Come to the Crazy Bones Cafe!
By Joyce Gillis – What Happens At Grandmas Proud Member of the GRANDParent Network
No rattlin’ bones about it! We’re Halloween-crazy over here and mighty proud of it! Every year brings a new creative challenge: What are we going to do to top last year’s extravaganza?
The grandkids and I love to play act when we’re together. One moment we’re magicians. The next, we’re operating a family library. We publish our own family newspaper and have gone digging deep in the woods for dino eggs. Seriously, what was left to do besides assemble a wait staff, cook up some googly-eyed goodies and open our own cafe to celebrate this year’s spooky season?
My “Halloween Snack” pin board bursts at the seams, but for this event each selection needed to be kid-friendly for cooking and eating, plus freezable or easy to store. My crew assembled a week in advance for a top secret workshop that yielded an impressive display of “Boo-Nanas,” “Swamp Monsters,”* tasty little“Cockroaches,” and a perky half dozen popcorn “Monster Munchies.”
BOO! We were in business!
I filled out the repast with some “grandma-made” choices and produced a set of menus. The scary thing about them was the lack of proper info! “Moldy Monster Mash?” Huh? “What on earth is that?” The only wise thing to do was circle everything!…..
Secret Decoder!
Adult Menu:
Baby Mummies = jalapeno poppers wrapped in Crescent dough
Little Devils = deviled eggs
*Swamp Monster = dinner roll blob with raisin eyes and almond slice hair perched in hummus
Swamp Juice = orange punch
Boneyard Platter = ribs, mashed potatoes, broccoli
Moldy Monster Mash = mac and cheese tinted green
Munchkin Menu:
Bowl of Bugs = mixed fruit
Mini Mummy = tiny pizza with string cheese strips and olive slice eyes
Goofy Juice = orange punch
Desserts:
Made by the kids as linked above. My first, and favorite place to go for seasonally unique recipes is Hungry Happenings. That’s where our chirpy orange popcorn monsters and dozens and dozens more easy-to-make, very creative treats for every season of the year come from!
There was some behind-the-scenes work to be done before the Crazy Bones Cafe opened for business. I set a self-serve drink bar at table-center for the adults “mummies” and daddies!
“Drunk and Disorderly!”
Whoa! What’s this?
Rubbery cocktail-umbrella-toting skellies wobbled precariously from the plastic Dollar Tree martini glasses I glued ’em to.
Had I not amply sampled the “Purple People Eater” cocktail, I might have reasoned that if you’re too early putting out bowls of candy corn for post dinner Halloween Bingo playing you should expect to attract rats!
Oh, and ghosts, too!
The food was great, the company better, the wait service outstanding! – and guest diners tipped accordingly! With everyone stuffed and immobile, bingo cards came out – we played eagerly with what candy corn was left!
It’s heartwarming to see grandchildren playing games alongside their parents. I try to include an activity like this at each family event. Sometimes it’s as simple as printing out grandma blogger Lisa’s holiday jokes, like the Halloween version on this post at Grandma’s Briefs. Cut the answers from the
questions and give a scrambled set to each guest for matching. And who knows? Maybe one of them will “deserve” to get a prank set that has zero matches! 🙂
Our bingo game was purchased, but there’s a really cute one here at One Creative Mommy that you can print out and enjoy for free right now!
Need more Halloween ideas for kids? Spiders don’t fall far from the web! My daughter, Mary Jo, has great suggestions for you at Mrs. Party Planner. Scurry on over to see them!
Here’s youngest daughter, Karen, in full Halloween glow, smiling over her first win!
Crazy Bones Cafe will return next year, there’s no doubt about it. In the meantime, this grandma is beginning to noodle about a Christmas version! Hmmm…..”Santa’s Snack Stop?” Elf capped wait staff? “Reindeer feed” salad? Mac and cheese “snowballs?” Meatball “mice before Christmas?”….??
Happy Halloween every-bone-y!
About the Author
Grandma and blogger, Joyce Gillis believes in making her home an irresistible magnet, a welcoming haven of comfort, safety, love, affirmation, spontaneous originality, and infectious joy for the entire extended family. Join Joyce in fostering creativity on whathappensatGrandmas.com.
