tub of dry ice behind a tombstone in the middle of the\n" );
document.write( "cemetery so it gives off a cloud of white smoke.
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document.write( "INSIDE THE HOUSE
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document.write( "5. To create mood lighting, hang strings of orange and black bulbs around\n" );
document.write( "the house and glow-in-the-dark skeletons. Place decorative Halloween\n" );
document.write( "candles throughout the party scene.
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document.write( "6. Surprise your guests by suspending bats and spiders from the ceiling on\n" );
document.write( "fishing tackle line so they appear to be flying through the air. You can\n" );
document.write( "make the bats and spiders with felt or paper mache.
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document.write( "7. Decorate the windows of your home with stained glass pumpkins and other\n" );
document.write( "Halloween figures made from construction paper.
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document.write( "8. Play scary music that you can find in the holiday section of any music\n" );
document.write( "store. Look for music that has a combination of strange sound effects\n" );
document.write( "like doors creaking and songs like “I’m Your Boogie Man, “I Put A Spell On\n" );
document.write( "You,” “Love Potion Number Nine,” and “Ghostbusters.”
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document.write( "9. Everyone loves candy on Halloween so arrange sweets in themed bowls.\n" );
document.write( "For a unique centerpiece, fill some rubber gloves with water, tie the ends\n" );
document.write( "together and freeze overnight. You can add food coloring to the water for\n" );
document.write( "a ghoulish effect. The frozen hands should slip right out of the gloves by\n" );
document.write( "giving them a quick dunk in hot water. Put a cluster of frozen hands on a\n" );
document.write( "platter surrounded by chocolate bars and put some candy corn in the hands\n" );
document.write( "so your centerpiece will be a real attention-grabber.
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document.write( "10. Use orange and black tablecloths, plates, napkins and utensils. Hang\n" );
document.write( "orange and black balloons from the ceiling and tie them with coordinating\n" );
document.write( "colored string.