Cecil the Lion killer Halloween costume: Walter Palmer costume 2015's tackiest?

Insensitive Halloween costumes get more popular every year. They almost outrank scary and sexy costumes--two of the best-selling categories. From a simple dress-up, Halloween has morphed into an adult event to make statements, press an agenda and mock others. This year the tackiest Halloween costume has several competitors. First is the "Call Me Caitlyn" costume of Caitlyn Jenner (formerly Bruce Jenner). Then there's a Cecil the Lion killer Halloween costume. Will a Walter Palmer costume--with blood-spattered dentist uniform and stuffed lion head--win 2015's tackiest? It's a close call.Cecil the Lion killer Halloween costume: Walter Palmer costume 2015's tackiest? | Examiner.com

 

Burger King Halloween Whopper causes green poop: Black buns dye feces green!

From the "really ewww" news desk, the new Burger King Halloween Whopper causes green poop. CNN reported on Oct. 6 that BK's creepy black buns make feces green according to some folks who've tried it. That's some treat, Burger King. It's more like a scary trick. Folks took to Twitter to announce their surprise at discovering they had green bowel movements after eating Burger King's Halloween Whopper using the hashtag #greenpoop. Have it your way? Not so much.   Burger King Halloween Whopper causes green poop: Black buns dye feces green! 

Free printable world history coloring pages, vintage clipart, literature lessons

 September is National Literacy Month. Reading is about more than just decoding text: it's about engaging with books. A good way to do that is hands-on literature-based activities. Here are free printable world history coloring pages from Karen's Whimsy. Explore world literature, cultures, people, time periods, civilizations, works of art, literary and historical figures and events.

Use these to create world history lesson plans, holiday greeting cards and literature lessons. Karen's Whimsy has free printable history colouring pages from just about any art history time period: ancient, Gothic, classical, medieval, renaissance, American history, Victorian, art deco, Edwardian. Explore the art of different religions: Christian, Catholic, Orthodox, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Japanese, pagan, Islam, tribal, Shinto and more.

Have a fancy for fantasy? Print clipart, images and coloring pages of dragons, angels, nymphs, dryads, mythological beats, literary figures, hero and animals. Perhaps you're interested in a specific niche of history: animals, flowers, plants, music, clothing, soldiers, architecture, weapons, military, travel, homes, holidays, food. You can print coloring pages of them. There is an entire section of free printable historical technology coloring pages and and cut and paste science crafts, perfect for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) lesson plans. Teachers print these crafts for extra credit or homework reinforcement.

Print coloring pages from ancient Greece, Rome, medieval illuminations, knights in armor, dragons. Images are created frrom real works of art,sculpture, buildings, churches etc. Students expand vocabulary with old term like: flying buttress, seraphim, Romanesque, crenelations, Phoenician, greaves, to name a few. Kids will absorb history and expand their vocabulary just by coloring and discussing images.

Halloween candy alternatives: Shop BTS sales for 70 non-candy Trick or Treats

Back to school sales are a great time to start thinking Halloween, Christmas and holiday gift-giving. Here are 70 Halloween candy alternatives you can pick up cheap as you do your August back-to-school shopping. Shop BTS sales for non-candy Trick or Treat giveaways. These are perfect for kids on special diets. Teal Pumpkin Project participants, use this list of treats for diabetic candy-free alternatives for kids with food allergies and ADHD.

All or these items can be found for $1 per dozen or less. Shop for back-to-school at Walmart, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Target, Dollar General, Aldi and Meijer. Check Oriental Trading catalog. Shop bulk and clearance bins and shelves at party supply stores for inexpensive birthday prizes. Look for tax-free days and free shipping on BTS purchases at Amazon and other online vendors.

Give school supplies as Halloween candy alternatives. Give pencils, rulers, drawing compasses, markers, mini-markers, mini stampers, crayons, glue sticks, scissors, pencil sharpeners, tape, mini staplers, notebooks, books and folders. Give craft supplies instead of Halloween candy. Kids love cheap craft sets, activity booklets, mini paint sets, decorated pens, scented pens, gel pens, play dough, goop, putty and colored pencils.

Give birthday party prizes for Trick or Treat. Children's favorites are: adjustable rings, navigational compass, key chains, fake fangs (very popular), slide flutes, Chinese handcuffs, tops, mini kazoos, party poppers, noisemakers, yo-yos, glow bracelets, slide puzzles, mini games, finger puppets, fake fingers, finger gliders, mini puzzles, ring toss games, squishy eyeballs, glow-in-the-dark insects, plastic toy animals, toy soldiers, toy cars, ball and jacks sets, snap bracelets, prisms, bracelets, necklaces, puzzles, squirt guns, squirt rings, whistles, kaleidoscopes, sticky hands, harmonicas, paratrooper toys (with plastic parachutes attached) and growing creatures in capsules (these look like pill capsules and when put in water, expand).

