Happy Halloween, Honey! The leaves are turning, the temperature is dropping, and fall is in full swing. As the Balloon Fiesta passes, New Mexico pulls out pumpkins, ristras and sugar skulls to get in the spooky spirit. There’s no shortage of Halloween happenings to attend, with pumpkin patches, haunted houses, and paranormal performances popping up all over New Mexico.
At Sadie’s of New Mexico, we’re always happy to facilitate family fun. We’ve catered parties, weddings, and graduations. Halloween is a holiday designed for making memories, with costumes, candy, and plenty of opportunities to celebrate.
Whether you’re trying to plan a Halloween party, decorate your front porch, or organize a group of trick-or treaters, Sadie’s has you covered. Keep reading for Sadie’s favorite Halloween tips and tricks, making Halloween easier, so you can focus on all the treats Halloween has to offer.
Making Your Jack-O-Lanterns Last
From visiting fall festivals with the family to baking fresh pumpkin pies, nothing says autumn like pumpkins. When Halloween rolls around, pumpkins turn into canvases for paint, stickers,or carving. When they’re dry, they decorate front porches with glowing faces and museum-worthy artwork. While the cool fall weather keeps them looking fresh for a few weeks, they can fade pretty fast. Jack-o-lanterns start to deflate as the pumpkins start to get old, and your artwork deflates with them.
When making sure your pumpkins keep their happy faces all October, a little extra preparation goes a long way. When you’re scooping seeds from your pumpkins, cut the bottom of the pumpkin out, instead of the stem. Pumpkins tend to collapse when the flesh is exposed to air and sunlight. Cutting the stem out first means that your pumpkins will slouch sooner. The bottom of the pumpkin isn’t exposed as frequently to the elements, so when it does start to soften, your artwork will remain displayed.
One more tip– to make your jack-o-lanterns smell like fresh pumpkin pie, sprinkle some cinnamon on the sides and top of the pumpkin before you carve it. When the heat from your candles rises, you’ll have a pumpkin-spiced porch.
Light Up the Night
Halloween trick-or–treating creates some of the best family memories. As soon as the sun sets, kids put on costumes and dash out to start collecting candy to trade, stash for later, or eat before they even make it home.
Among crowds of trick-or-treaters in face paint, elaborate costumes, or masks, it can be hard to keep track of your trick-or-treaters, especially as it gets dark. For easy tracking, try adding an LED candle, or a few colored glowsticks to your trick-or-treaters bag. The light from their bag will make it easy to identify your child, especially if you choose a specific color of glowstick. The light helps track them from a distance, through crowds or the dark, so you can make sure Halloween is a night of safe, candy-filled fun!
Sugar-Free Treats, Without the Tricks
Halloween preparation always adds a little excitement to fall days. Switching up your yearly decorations can keep things exciting, so why not switch up your trick-or-treater supplies? Halloween doesn’t just have to mean picking up the same candy every year– if you’re looking to add some excitement to pre-halloween shopping, or be the house with something different, try picking up non-candy items for trick-or-treaters to choose from. Keeping non-food treats around can add a little bit of accommodating fun to your halloween lineup.
For your youngest visitors, try mini play-dough, Halloween-themed rubber ducks or mini bottles of bubbles. For the school-age and spooky, try small glider airplanes, stamps and bouncy balls. For tweens and teens, try novelties like fortune teller fish, Lego figures, fidget toys, or face masks. Glow sticks, stickers, bouncy balls, plastic snakes, or skeletons make great spooky souvenirs for trick or treaters of any age.
Fun for Furry Friends
Halloween isn’t just for humans! Whether you’re a proud pet parent, or just enjoy four-legged trick-or-treaters, everyone can appreciate a creepy cat or dressed-up dog. Finding ways to appreciate these visitors can make Halloween fun for celebrants of all shapes and sizes.
Halloween can be a stressful time for furry friends, especially if they aren’t the most social. After you pick out the perfect costume, introduce it to your pet slowly with a try-on a few days in advance. This allows your pet to encounter the costume in calm surroundings, so it doesn’t heighten their anxiety on the holiday. Additionally, setting up a quiet, private space for your pet, away from the door, can help keep their stress levels low.
If you’re handing out candy, keep some halloween themed treats near the door. You never know when a four-legged trick or treater could arrive on your doorstep. Keeping small dog toys, tennis balls, or spooky treats will make sure to satisfy any four-legged friend you encounter.
Skip the Pizza, Go for Sadie’s
Having a happy Halloween takes a lot of energy. On top of the planning and decorating, the average trick-or-treater racks up an extra 3,500 steps collecting candy. Even though the candy collection can help fuel you afterwards, you still need your energy before you get your first treat.
When you’re coordinating candy-collecting routes and handling last minute costume changes, getting dinner on the table can feel impossible. Ordering in is a great way to make sure your family has plenty of energy, but don’t rely on your favorite pizza place for a quick meal. Halloween is one of the biggest nights for pizza delivery, following Superbowl Sunday and Christmas Eve. Wait times for delivery can stack up to multiple hours, especially as it gets later into the night.
If you need something quick to feed your family, Sadie’s to-go has got you covered. Whether you pick up your food in-restaurant or have it delivered, you can be sure you’ll get high quality, classic New Mexican comfort food.