Choose your Halloween style
Halloween is a magical night and a perfect time to get into a magical mood and have some fun!
Here are some ideas (and tea pairings!) to get you in the Spirit!
Cozy Home Halloween
Grab a good book or movie and get cozy!
What you need:
A good movie or book: (pick something spooky and magical!) I’m too wimpy for horror myself but there are plenty of options out there.
Movie & Book suggestions: Harry Potter series, Nightmare Before Christmas, The Witches, Hocus Pocus,What We Do in the Shadows and here’s a list of many more! or pick from this list of Halloween reads!
Snacks: Try some healthier Halloween twists on old favorites like these Peanut Butter Chocolate popcorn balls, Maple chili pumpkin seeds or indulge your inner child by getting a bag of mixed trick or treat candies and diving in!
Tea/Cocoa pairing: A mug of Beach Fire Cocoa will complement the salty popcorn and snacks perfectly or stand alone as warm and cozy Halloween treat!
Mushroom Hunt
The fungus is among us!
What you need:
A forested area to explore, hiking shoes, a small harvest bag, a sharp knife and a rain jacket.
Get outside and enjoy all the fall feels in the forest today. One of the creepiest (and most delicious) foods emerging from the underworld in October are mushrooms! Oregon is famous for mushrooms especially abundant in the fall and winter seasons.
My favorite one to hunt around Halloween is the king Bolete, a truly giant mushroom that tastes like steak when cooked. The Oregon forest also has chanterelles, lobster mushrooms, matsutakes and many more! Just make sure you don’t eat anything that you can’t 100% truly identify. When in doubt- toss it out. Because the other scary thing about mushrooms is that some of them can be deadly (for real).
Check out this beginners guide to Mushroom hunting to get you inspired to hit the trail this Halloween!
You can also hike just to enjoy spotting them and perhaps gather some up along with few clumps of spooky mosses and dead branches to make an all natural Halloween decoration for your house or porch!
Evening campfire would make the perfect ending to your day in the woods. You can roast your mushroom finds or simply enjoy the full moon by the fire white sharing scary stories!
Snacks: Try your hand at these mushroom recipes or warm up after your hike with this savory pumpkin soup topped with mushrooms!
Tea/Cocoa pairing: Hot CHAGAlate is a blend of CHAGA mushroom powder with cinnamon, vanilla bean and rich raw cacao. It will give you plenty of stamina and energy to hike those trails and keep you warmed up and cozy afterwards around the fire.
Mystical Halloween
What you need:
A cup of tea and a saucer. Candles. Sage or Incense. Soothing music.
The veil is thin between the worlds on Halloween- especially under a full moon. If you are feeling mystical then take some time alone this year to tune into your intuition and inner wisdom. Find a quiet spot and set up a sacred space by lighting some candles, burning a little incense and playing soft soothing music (if you prefer).
Then try your hand at the intuitive art of tea leaf reading. Simply add a pinch of tea leaves to a tea cup (a wide mouth classic shaped tea cup works best here) and cover with boiling water. Steep for about 3 minutes then slowly drink the tea while you calm your mind and ask whatever questions you are interested in. When the tea is gone cover the cup with your saucer and tip the cup upside down and then right side up again. The remaining tea leaf in the cup will form shapes and patterns that you can then seek meaning in.
I tried this with my chai tea grounds the other day and I was surprised by how clearly I saw the image of a skull and a trail leading from the bottom of the cup towards the rim (representing a journey from the past to the present). That very day we found out that Brigham’s step brother had passed away in Texas and he bought a ticket to fly out immediately for the memorial (visiting his past in the present!). More tea leaf reading info here.
Snacks: It’s advised to eat lightly before divination to keep the senses open and to eat a good snack afterwards to help ground back into your body. Try these vegan goji berry cacao balls to keep your energy light before hand and this hearty rooted soup to nourish you afterwards.
Tea/Cocoa Pairing: For tea leaf readings it’s best to use black teas. Breakfast Buzz or NeahKahNie Fog are fine choices for a tea leaf reading as the leaves will remains in the cup. For the perfect herbal tea to sip during the day give you a calm and centered energy for divination I recommend Nap & Nourish.
Witches Tea Party
Invite your best Ghouls over!
What you need: Some ghoul friends. Tea cups. Tea. Costumes. Treats.
No trick or treats this year? Then what about a witches tea party instead?
Dress up in your best witches attire and host a little tea party to celebrate Halloween in style. Include some cut up sand”witches”, pumpkin doughnuts, and of course tricks and treats! Hit Goodwill for some tea cups and saucers and you are ready to go!
Got kids home from school? Get them into the fun to by having them help make the decorations, treats and costumes before the guests arrive!
For easy tea party hosting basics check out this guide!
For a kids Halloween tea party with decor printables and recipes check out this site! and this one too
Snacks: Bite sized eyeballs, Graveyard Mouse Cups, Deviled Spider Eggs, Bloody Falafel Fingers
Tea/Cocoa pairing: Try Elderberry Cobbler herbal tea for your witches party. Add ice and sparking water to fizz it up or serve hot with cinnamon sticks. For adults you can also nip in a bit of brandy or whisky for a quick delicious cocktail. Pumpkin chai lattes would also be wonderful treats at this party as well as Blue Enchantmint for the kiddos!
