Five Essential Tips to Keep Your Children Safe This Halloween

Halloween is probably the most nerve racking holiday of the year for young parents. Dressing your children up in masks and then setting them out on street to ask for candy from strangers can be a recipe for disaster if you’re not properly prepared. Luckily, it doesn’t need to be a stress-filled evening. It can, and should, be entertaining for both you and your children. To make sure it goes that way, here are five easy tips to make sure your kids stay safe this Halloween.

1. Plan Ahead

The easiest thing you can do as a parent to ensure you have a safe Halloween is to plan ahead a bit. This can be done by going out before the day and planning your route. Check the houses, make sure you won’t be walking through any sketchy parts of town, and ensure you’ll be home at a good time. If, for some reason, you cannot go along with your child to trick or treat, talk with the parent who will be going and make sure you know their route and the plans they will be following.

2. Have One Parent Along

If at all possible, at least one parent should go along with trick or treating youngsters. It’s not only safer to know exactly where your child is, but you can ensure your child stays out of any trouble they could get into when left alone with a mask on and a group of their friends.

3. Stay in Familiar Grounds

The easiest way to keep safe on Halloween is to stay near home. Don’t wander away from roads and houses that you know and don’t ring any doorbells or knock on any doors that are unfamiliar. If you’re lucky, you have a small neighborhood where everyone knows one another. If not, consider some popular alternatives, such as the mall. Each year many retailers will hand out candy to children to ensure they have a safe place to go.

4. Safety First

Safety is vital and even if you’re super cautious, accidents can happen. Make sure to bring a flashlight, as well as glow sticks for your children to carry. Have a first aid kit on hand in case anything happens and always watch for cars. There may be 200 kids and parents on the sidewalks, but it is still night time and there are cars on the streets.

5. Proper Costume Safety

Some costumes can be dangerous if they are not properly altered. This means that you should take some time and add reflective tape or glow patches to the backs and fronts of the costumes to ensure they can be seen from anywhere including the road. If your child is dressed up as Batman, they’re as good as invisible at night. Make sure that there are enough reflectors on them that someone will see them from a good distance away.

If you prepare properly for Halloween, it doesn’t have to be the scary ordeal that it seems to be each year. Use common sense as well, checking the candy your children bring home, and not letting them wander off without you, even if there is another child or parent with them. Taking care, spending time to plan, and not letting the little things sneak up on you will all ensure a happy, fun, safe Halloween.

Choosing the Perfect Halloween Costume for Your Child

Halloween is a very engaging holiday for many parents. It involves going out and purchasing halloween costumes, snacks for school, and plenty of candy to leave with at least one parent back home when the trick or treaters come by. Many parents fret endlessly that their child will not get the right costume or that they may not have enough time to invest into making one or piecing one together. However, it doesn’t need to be so hard. There are plenty of options that can make creating a child’s Halloween costume much easier.

What Does Your Child Like?

The odds are that you have spent at least one Saturday morning watching cartoons with your child and have a vague inkling of which commercials or cartoon shows catch their eyes. If not, don’t fret – a quick trip to the toy store will make it incredibly easy to learn what hot new fad they are invested in at the moment. It’s important that you have a clear idea of what your child likes and what they are willing to dress as. Just because your son likes Spiderman doesn’t mean he necessarily wants to dress as him. Be sure to ask them as well, just so you’re both on the same page.

Store Bought or Home Made?

There are hundreds of easy to buy, prepackaged Halloween costumes out there that your child will love. However, there’s something to be said for making your own or buying a kit that can help you make your own. Craft stores like Michael’s feature dozens of such kits and they only require some fabric and a sewing machine.

If you’re not feeling so thrifty, consider going to your local second hand store or, if you’re a packrat, into your own attic of basement. Old clothing and a bit of creativity can go a long way on Halloween, helping you to save money, and also to create something that you know no other child will be wearing.

For example, you could create a scarecrow costume with a flannel shirt, old patched blue jeans and some stuffing over the stomach. Put a few pieces of straw around the hands and neck and put on a nice wide brimmed hat and your child is set.

