It’s all treats, no tricks in McDonald’s month-long Monsters and Mysteries Halloween celebration!

Ghostly Greetings from McDonald’s! 

It’s the spookiest time of the year again, and McDonald’s is here to celebrate Halloween, all month long! Starting October 8 until October 28, get a FREE surprise treat with every purchase of a McDonald’s Happy Meal via Dine-in, Drive-Thru, Take-out, or Delivery. Every Happy Meal can elicit nervous giggles or fits of laughter!

A surprise treat comes with every McDonald's Happy Meal!

If the little ones have a knack for thrilling mysteries, the Mystery Monster Boxes will surely pique their curiosity. Experience the excitement of the Mystery Monster Box in person when you stop in for a spell and drop by on your brooms via Dine-in and Ride-Thru!

Monsters & Mysteries at every McDonald's store!

The Halloween surprises won’t end there — a spooktacular Halloween is incomplete without trick-or-treating. McDonald’s is here to help kids get into the Halloween spirit while staying safe through the Monsters and Mysteries Ride-Thru! Let the kids have a fang-tastic celebration by giving them a chance to go trick-or-treating safely.

Drive-Thru at McDonald’s from October 29-31 to get an exciting Halloween item from the Mystery Monster Box for a minimum purchase of Php 250. To remember the ghoul old times, feel free to capture and immortalize the special family moment by taking a picture with the Monsters and Mysteries Photo Frame.

All dressed up for Halloween!

Want to feel the Halloween hype even more? Enjoy the Halloween decorations in select branches that will be “dressing-up” their Drive-Thru lanes!

No tricks—only treats await this Halloween season at McDonald’s! Delve into the unknown and claim surprise treats to fully experience the spooktacular Halloween spirit.

For more information and updates on this offering, visit McDonald’s Philippines Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram pages.

How's Your Halloween?

When I was a kid, Halloween was a holiday that was largely unheard of in this country, or at least in the province where I live. I've only seen Halloween celebrations through cartoons and American TV shows, and have always thought how cool it was to be dressing up in fancy costumes and getting candies and chocolates in return.

Fast forward to more than twenty years later, Halloween has become an annual tradition in the Philippines, with parties and events to celebrate the spooks. Although I must admit, this holiday has become a tad too commercialized, and even I have fallen prey to it - lol.

For years, we'd celebrate Halloween by dressing up my son in a costume and taking him to the mall for some trick-or-treat-ing. Here are Yue's costumes through the years:

Halloween 2010.

Yue's first-ever Halloween costume (2010) was a pumpkin. He didn't go trick-or-treat-ing at the mall (he was only two years old then and I thought he would be too young to be doing so), but we did shower him with candies at home.

Halloween 2011.

The following year (2011), we went all-out with his costume and props, and he even entered a costume contest at the mall. His dinosaur get-up won him second place in the Cutest Costume category, by the way. :)

Halloween 2012.

2012 was a tough year for us. Yue got sick several times that year, and was hospitalized thrice between the months of October and November. But he was healthy and well come Halloween, and he dressed up as a Korean prince for the occasion.

Halloween 2014.

We skipped the Halloween festivities in 2013 because we had to attend my godson's birthday party that year. The following year (2014), Yue was back in the game and dressed up as a ninja, a costume that he chose for himself.

Halloween 2015.

In 2015, he went trick-or-treat-ing as Buzz Lightyear. But I'll let you in on a secret... he's not really wearing a costume. Those are PJs, actually, but Yue insisted on wearing them as his 'costume' anyway.

Halloween 2016.

It seemed like we saved the best for last in 2016. Yue dressed up as Darth Vader that year, which would turn out to be his last costume, at least for now. He refuses to wear a costume nowadays, but he still finds joy in trick-or-treating. After all, who would refuse free chocolates and candy?

What diet? Lol!

I was thinking of dressing him up as Finn Balor this year...

Demon King Finn Balor

Should I try this on my baby nephew instead? :)

So how about you, how's your Halloween? I hope your kids had a blast and got tons of candies!

Wordless Wednesday #107 | Little Ninja.

The little man dressed up as a ninja for Halloween.

And came home with a pumpkin filled to the brim!

Foodie Goodie | Spooky Cookie Pops.

Just a few more days 'til Halloween! Are your kids excited to go trick-or-treat-ing this year?
My little man is, as always. He's so looking forward to filling his pumpkin basket to the brim with all sorts of candies and sweet treats.

Now if you're thinking of making some kid-friendly desserts for Halloween, here's a recipe for you. These Spooky Cookie Pops, made with oats, chocolates, and raisins, make great giveaways for the little monsters knocking at your door.

Spooky Cookie Pops

Ingredients:
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1-1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6-ounces (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2-1/2 cups quick oats
1 cup Sun-Maid Natural Raisins
3 dozen craft sticks or popsicle sticks
Decorating glaze (recipe below) or 1 tub vanilla frosting
Colored icing tubes or pens

Procedure:
1. Heat oven to 350 F. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Combine butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla; beat until well blended.
3. Stir in melted chocolate, flour and baking soda. Mix well.
4. Mix in oats and raisins.
5. Space sticks 4-inches apart on baking sheet.
6. Drop a rounded 2-inch ball of dough onto the end of each stick.
7. Butter the bottom of a glass, dip in flour, and gently press cookie dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Repeat with remaining dough.
8. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
9. Cool on pan 3 minutes.
10. Remove with spatula to cool on wire racks.

Decorating Glaze:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1 pound (about 3-1/2 cups) powdered sugar
1. Melt butter in medium saucepan. Add milk.
2. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar. (Sift sugar first if it is lumpy.)
3. Stir vigorously with a fork for 3 to 4 minutes until mixture turns white and opaque. Mixture should be thick, smooth and pourable; add ore milk or sugar if needed.
4. Working quickly before glaze stiffens, generously spoon glaze over cookies allowing excess to run off edges.
5. Let set until dry to the touch. Decorate.

As seen on Sun-Maid Raisins website.

Wordless Wednesday #11 | Happy Halloween!

Trick or treat!
The little man and I hied off to the mall today for some Halloween fun. There's a costume contest, a Halloween parade, and of course, trick or treatin'! Here are some photos from the event.

Happy Halloween, folks! :)