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Hey, Alicia here with another party post. I kind of took a hiatus with the party posts because we have moved to a much smaller place that has made it a bit more difficult to party. Fortunately, we have settled in and I can get back to partying all the time (or until the baby comes).

Halloween is coming up faster than we may realize. So, for this month we decided to help you get a head start on your Halloween party plans by suggesting the 5 Things You Need for a Halloween Party!

Scary, sweet or quirky costumes are a must! Be sure to include this on your invitations so your guests are not unsure of what you expect. I personally love the creative costumes people come up with. You could encourage people to dress up by including a costume contest with a prize.

It might be nice to have some easy things like animal ears/tails, vampire teeth, makeup, etc available for guests who couldn’t come up with a costume or show up costumeless.  Dollar Tree has lots of costume accessories that make it easy to keep your costume stash stocked up!

If you’re still struggling to come up with a costume idea stay tuned later this month and season because we’ve got some fun costume ideas in the works!

What would Halloween be without binging on your favorite sweet snacks? Besides the obvious choice of your favorite store bought candies (I love Reese’s Cups), some homemade treats can also make your party special. Check out our Halloween Brownie Bombs, Halloween Gingerbread Men, and Dipped Chocolates. The Dipped Chocolates are from an Easter tutorial, but can be decorated for Halloween in a similar manner as the Brownie Bombs!

As the weather will be cooler by Halloween (at least in the Northern Hemisphere) it’s the perfect time to make some Hot Coco Bombs and have them available for your guests to enjoy.  Find the link to the booklet here. It won’t be available for free for very much longer so grab it before it’s gone!

Some other drinks to include:

• Watermelon Slush Punch. The color lends itself well to being called Transylvanian Hobgoblin Punch (or whatever Halloween themed name you think is best).
• Melted Witches Brew- A green punch made with lime sherbet and lemon-lime soda. Adding green Kool-Aide would produce an even darker green color. On top float a black paper plate with a black party hat attached to look like a witches hat. Learn how to make one at the Kids Activities Blog.
  

Have cute little signs by your drinks so your guests can know they aren’t just drinking plain punch.

My mom has also got some more yummy drinks in the works, so be sure to come back if these spooky drinks don’t tickle your fancy.

Whether you are doing a spooky party or a fun Halloween party (perhaps a kids party) decorations are a must. Dollar Tree has decorations for both types of parties. My mom recently bought this cute hanging pumpkin sign to decorate her home for Halloween. I, on the other hand, bought some spider webs and a giant spider to decorate my home. They also had skeletons, bats, witches and more to decorate with. In both cute and scary varieties. It’s a great place to stock up on decorations without breaking the bank.

An assortment of the spooky decorations available at Dollar Tree!

Inside her chalkboard pumpkins would work great for either a spooky or friendly Halloween party. Paint little chalkboard pumpkins to be the signs for your treats and beverages!  

An assortment of cute Halloween Party Decorations from Dollar Tree!

Maybe it’s because my husband is a sound guy, but I feel music is so important to set the tone of a party. It’s great to have something playing in the background. We belong to Amazon Prime and it makes it super easy to get the perfect party music. When you belong to Amazon Prime you get access to Prime Music which comes with premade playlists at no extra cost to you. Some great Halloween playlists I’ve found on Prime music are Kids Halloween party music, Halloween Party Music, & Halloween Dance Party. They also have playlists that have Haunted House sounds and Creepy Horror Music Scores.

Surely whatever kind of music you are looking for to set the mood of your party, you can find it on Amazon.

Some classic songs I think are perfect for a party are:
 

• I Put a Spell on You (either Bette Midler from Hocus Pocus or Screamin’ JayHawkins)
• Monster Mash by Bobby Boris Pickett
• Thriller by Michael Jackson
• Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr
• Black Magic Woman by Santana
• Addams Family Theme
• Witchy Woman by The Eagles
• Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor by Johan Sebastian Bach
  

So, there you go! The 5 things that you must consider when planning a Halloween Party! Dollar Tree is the perfect resource to stay in your budget, plus DIY always adds to the fun!  So have fun with it and get planning YOUR epic party!  Don’t forget to let us know how it goes!

This post contains affiliate links and we will be compensated for purchases made through our links. Thank you for your support!