This do it yourself motto might be a little harder when you’re dealing with superheros, cartoon characters or pop stars, but don’t be afraid to use your imagination or even do a quick Google search and see what other parents are doing to make their own at-home costumes come together.

The Key to a Perfect Halloween Costume

The key to a good Halloween costume is not whether the other parents are jealous of your hard work or if your child wins a costume contest. It is whether or not your child is able to go out with their friends, get a bit of candy, and have a good time while doing it. If you manage to make that happen, then you should know you’re doing a good job.

How to Save Hundreds of Dollars When Shopping for Halloween

Halloween is almost here again and that means it’s time to go out and spend the requisite small fortune that goes out each year to stock candy bowls, put halloween costumes on your children and take care of any other necessities like school parties or haunted houses. While Halloween might seem like a cash sink each year, it doesn’t have to be. Here are a few quick tips to help you save money and enjoy your holiday that much more in 2010

Make Your Own Costumes

Costumes from the store can be extremely expensive, especially if you’re buying for adults. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on a new Peyton Manning outfit, why not dig up your old high school football jersey and buy some used pads from a thrift store. Get creative and find ways to take shortcuts and save money on your costume. Not only is it more fun to make your own costumes, it will help you stand out when you attend parties.

Keep Children’s Halloween Costumes Hidden

A big problem that many parents face is the dilemma of buying a child’s costume early. Not only is it possible that they will change their mind and want something different eventually, they might decide they want to play in the costume. To counter these possibilities, hide the costume as soon as you buy it and don’t let them talk you into a second option when it gets close to October 31.

Buy Candy in Bulk

Candy can be expensive, especially if you go out and buy it in small bags of 30 or 40 pieces. Instead, go to Costco or Sam’s Club and stock up on as much candy as you can. If you don’t think you’ll need that much, split the price with a relative or neighbor. Almost everyone needs some candy to give out on Halloween – it’s likely they’ll be all for the split. If you end up with extra candy, consider saving it as well – you may find that on Thanksgiving or Christmas you’ll need something extra laying around to hand out.

Decorations on the Cheap

Halloween decorations can seem like an unnecessary expense. Instead of going out a week before Halloween and spending $100+ on them, consider buying them early. Even if you can’t do it this year, go to the store on November 1st next year to load up on decorations early. The second Halloween is over, stores are eager to get their Christmas stock out onto the floor. You’ll find deals of up to 75% off or more sometimes as they clear out the old stuff.

Another good option here is to go online and buy your decorations from direct retailers where prices are greatly reduced. You’ll save money and most of the time will have many more options to choose from.

Halloween doesn’t have to be expensive. With Thanksgiving and Christmas only one and two months afterwards, it’s good to save your money and be prepared for the bigger, more intensive holidays. So, think smart and save early to help make your Halloween more enjoyable and markedly cheaper.

Healthy Halloween Treats

One of the healthiest Halloween snacks of the season are salted pumpkin seeds. When you are carving your pumpkins, save the insides, remove all of the seeds, and rinse them in a large bowl. Once they are rinsed, fill the bowl with warm water and add about 1/4 cup table salt. After the salt is dissolved add your pumpkin seeds, and let the pumpkin seeds sit in the salt water for about an hour. Lay out a few paper towels, remove the pumpkin seeds from the water and let them drip dry for a few minutes. Now lay the pumpkin seeds out on a cookie sheet and spread them around evenly. Bake them in a 325 oven until they have a golden brown color. Make sure you turn and mix them so that tall of the seeds dry out and get baked. Pumpkin seeds are a healthy Halloween snack containing lots of vitamins and healthy oils.

Another relatively healthy Halloween snack is the traditional popcorn ball. These are easy to make and are fun for Halloween parties for kids. The ingredients you will need include three quarters of a cup of light corn syrup, one quarter of a cup of margarine or butter, 2 teaspoons cold water, 2 5/8 cups confectioners sugar, 1 cup marshmallows and 5 quarts of plain popped popcorn. Now add the corn syrup, margarine, confectioners sugar, marshmallows and cold water to a saucepan placed over medium heat. Continue to heat and stir until the entire mixture begins to boil. In a large bowl, mix the popcorn with the hot mixture making sure to coat each kernel.

