Punchbowl Blog

This post was written by Stephanie Fader, Sr. Marketing Manager

Halloween is right around the corner and while you may be busy pulling together last minute costumes, decorating the yard, and saving your candy stash for excited trick-or-treaters, there is one more item to add to your to-do list: safety. Don’t let anything prevent you and your kids from having a frightful and delightful holiday with family, neighbors, and friends. Here are some tips for having a fun and safe Halloween this year.

Costumes: Make smart costume selections that will prevent injury and accidents. Here are some Halloween costume tips:

• Avoid large or loose garments that can pose a tripping hazard. If the costume does have loose components, avoid standing near open flames or candles, such as jack-o-lanterns.
• Wear sturdy, well-fitting footwear. Over-sized clown shoes or mom’s high heels are not conducive for safe walking.
• If the costume includes a mask, make sure it does not restrict peripheral vision or hearing. Try to choose one that fits well, offers good ventilation, and has large eye holes. An alternative is to use non-toxic face paint instead of a mask.
• Select light-colored or reflective costumes that can be seen by drivers. You can also add reflective tape to props or candy bags for greater visibility.

Decorations: Set the stage for your guests and trick-or-treaters to have a hauntingly good time, but take precautions to avoid any real nightmares.

• Always keep a well-lit path and clear walkways of any debris or large decorations that could cause visitors to get entangled, trip, and fall.
• If you’re planning to use electronic decorations, take care not to overload circuits and use a surge protector. Be sure to use lights that are approved for outdoor use. If you find any frayed cords or broken plugs, discard these decorations.

Trick-or-Treating: To keep this favorite activity sweet, review important safety instructions before leaving home.

• Always travel in groups and carry a flashlight with fresh batteries if going out in the dark.
• Pick a safe and familiar neighborhood. Stay on the sidewalk where available and walk, don’t run, from house to house.
• Only approach houses that have their lights on and wait to check out your candy bounty at home before starting to snack.
• Never enter a house or car to receive a treat.

Plan ahead with your safety precautions so that important details don’t get lost amidst the last minute shuffle before you head out the door. Now you are free to enjoy the spirit of the holiday and make some spectacular Halloween memories!

Another way to celebrate Halloween? Browse our free eCards for Halloween and send ghostly greetings to your friends and family!

This post was written by Stephanie Fader, Sr. Marketing Manager

Chocolate bars and gummy worms and candy corn – oh my! It’s probably no surprise that Halloween is officially the sweetest holiday of the year. It beats out Easter, Valentine’s Day, and Christmas. In fact, Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion dollars annually in the U.S. alone. With bags of candy on store shelves for weeks in advance of the holiday, it has us wondering how Halloween became synonymous with candy in the first place?

We did a little digging and came up with this timeline:

• 1940s: Trick or treating became more widespread in the U.S. However, rather than candy, trick-or-treaters received nuts, cookies, cakes, coins, and toys.

• 1950s: The rise of trick-or-treating gave candy producers an opening to market their products aimed at kids. Candy was also easy to buy and economical, which made it the optimal choice for those entertaining trick-or-treaters.

• 1960s: The growth of Halloween candy was still on the rise, though it was often in the form of a small bag of loose candy like candy corn, Hershey Kisses, or Tootsie Rolls.

• 1970s: Parents were less comfortable with homemade or unwrapped treats, which gave way to the idea that commercially wrapped candy was seen as the safest option.

• 1980s: Candy manufacturers produced smaller versions of their full size candies on a large scale. Trick-or-treating as we know it became about dressing up and collecting as much candy as possible.

Here are a few more tidbits to satisfy your sweet tooth:

• Halloween is responsible for 75% of all candy corn sold during the year — you can celebrate this fact on October 30th, National Candy Corn Day!
• 90% of parents admit to sneaking goodies out of their kids’ Halloween candy stash
• 73.5% of households plan to hand out Halloween candy this year

Want another way to incorporate candy into your Halloween celebration without the calories? Make your own Halloween candy costume! Check out these 5 Halloween candy costume ideas that you can make at home for yourself or the kids.

All this talk of candy make you want to host a Halloween party? Start planning yours today!