Need super cheap Halloween giveaways for large crowds of kids? Give out balloons, stickers, Band-Aids (seriously crazy popular), temporary tattoos, spider rings, friendship rings, bouncy balls, bat rings, jumping spiders, Comparison shop and you'll find cheap prizes cost about the same as candy.

Free printable gingerbread house patterns, Christmas craft stencils

Making holiday gingerbread houses is a favorite family traditions. Not being very artistic, I'd cheat and get the gingerbread house kit. But I've found a better way: free printable gingerbread house patterns, recipes and templates. Now, people approach gingerbread house making in one of two ways. The first is by painstakingly designing a work of art--not to be eaten, let alone touched. Then there's our youngest son's method: slap together a ramshackle gingerbread shed, lather in two inches of frosting, cover every inch in candy and devour immediately. Whichever school you subscribe to, you'll want these free printable gingerbread recipes, templates and patterns.
Ultimate Gingerbread is dedicated to the tradition of gingerbread house making. The site has dozens of free printable gingerbread patterns, recipes tips, ideas, suggestions, pictures. They even host an annual gingerbread house making competition. You'll need to register and create a free account. The website has a support forum as well, which would have really come in handy a few years ago when our gingerbread house's retaining wall gave way.
Tipnut list 12 free printable gingerbread house templates. There are several different styles from Hansel and Gretel cottage, manor house with dormers, frosted roof, etc. There are instructions and tips, too. King Arthur Flour offers a free printable gingerbread house recipe and instruction booklet with cake and icing recipes, tips and patterns. 
Mein Lila Park is a blog that links to free printable craft projects. This page lists printable paper houses to use for gingerbread templates. There are gnome, manor, town and farm houses. Many are already designed to be gingerbread houses. Botanical Paperworks has a free printable gingerbread house stencil with recipes. Sweetopia has another free gingerbread template to print. Patternsge has a detailed house pattern printout. Stefan Jansson at Flickr offers another printable gingerbread house. 
Sugar Craft has a free printable old-fashioned gingerbread house pattern. I've linked to the recipe page. Click the word PATTERNS on the right under the image of the house. Gingerbread Heaven offers two free gingerbread template printouts. Be sure to follow the instructions listed with the gingerbread house patterns for best results. 
I encourage family gingerbread house making for a bonding experience, but recommend that each person make his own gingerbread house. This spares debates/arguments over design that can end with the whole house on the floor! Not that my angels would ever do that! May your holiday season be as sweet as a gingerbread house. 

Free printable Halloween masks for kids to color and make

Trick-or-treat is all about dressing up in Halloween costumes, right? So how about free printable Halloween masks for kids to color, cut and paste? Perfect for preschool, special education and school Halloween parties. For families who don't do Halloween, I included links for generic masks so kids can still enjoy craft fun. Masks are grouped by theme.

* Various: Colorbook Masks free printable Halloween masks in dozens of themes and styles. There are tribal masks from Africa, Bali, Native American, Aztec, Mayan, Inuit, Asian and more. Print animal, Mardi Gras, Harlequin, Tiki, calavera (skull) masks for Day of the Dead. To find the masks, you have to create a free account and log in. Click each mask image to get to different mask design pages.

* Animals: Activity Village has lots of free printable animals masks.

* Disney: Check Disney Family for free printable Disney Halloween masks. Print 3D masks of Winnie the Pooh, Ironman, Disney princesses, Hulk, Captain America, Frankenweenie and more.

* Famous people: Forbes publishes free printable masks of trending famous people, politicians and world leaders.

* Scary: Check Ravensblight for free printable monster masks. The Hannibal Lector iron jaw mask is downright horrifying.

* Samhain and fantasy: Phee Mcfaddel has free printable fairy masks plus other Wiccan-inspired designs. Some are rather eerie and some quite pretty and floral.

* Monsters, ghouls and zombies: Paper Marcos Front has free printable creepy monster masks and 3D paper toys.

* Doctor Who: Visit BBC for free printable Doctor Who villains masks. Dress as Ood, a Silurian, one of the Doppelganger twins, a Peg doll, a Weeping Angel or (creepiest of all) a monster baby cherub.

* Day of the Dead: How about free printable calavera masks? Happy Thoughts will email you free 3D skull mask printables if you submit your email. Here's another printable skull mask pattern from Instructables.

Many of the masks print in black and white so children can color them. Making homemade Halloween costume crafts means you keep antsy kids occupied productively as they await trick-or-treat.

