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HALLOWEEN
PUNCH FROZEN HAND |
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 Placing
a hand made of ice in a punch bowl as a creepy decoration is
not a new trick. Typically, a latex glove is filled with
water, tied off at the open end and then laid or hung in the
freezer to freeze and turn solid.
The disadvantage to this
method is that when the glove is cut off of the ice hand,
the wrist is just a narrow little nub. Our method allows you
to create an icy hand that actually has a wrist with a flat
end. Before starting, make sure that your freezer is
tall enough to hold the milk carton.
Materials
1 - 1/2 Gallon Milk Carton
1 - Vinyl Glove -
Medium
1 - Plastic 12oz Cup
1 - Stapler with staples
1 - Food Color (optional)
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 The 1/2 gallon cardboard milk
carton will be used as a stand for the hanging glove inside.
It also prevents your
freezer from getting filled with water in the unlikely event
that the glove should break before the water has frozen
solid. Just make sure you rinse it out thoroughly before using.
For the glove we prefer to use a vinyl
non-powdered glove for our frozen hand. Vinyl tends to be
somewhat stronger and less elastic than latex, holding its
shape better. You should clean the inside of the glove out
very well before using. To do this, turn the glove inside
out and wash well with warm soapy water. Let the glove dry,
then return it to its original position by turning it inside
out again.
 Next
you need to cut a plastic cup so that it will fit inside the
top of the glove and act as a temporary sleeve while the
glove is in the freezer. We use a
hard plastic 12 ounce disposable drinking cup. Using a small
pair of scissors, cut off the bottom of the cup.
Next, cut
off the bottom two inches of the cup. You will use this
piece as your glove retaining sleeve. In the picture to the
right we've drawn dashes on the cup to illustrate where it
should be cut.
 Slide the open end of
the glove over the larger end of the plastic sleeve and all
the way up to its top. Then, staple the glove and sleeve
together as shown to the right with six staples.
Lower the glove with the attached sleeve down and into the
milk carton and staple the top edges of the cup to the top
edges of the milk carton with four staples.
This arraignment creates a wrist
as part of the ice hand and allows the water filled glove to
hang safely inside the milk carton.
 You
can make your frozen hand using plain tap water or you can add a
drop or two of food color
to the water before freezing to tint it. When we tint ours,
we try to use a contrasting color to the punch we are
serving so that it will be more visible.
For instance, when
we serve orange colored punch, we give the hand a slightly
green tint by adding a drop of green food color. After
filling the glove up most of the way, place
the whole thing in the freezer over night or until the water has frozen
solid.
 Just
before your guests arrive, fill
your punch
bowl with the
Halloween punch
of your choice, then use scissors to cut down the side of
the glove to release the icy hand. Be sure not
to fill the punch bowl all the way to the top as the hand
will displace some water. Place the frozen hand in the punch
to float on the surface.
The ice hand will melt away over
time depending on the temperature of the punch and the room,
so we usually make two or three and keep them in the freezer
until they are needed.
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