Right now my mom is in California visiting Alicia and her family. You may remember that Alicia is also pregnant with her second baby, and she is due this past Monday. We're all waiting with baited breath for her sweet little girl to come on out and say hello, and so it seems like a perfect time to revisit the Amazon gift registry. You may remember this post where Alicia talked about her baby registry must haves and we provided a link for you to sign up for your own registry! (They also have wedding registries people.) Well, did you know that when you sign up for a registry with Amazon and at least ten dollars are spent on items off your registry that you get a welcome box from Amazon full of gifts? Well, you do! I received my welcome box and I decided to film myself opening it and showing you everything I got! There is no guarantee for what will be in your welcome box, but if you watch the videos you'll see that you'll get a good variety of products and different brands so you can test them all out and decide which ones you like the best. This is especially helpful for first time moms like me because I'm still not sure which diaper will be best for my little one's bum, or whether or not she'll need sensitive wipes, or if she'll be allergic to anything. With a box like this I can try all different kinds of brands and she and I will find out together what works best for us! So, watch the videos below and then, go create your registry! 

Hey, Alicia here again. It’s watermelon season and I am loving it. We can’t get enough of that delicious red fruit around here. If my son is with me when we go grocery shopping, and he sees the watermelon he insists we get one. Actually, he tries to insist that we get more than one, but that’s a bit more than we can eat. I’m inclined to oblige to his request for at least one watermelon because of the great health benefits watermelon provides. Besides being a great source of water (most are about 90% water), it is chalk full of potassium, vitamin C and vitamin A!

And while watermelon is great to just eat on its own, it’s fun to mix it up every once in awhile.

That’s when this idea for a watermelon drink came to my head. And I couldn’t get it out so I decided I had just better make it. I was so thrilled when it came out delicious! I have had to make it 3 times because the first 2 times I didn’t really measure in order to share it with you all.

It's a fast and easy drink to make. Just 3 ingredients: watermelon, lemon lime soda, and lime juice. When blended together these make such a refreshing drink! If you want an option with less sugar, try using a lemon lime flavored sparkling water. Click the button below to get the recipe!

But seriously it’s so good and a perfect drink to end your summer with. It would also be an easy drink to make in a large quantity for a party. If you have an immersion blender you could even make it directly in the watermelon rind for a fun presentation of the punch.

So what do you think? Will you be giving this watermelon treat a try?

Get what you need to make this delicious punch.

Watermelon Slush Punch

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     I adore seafood and salmon in particular.  I usually go to my old standby recipe with salmon, which is to season it and broil it and then scarf it down, feeling like it is the food of the gods.  But, sometimes when I shop at Costco, I see that they have salmon that is stuffed with a crab stuffing.  SALMON WITH CRAB STUFFING! I know it sounds too good to be true. The price for this heavenly concoction is definitely out of my budget.  I mean, sometimes, just the salmon alone is out of my budget.  But, to add crab takes it over the top.   Yet, I was determined that I had to make the dream of eating this unbelievable combination a reality.
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     Well, here is how it finally happened!  My local grocery store, (Fry's) sometimes runs a sale at their meat counter.  All of the meat and seafood from the counter is 25% off!  So, that meant that the salmon, which was normally $8.99 per lb was only $6.75 per lb. I decided that was acceptable and purchased a couple of sides.  The imitation crab was also on sale!  It was like the heavens had opened and everything had fallen into place to allow me to enjoy this amazing dish!  Now all I had to do was bring the fish home and figure out how to make the stuffing and how I was going to stuff the salmon.  Here is how I did it. Click the button for the printable stuffing recipe.  Click on the pictures for a description.

    I added a vegetable on the side, and I was able to enjoy the delicious taste of the salmon, blended with the sweetness of the crab mixed with  the great seasonings in the stuffing!  My dream had come true! 
​     Another nice thing about this stuffing recipe is that it tastes good on its own!  There was enough left over after I stuffed the salmon that I was able to bake it in a small casserole dish.  My husband loved eating it for lunch the next day.  So, it would be a great side dish besides a stuffing.
    

Crab Stuffed Salmon

     So, when the heavens open and the sales happen for you at the perfect moment, I hope you can give this recipe a try! 
     Wondering how the zucchini got the nice crinkly cut?  I am putting the link below for the crinkly cutter, along with the link to sheet pans!