Calavera sugar skull cookies for Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) - Grand Rapids Holidays | Examiner.com

 Looking to scare up some spooky-good Halloween treats? Or maybe you're throwing Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) shindig and need calavera (skull) cookies. Now you could do the (kind of boring and overdone) sugar cookies shaped like skulls. There are some hilarious Pinterest Skeleton fail cookie images to illustrate how not to do it! And let that be a lesson, too, that complicated isn't always better. Sometimes, you can improvise, like I did and make something better. Here's my scary-easy, wickedly yummy skull cookies. Scary-easy calavera skull cookies for Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) - Grand Rapids Holidays | Examiner.com

Ghoulishly Gross Halloween Party Foods and Spooky Snacks for Trick-or-Treat

Hosting a Halloween party? Want to scare up ghoulishly gruesome (but spooky-licious) snacks your little hob-goblins? These spooky snack recipes guaranteed will gross out the bravest guest. We'll organize them by Halloween creature. Play a blindfold touch and feel game. Have guests guess what foods are. Set out labels so guests know what creepy confections they ate.
Ghosts
--flesh: marshmallows
--guts: marshmallow fluff or vanilla frosting
--ghost guts cookies: pinwheel cookies
--blood: milk
--brains dipped in ghost blood: raw cauliflower dipped in ranch dressing
Vampires
--teeth: red apple wedges dipped in Hershey's Strawberry Syrup (blood)
--bloody fingers : hot dogs with ketchup
Haunted Jack-o-Lantern
--pumpkin blood: orange juice
Bats
--teeth: black and orange candy corn
--wings: grape fruit leather or prunes
Mummies
--brains: popcorn (being dried out, mummy brains are shrively and crumbled.
--people mummies brains: make popcorn balls with marshmallows and red M&Ms.
--cat mummy brains: popcorn and red M&Ms (Egyptians loved their cats and mummified them).
--zombie Barbie brains: whole walnuts
--wrappings: cotton candy
--guts: assorted dried fruit
--hearts and ears: pretzels
Skeletons
--fingers: mozzarella cheese sticks or pretzel rods
--faces: yogurt-covered pretzels
Witches
--brains: broccoli
--blood: milk and green food coloring, limeade
--guts: pistachio pudding or guacamole (serve with tortilla chips called dragon scales)
--eyes: green grapes or sliced kiwi
--Witches' brew: mulled spiced apple cider. Have children watch as you describe and prepare. Heat monster blood (apple cide) with eye of newt (whole cloves), dragon claws (cinnamon bark), Slenderman eyes (lemon slices), toad eyes (raisins), dash of skeleton paste (butter) and ground scorpion (nutmeg).
--Witch blood slushies: frozen honey dew melon or kiwi, blended with Greek yogurt and lemonade.
Miscellaneous
--Frankenstein --Nuts and Bolts: Chex Mix or Cheerios Trail Mix
--zombie sandwiches (as in for, not made of): Sliced lunchmeat (brain cross-section) sandwiches with guts and blood (mustard and ketchup).
--eye slices: sliced kiwi or cucumber
--werewolf gut and blood sandwiches: PBJ sandwiches
--toasted spider legs: chow mien noodles
Serve these monstrously healthy snacks before trick-or-treat, to prevent tummy crummies from candy 

Free Printable Catholic Saints and Christian Bible Coloring Pages for All Saints Day

Catholic and Christian parents--are you looking for an alternative Halloween event for your children? Maybe you don't believe in all the spooky associations with the celebration? Maybe you want a more Bible based family activity? Well, you need look no further. The Catholic holy day of All Saints Day is celebrated on November 1 and November 2 is All Souls Day. Actually, All Hallows Eve (Hallowe'en) was a pagan lollapalooza that preceded the holy day. You could do All Saints themed activities to replace Halloween activities you're uncomfortable with. When our children were young, would dress as saints, go to mass and host All Saints Eve parties afterwards. Free Printable Catholic Saints and Christian Bible Coloring Pages for your All Saints Day festivities.

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Free Printable Halloween Pumpkin Carving Stencils, Trick-or-Treat Jack-o-Lantern Patterns

What would autumn be without carving the traditional Halloween pumpkin? Making a jack-o-lantern for trick-or-treat is one of my favorite family activities. Looking for creative pumpkin carving stencils for your jack-o-lantern? Here are free printable pumpkin patterns for whatever theme you want: spooky, cartoon, artistic, fantasy, religious, animals, gobs more.  Free Printable Halloween Pumpkin Carving Stencils, Trick-or-Treat Jack-o-Lantern Patterns