Halloween Jack-O-Lantern Oranges

Happy Halloween!  After a pandemic Halloween last year, I hope you were able to make up for it this year.  We did!  Our Halloween was such a whirlwind of excitement because the grandkids are at a perfect age of 3 and 5 and are starting to get the drift of what this is all about.  

We actually "practiced" Halloween before the big day so as not to overwhelm them. We got out the candy and started practicing "trick-or-treating" so they understood what it's all about.  I would hide behind a door, like in the bathroom or a closet, and they would come up and knock.  Then I would open the door and they would say "trick-or-treat!" and I'd give them some candy to put in their bags.  Or I would let them take candy and put it in their bags.  They LOVED playing that game and I ended up hiding behind every door in the house.  We've answered the door on Halloween before when little kids just stand there and don't know what to do while the parents are standing behind them coaxing them to say "trick-or-treat".  So, I knew practicing it would help but I didn't realize what a fun game it would turn out to be!  They slept over at our house the night before so we could get a good start on Halloween.  We started by going to our local business district, called The Junction, where all the businesses were giving out candy.  

                    

                   

We had a blast. The kids were pros at it and it was so fun looking at everyone's costumes.

Some costumes were a little scary for them since a lot of people go all out in that department. 

But for the most part, they loved it.  The neighborhood Farmer's Market was also going on so there was a lot happening.  Breakfast anyone?  All the food looks so yummy. 

After 4-5 blocks of "trick-or-treating" and buckets full of candy, we stopped for some lunch at one of our favorite spots, Coastline Burgers.  Eating something that wasn't sweet tasted pretty good. 

Eventually, we made it home where the rest of our family joined us for dinner. Lauren brought these super cute Halloween Jack-O-Lantern oranges that I definitely want to share on my blog.  

She filled them with fruit for little individual fruit bowls to go along with tacos that we had for dinner.  I made my favorite Baked Tacos for the adults but then also regular tacos for the kids to make their own along with some cheese quesadillas that they really like.  These little Jack-O-Lantern oranges were such a perfect little addition to our Halloween table decor and the kids loved them, too.  Here is a professional picture of them taken from Pinterest. 

After dinner, you can use them to put out on the porch as part of your Halloween decorations for Trick-or-Treater by putting tealight candles in them. 

I love all of the cute little expressions that Lauren made on their faces.  To make these, just scoop out the inside of the oranges and save the context for smoothies or whatever.  It will be mushy and messy but it still tastes good.  Use an X-Acto knife, such as this one here, to carve out the faces using different expressions, whatever you like.  Lauren said it was very easy to do once you know what expression you want to carve out.  Fill them with small fruits such as berries, kiwi, grapes, etc. for an individual fruit bowl.  Once you are done eating, use them again as part of your Halloween decor.  I put them outside on the railing of the porch. 

I was the only one who stayed home to answer the door this year.  First, Lauren took the 5 year-old out but Lauren was a little nervous because she wasn't quite sure how to do trick-or-treating; she hasn't done it in years.  "Anything particular I need to know?"  I told her not to worry because we practiced and the kids know what to do!  Then Bruce and Sachiyo took the 3 year-old out.  Bruce popped back in before too long and told Nick he needed to come out and see all the activity so then he left, too.  Then Lauren came back and said, "Wow, your neighborhood really gets into it!"  There were lots of candy tubes (or called shutes or slides to keep the 6' distance.  A lot of houses here are built up on rockeries because of hills so a candy tube also eliminates the need to climb stairs to get to the door) and the Skeleton Theater was up and running even though it was still a scaled down version.  There were houses with parties going on and they gave "treats" to the adults, too.  Lauren was so impressed.  Eventually everyone made it back home and it was time to play with the loot.

                           

It's almost as fun answering the door as it is going out because of all the kids coming by. Everyone loves looking at the costumes. 

                          

It doesn't get much better than this.  Happy Halloween!