October 2025

October 2, 2025

Happy Halloween!

The SWANtastically spooky season of Halloween is upon us and the Kingdom is excited for Odette and Derek's "Creepy Costume" Ball at the end of the month!

The night will be filled with dancing, games and plenty of delicious food, all with a haunting Halloween twist!

From costume ideas to terrifying treats, we have everything you need to kick start your spooky celebrations!

Have a spook-tacular Halloween!

Keep reading for boo-tiful bakes and a frightfully fun activity!

SWANtastic Costume Ideas

Are you planning to go trick-or-treating this Halloween?

Do you have a costume ready? If not - NO FEAR - why not go as The Swan Princess!

Available in both adult and children sizes, these SWANderful dresses will transform you into Odette - just be on the look out for any sorcerers trying to turn you into a swan!

Click here to buy yours today!

Maybe you have chosen to dress up as a different character from The Swan Princess movies? Whether you paint yourself green and go as JeanBob or equip yourself with a bow and arrow and become Derek, we'd love to see your SWANtastic costumes!

Share your photos on social media or contact us at Odette@SwanPrincessSeries.com

Mummifying Lanterns

ARGH! What's that glowing in the castle?! No fear! It's just some Halloween lanterns that Odette and Alise have made!

These lanterns add a spooktastic glow to a room and really capture the Halloween spirit!

You will need:

• Glass jars

• Bandages

• Glue

• Scissors

• Tea lights (LED or standard)

• Googly eyes

Instructions:

1. Remove the lid from the jar.

2. Glue two eyes to the jar (approx. two thirds of the way up).

3. Unroll your bandages and cut them into thin strips (approx. 1.5cm wide) and trim them so that they are long enough to go around the jar.

4. Use a small bit of glue to stick one end of the first bandage strip to the back of the jar.

5. Wrap the bandage around your jar and glue the other end to the back of the jar (make sure not to go over the eye so your mummy can still see!).

6. Repeat step 5 with additional bandages. Keep some spaces/gaps between the bandages so that the light can shine through. You don't need to make the bandages straight, you can wrap them in diagonal directions too!

7. Add your candle (standard or LED) and watch your mummifying lantern glow!

Boo-tifully Bloody Cake

This creepy cake is perfect for Halloween! Not only does it look ghoulishly great but it also tasted delicious!

Maybe you could add a black cat to the top of your cake too? You can use Number Nine as a model for your design!

Ingredients:

For the Creepy Cake

• 200g plain flour

• 225g caster sugar

• 50g cocoa powder

• 3 large eggs

• 175g soft butter, plus extra for greasing

• 150g low fat plain yogurt, mixed with 2 tbsp milk

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• ½ tsp baking powder

• 1 ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

• ¼ tsp salt

• 1 tbsp red food coloring paste

For the Frightening Fingers and Frosting

• 140g icing sugar

• 300g full fat cream cheese

• 100g soft butter

• 3 standard boxes (114g each) of white chocolate fingers

• Zest of 1 orange

• 2 tsp milk

• small blob of red food coloring paste

Method:

1 Preheat the oven to 350F/180C/160C fan/gas 4.

2. Grease 2 sandwich tins (8in/20cm) and line the base of each tin with baking parchment.

3. In a large bowl, cream together the sugar, butter and vanilla.

4. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. When you have added the final egg, continue beating until the mixture becomes light and fluffy.

5. Beat the coloring into the mixture.

6. Now take another large bowl and mix all of the dry ingredients together.

7. Gently sift half of the dry mixture into your wet mixture and carefully fold together with a spatula.

8. Now fold in half of the thinned yogurt.

9. Repeat step 7 and step 8.

10. Transfer the mixture to the sandwich tins, evenly distributing it between the two. Gently smooth the top of the mixture with a spatula.

11. Bake for 25 mins or until risen and the cakes are slightly springy when gently pressed.

12. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

13. Now we can work on the wicked witch fingers! To start, line a baking tray with parchment.

14. Cut one end off each chocolate finger.

15. In a bowl, mix together the milk, 50g icing sugar and a touch of food coloring to make red icing. Start with a small piece of food coloring and you can keep adding more until you get the desired color.

16. Dip the end of a finger into the icing. Hold it over the bowl for a few seconds after dipping to let any excess drip off then transfer to the baking sheet. Use a paintbrush and the icing to paint on a red fingernail.

17. Repeat step 16 with the remaining fingers.

18. Leave the fingers on the parchment to dry.

19. The next task is to make the frosting! Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth.

20. Now beat the cream cheese and zest into the butter.

21. Gently sift the icing sugar into the butter mixture and fold it in until smooth.

22. Allow the icing to chill until you are ready to use it.

22. Place your first cake onto a plate and add a layer of frosting to the top.

23. Add the second cake to the top, sandwiching the cake layers together.

24. Cover the top and sides with more icing.

25. Take your "fingers" and gently push them into the icing (standing upright) all around the side of the cake.

26. Place any leftover fingers on the top of the cake or create your own spooky design.

27. Store the cake in the fridge and remove shortly before serving (so that the cake is around room temperature).

Trick-or-Treat Truffles

These truffles make a great game of tasty trick or treat. All of them look the same but some of them might have a trick in store - the only way to find out which ones are tricks and which are treats is to taste one!

Ingredients:

• 200g dark chocolate

• 100ml double cream

• 5 capers drained

• 5 small sour fizzy sweets

• 1 olive

• cocoa powder/chocolate melts/chocolate sprinkles and other decorations, for rolling

Method:

1. First, chop your dark chocolate into small pieces.

2. Cut the olive into 5 pieces.

3. Drain the capers and rinse well before patting them dry.

4. Pour the double cream into a pan and gently allow it to heat up until it just reaches a boil.

5. Add the chocolate to the cream whilst it is hot.

6. Stir the cream until all of the chocolate has completely melted and you are left with a smooth mixture.

7. Allow the chocolate and cream mix to cool to one side before transferring it to the fridge for 2 hours (or until solid).

8. Remove the mixture from the fridge.

9. Scoop out a teaspoonful of the chocolate mix and push either a sweet, caper or olive piece into the center before rolling the truffle into a ball, making sure the filling is hidden.

10. Repeat step 9 with the remaining mixture until you have used all of your fillings (if you have any mixture left over, you can make some plain truffles).

11. Roll the truffles in cocoa or sprinkles.

12. Chill until you are ready to serve them to your guests.

This month we are celebrating the birthday of our good friend Number Nine also known as Jasper! This makes his zodiac sign the Libra and his birthstone rose quartz.

Libra is represented by the symbol of the scales reflecting Librans need for balance in all things.

Librans high value of balance means they are always working to create harmony, peace, and justice in the world.

This does not mean they are always working for the greater good, however. It does mean that they dislike conflict and will develop and use any skills needed to keep the peace, keep everyone happy, and ensure justice as according to them.

These skills often include their charm, intelligence, frankness, and powers of persuasion.

Librans often find that the key to finding this balance they crave is in fostering positive relationships with those closest to them.

Librans are very indecisive as they consider many different opinions and many different perspectives before making their final choice. They consider all consequences as they would rather not make a decision than disturb the delicate balance of peace.

When conflict eventually does arise Librans are one of the the most talented at resolving it. They rely on their charm and wit to diffuse the situation and prefer to just fix the problem themselves.

Rose quartz is a crystal that symbolizes unconditional love. Love for oneself and love for others. Rose quartz could be worn to boost self confidence and encourage stability in relationships.

We think this all sounds just like Number Nine!