Big Book of Halloween (Better Homes & Gardens) (Paperback)

~ Better Homes and Gardens Books (Author), Carol Dahlstrom (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

• Creative ideas to inspire Halloween revelers of all ages

• Detailed instructions for costumes and decorations carefully guide crafters

• Step-by-step recipes for ghoulishly delicious treats

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Better Homes and Gardens; 1 edition (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 069621654X
• ISBN-13: 978-0696216541
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #762,941 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Rehashed and repackaged - Been there, done that!, August 6, 2003

By	Tracy Hoffmann (Downingtown, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you own BH&G's Halloween, Halloween Fun or (especially) Halloween Pumpkins & Parties, you've already seen everything this book has to offer. The material is mostly rehashed from Pumpkins & Parties. If you don't already own the above, this is a great savings on buying three books. The only new material I could find was a section at the back that had some cute invitation ideas, but that doesn't make this worth the price tag. Since the other books had some clever ideas, I was looking forward to this one. What a disappointment!

4.0 out of 5 stars Good photos, okay crafts, good food, July 31, 2005

By	Orion Sandstorrm - See all my reviews

Full color, lots of huge photos. Unfortunately, bad binding: first time it's ever been opened and dozens of pages are dropping out. Crafts for families who are aiming to please the kids. Not crafts for kids to make all by theemselves. Mood is cute, non-historical, silly, hokey, occasionally country.

The jack o' lantern designs seemed pretty original until I realised that the theory behind them was just to glue anything you can find onto the pumpkin-shell. Bits of wire, leaves, beads, glitter, whatever- just make it thematic. That seems to be the idea behind it. Still, that's pretty fun.

The costumes were disappointing. Almost all for children, no-sew, quick and simple. The multi-wearer caterpillar was a pretty good idea, for example, but none of them looked very snazzy in execution. Not as artistic as the jack o' lanterns at all.

The other decorative crafts were more artistic again. I think I may actually try those. There were a lot of lanterns, though they could have been better. I think I'll try making the crepe paper decoupage jack o' lantern basket.

The party ideas were well-worn. For example, one of those beanbag toss games. Not as innovative as the rest.

The food was the best part. They vary from long and complex, to no cooking required. Some look like they'd be very good to eat, and others seem to be mostly for looks (such as the scowling goblin head food sculpture.) I'm most likely to try the witch hat cookies, which have a cookie for the brim, a candy-filled ice cream cone for the peaked part of the hat, and icing for the hatband. The witch hat cake (made of precariously stacked cakes, then iced over) would actually be edible, too, and would look great. Like a lot of things in this book, that could be for a Harry Potter themed party, too!