This post was written by Stephanie Fader, Sr. Marketing Manager

Are you ready for a frightfully good time? Halloween, one of the most popular holidays in America, is creeping up on us and there are so many spooktacularly fun ways to celebrate. But first, let’s take a look at some fun facts about Halloween as you start to think about your plans…if you dare…

• Last year, an estimated 41 million trick-or-treaters across the U.S. ventured out into the night to collect their candy from a total of 117 million households.
• At least 50% of people plan to dress up in costume this Halloween. For adults, the most popular costume choices are witches, pirates, and vampires. For kids, look out for little princesses, superheroes, ghosts, and ninjas.
• Pets get in on the costume action too: 14.7% of pet owners plan to purchase a pint size costume for their furry friends.
• Last year, 1.1 billion pounds of pumpkins were turned into grinning jack-o’-lanterns or delicious pies.
• Illinois, New York, and Ohio are the top pumpkin producing states.
• Halloween ranks 2nd behind Christmas for total dollars spent on decorations. Popular Halloween decorations include life-size skeletons, extra large inflatable pumpkins, and fake cob webs.
• There are a number of cities and towns across the country with ghostly names. They include:
  • Frankenstein, Missouri
  • Tombstone, Arizona
  • Cape Fear, North Carolina
  • Skull Creek, Nebraska
  • Spiderweb, South Carolina
  • Goblintown, Virginia
  • Screamer, Alabama
  • Black Cat, Arkansas
  • Bloody Corners, Ohio
  • Hell Hollow, New Hampshire

How will you celebrate Halloween this year? You can find party themes, decorating tips, recipes, costume ideas, and more in the Halloween party ideas section of the site. If you’re ready to start planning your party, send a bootiful Halloween invitation today!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

If you love to cook or bake and have imaginative, original Halloween recipes to share, we want to know! This month, Punchbowl launched a contest to find the scariest, creepiest, most creative Halloween recipes of all time. Our Halloween recipes contest is your chance to showcase your unique talent and abilities in the kitchen—and be recognized for it.

From spider cupcakes to Jell-O brains, we want to see it all! Anyone can enter the contest. Simply email us your best Halloween recipes before 11:59 p.m. EST on October 25, 2010. All recipes must include a list of ingredients and directions for making the dish. A link to a blog post about the recipe is also acceptable.

Once we’ve received the entries, we will chose the five most creative Halloween recipes to feature on Punchbowl. We will announce the winners and their recipes in a special email newsletter the week before Halloween. Winners will also receive a Punchbowl Platinum membership.

It’s easy to enter, just email us your Halloween recipes today!

Official Rules:

No purchase is necessary to enter or win. A purchase of payment will not increase your chance of winning. Contest open to persons 18 years of age or older. The winners will be notified via email on or before October 27, 2010. All recipes become the property of Punchbowl Software, Inc. and may be edited, modified, published, and otherwise used at Punchbowl’s discretion. Punchbowl Software reserves the right to cancel, terminate or modify the Contest if it cannot be operated, conducted or completed as planned, for any reason.

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

After last week’s excitement, it’s nice to have some fun Reasons to Celebrate coming up this week, like National Checkers Day on Thursday, September 23 or Love Note Day on Sunday, September 26.

One thing that’s great about our Reasons to Celebrate is that they’re really perfect for parents and teachers. With the number of food holidays on the calendar, our Reasons to Celebrate sometimes help with menu planning. How about making Pecan Cookies for dessert on Tuesday, September 21 or planning a seafood spectacular for Crab Meat Newburg Day on September 25.

For teachers, Reasons to Celebrate make great topics for the classroom. Take Checkers Day, for example. It’s not exactly what you might think. While most people hear Checkers Day and assume it’s meant to celebrate this classic game, this holiday’s origins stem from politics!

Here’s the entire list of this week’s Reasons to Celebrate:

• September 20: National Punch Day
• September 21: National Pecan Cookie Day
• September 22: National White Chocolate Day
• September 23: National Checkers Day
• September 24: National Cherries Jubilee Day
• September 25: Crab Meat Newburg Day
• September 26: Love Note Day

Also, did you know that Halloween is just six weeks away? If you’re trying to come up with costume ideas, consider hosting a Halloween costume exchange party to recycle costumes with friends. You’ll clear out your closet AND come away with a new costume. Get some tips for how to host a Halloween costume exchange party or start planning your own Halloween party!