Set Up a Spooky Beverage Bar!

Eager to throw a Halloween bash fit for a coven of witches? You probably have all the candy you need (and then some!) to munch on during the night. But what about some eerie elixirs to wash those sweets down? Set up a spooky beverage bar in your home this Halloween and concoct some spooktacular beverages to frighten and satisfy your guests this year. Involve your kids in the fun and make it a family affair!

What You Need:

• Clear soda (7-Up or Sprite)
• Cranberry juice
• White grape juice
• Green and red glow sticks
• Food coloring (red for blood, green for potion - and any other creepy colors you might like)
• Cake decorating gel (red for blood, green for slime)
• A variety of plastic “body parts” (severed fingers, eyeballs etc - these can be found at most costume or party stores)
• Clear plastic cups and champagne flutes
• White office labels
• Black and/or red markers

What You Do:

1. Set up your spooky beverage bar. This can be your kitchen counter, your dining room table or anywhere else that works. Line up your soda, juices, materials, and supplies along the bar. You can mix some drinks ahead of time or you can allow your guests to blend their own brews.
2. For "Witch’s Potion", mix clear soda with white grape juice and then add a drop or two of green food coloring to the mixture. Unwrap and “crack” a green glow stick and use it as a stirrer. Keep the illuminated wand in the drink as you sip. Write “POISON” or “DANGER” or sketch a skull on a label, then place it on the cup. Chill with ice. Voila! This terrible tonic is ready!
3. For "Dracula’s Blood", pour some clear soda and some cranberry juice into a champagne flute. Use about a 1 to 1 ratio. Add a few drops of red food coloring to darken the liquid. Smear cake decorating gel, acting as blood, on the rim of the cup as you see fit. When you take sip, you'll get some "blood" on your mouth it will look as if you've just had a nice "bite" to eat! Your hungry vampire guests will love it!
4. Other tips to frighten and fascinate your guests: Smear green cake decorating gel onto the rims of cups to look like slime oozing down the glass. Drop a plastic eyeball into a champagne flute with some fizzy soda. Garnish a cup with a severed finger! Don't be afraid to make things gruesome and get a little messy. It's all part of the fun!

Any odd-colored cocktail, really, will be warmly received at your ghoulish event. So stock up on strange colors and grisly body parts, and let your wicked imagination do the rest!