Carnival Cruise Line is planning a spooktactular Halloween again this year, with lots of activities planned for passengers young and old onboard Legend and Spirit.
Onboard Carnival’s locally-based ships Carnival Spirit and Carnival Legend, the goal of Halloween is to create a frightfully fun spooktacular for guests of all ages to enjoy. Whether showing off their artistic pumpkin carving skills, enjoying a menu to-die-for in the ships’ restaurants or getting dressed up to trick or treat onboard, there’s something for everyone.
Carnival definitely know how to make things fun…take a look at what they got up to for Halloween last year! I sent one of my Jetsetting helpers (former Red Kite children’s charity exec) down to Circular Quay to capture this snap of their 10 meter high spider riding Carnival Spirit into Sydney Harbour!
This year they have come up with loads of tips for families to make Halloween just as spooky at home and we thought we’d share them with you here!
Throwing a Halloween Party
Carnival Vice President Jennifer Vandekreeke shared with us her Halloween games and tips for throwing a ghoulishly Carnival spooktacular on land:
Decorations
If you are having your party at home, start planning at least the day before. There is an abundance of themed decorations you can buy and plenty of craft tips to make your own decorations online. Pumpkin lanterns are a must. You can make your own by carving out fresh pumpkins or if you don’t have the time you can buy cheap and cheerful plastic pumpkins or swanky Halloween lanterns that you can re-use every year. Another must are cobwebs and spiders, and you can make your own black paper bats to cover your walls. Place a few skeletons and tombstones in your front yard as well. Your local party shop will have plenty of decorations or start surfing online. Carnival Spirit and Carnival Legend get decked out with giant spider’s webs and ghoulish decorations to amp up the onboard atmosphere.
Costumes – Be the Ultimate Host
Who wouldn’t want to dress up for Halloween? The options are endless – vampires, ghosts, goblins, witches, warlocks, zombies, skeletons and the list goes on.
If you are the host, you need to lock in a great costume. If you are a couple why not go as a devilishly delicious duo like Gomez and Morticia Adams, Frankenstein and his Bride, Uncle Fester and cousin It, Sookie Stackhouse and Vampire Bill (True Blood) or a Zombie Bride and Groom. Make an effort with your costume, if you are looking great you will feel good.
Onboard Carnival’s ships, guests are invited to parade their costumes with the best awarded a prize. Why not offer prizes for the best dressed at your party? Face painting is a fun thing to offer to kids and adults alike and is always in hot demand on their ships.
Gruesome and Grisly Cocktails & something for the hardworking Mums!
Experiment beforehand and come up with your own kooky cocktails like Patricia’s Poison, Fred’s Festering Fuel or Wendy’s Widow Maker. If time is short, then simply search the net for Halloween cocktail recipes. There are plenty of recipes to choose from like Smokin Skulls, Witches’ Brew, Zombie Slim Shooters and the Green Goblin to name just a few.
Onboard Carnival Spirit and Carnival Legend bartenders like to serve Vampire’s Kiss and Witch’s Brew:
Vampire’s Kiss
Ingredients
30mls Patron Silver Tequila
30mls Cranberry Juice
Good shake of grenadine
Step By Step
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a shot glass.
Witches’ Brew
Ingredients
40mls Bacardi Rum
15mls Chambord
90mls Ginger Ale
Step By Step
In a pint glass, combine ice, Bacardi and ginger ale. Top with a float of Chambord and garnish with a lime wedge.
Link for more: http://cruisetips.carnival.com.au/carnival-fun/halloween/shake-things-up-with-these-chilling-halloween-cocktails/
Toxic Tasty Treats
The sky is the limit with tasty treats themed for Halloween – let your imagination run riot with such hideous treats like Sausage Roll Fingers, Cauldron Curry, Devils Eggs, Ghostly Goulash, Chilling Chilli, Screaming Chicken Skewers, Pulsating Pasta, Buffalo Bat Wings and Brain Jelly Moulds.
For dessert why not terrify your guests with Strawberry Ghosts (strawberries dipped in white chocolate with chocolate icing for eyes and mouths), Spider Cupcakes, Slimy Swamp Jellies and devilishly delicious Death By Chocolate Cake.
The menu on Carnival Spirit and Carnival Legend on October 31 is to die for with guests set to devour Carnival’s Spider Cookies, Scary Cheesecake and RIP Chocolate Pumpkin Pate!
Link for more tips: http://cruisetips.carnival.com.au/carnival-fun/halloween/tricks-for-baking-the-tastiest-halloween-treats/
Downsize the Party
If the thought of inviting ship loads of people to your house for a party seems scarier than watching Nightmare on Elm Street, then start small. You don’t have to go all out, why not start with a Halloween movie night for your closest friends and scare the heck out of them. Here are some of the movie classics that you should include in your scream-a-thon; Halloween of course, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Shining, The Exorcist, The Blair Witch Project, The Ring, Carrie and The Omen. Even though it’s a movie night, you can still dress up and be sure you put on ghoulish treats like slimed jelly, graveyard cupcakes and poisoned popcorn for your friends to enjoy. Carnival Spirit’s kids clubs show PG-rated movies like The Adams Family or Monsters vs Aliens, while up on the top deck the midnight show at the poolside Dive-In movie theatre shows a Halloween horror movie. Families can also retreat to their cabin and watch a Halloween themed movie.
Turn the Table on Trick or Treaters
Make trick or treaters work for their treats. Just like we do onboard Carnival Cruise Line’s ships, when we ask our smaller guests to give us a little show in order to earn their treats, this is something everyone can try at their house on October 31. Some of the ‘assignments’ include:
1.Show me your best zombie walk
2.Give me your best witch’s laugh
3.Show me your scariest face
4.Give me your best werewolf growl
5.Party Time – Terrifyingly Tenacious Tunes
Keep adults entertained with some adult games like Halloween trivia. It’s one of the most popular activities on Carnival’s Halloween cruises. Questions can include which country did Dracula come from and what is the name of the motel in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho? Teams can even be arranged based on costumes, like ghosts v goblins or witches v warlocks.
You know a good party is all about the tunes, so party the night away into the witching hours with some grisly and gruesome songs that are sure to set the dancefloor alight this Halloween. A good place to start is with bands like The Zombies, Living Dead, Poison, or The Grateful Dead. If you are really keen for the full spine-chilling effects of thunder, background screams in the night and bone-jarring evil laughter there are a few soundtracks available for downloading online from streaming apps like Spotify or Pandora.
Details
Carnival Cruise Line is the largest cruise line in the world with more than four and a half million guests travelling every year. The cruise line has two ships deployed in Australia. Carnival Spirit – the largest and newest cruise ship to be based in Sydney year round – and sister ship Carnival Legend, sailing from Sydney each summer. With 45 activities to enjoy each day, both ships offer fun-loving families memorable and great value holidays.
Our next cruise is on Carnival Spirit – we can’t wait to share our experience with you!
For more visit: www.carnival.com.au
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