Use a bit of vegetable shortening to grease your hands lightly and then shape the popcorn into balls being sure to move quickly before the mixture cools. You can now wrap these delightful Holloween snacks with colored cellophane or plastic wrap. Tie the cellophane closed with a seasonal or Halloween themed ribbon for added fun!

The first step in Halloween pumpkin carving is, well, a pumpkin. There are a lot of places to get a good pumpkin. You can pick one up at just about any store during the Halloween. While buying a pumpkin at a store may be convenient, it’s not too much fun. If you want to make your pumpkin picking memorable, just about nothing beats a pumpkin patch.

A pumpkin patch starts your Halloween pumpkin carving out right! There’s loads of really good quality pumpkins. (The biggest and best around.) There’s also Halloween drinks and treats, like apple cider and candy corn, and cool Halloween activities, like hayrides, haunted houses and mazes. A Halloween pumpkin patch is great fun for the whole family.

Once you’ve picked out the perfect pumpkin or pumpkins the next step is getting them carved. You have a couple of choices here. You can go the old fashioned route, using a sharp knife to carve a traditional type of pumpkin face, or you can opt to get a pumkin carving set.

A pumpkin carving set contains a scoop, to clean out the inside of the pumpkin, a punch, to make small holes on the pumpkin and a small saw to cut between the holes you made with the punch. These tools allow you to design and carve some really cool and elaborate designs into your pumpkin. The best part is that, because all the tools are plastic, there is zero risk of anyone getting cut. This means kids can be an active part of the Halloween pumpkin carving experience. How cool!

First, go to your local hardware store and pick up one or two sheets of stiff Styrofoam board. You will also need some gray spray paint and one or two 1/2 inch dowels. Using a sharp serrated knife, and being very careful not to cut your self, realistic gravestone shapes from the Styrofoam board. Spray the outside of the Styrofoam board shapes with the gray spray paint for realistic looking gravestone Halloween party decorations. Use a thick black permanent marker to write names and dates on your fake headstones.

Now, and push them one at a time into your lawn about 6 inches. Take your fake headstone and push it down on to the dowel and there you have a realistic yet inexpensive graveyard for your lawn.

Another idea for inexpensive Halloween party decorations is to stuff adult clothing, shirts, jeans, and shoes or boots, with scrunched up garbage bags to fill them out. Find or purchase an old mannequin head to place at the neck of the shirt. Place a fake knife in your “person’s”chest, and lie him or her your your graveyard or hang him from a tree. This looks very realistic and the shock value is priceless.

Use your imagination to save money on Halloween party decorations by making them yourself. A quick search on Google for “homemade Halloween party decorations” will give you endless options to work with.

One of the best things about Halloween parties is that there are no expectations. Usually, you simply put on a costume and go! Typical Halloween parties tend to be very laid-back affairs with food and drink, good friends and usually a lot of fun. You avoid the stress of other holiday parties that include gift giving, preparing food, and dressing up. Halloween parties are usually just all about the celebration!

If you are attending an adult Halloween party without your children, you may choose to wear a different costume than you would attending a party with your kids. A quick look online will give you many different costume ideas that will be appropriate for an adult party. When attending Halloween parties with your children, you may choose to wear a costume but you usually aren’t expected to. Wearing a costume is always fun though, so why not dress up and be someone else for a day?

Whether you attend several Halloween parties during the autumn season or just decide to throw one yourself, you can be assured of having a great time with friends and family. Autumn is typically a celebration of abundance, and Halloween parties are no exception. So relax, sit back, and enjoy the season by surrounding your self with those you love.

Halloween is one of the most anticipated holidays of the year. And why not? It’s a whole season filled with witches, ghosts and the thoughts of thrills, chills and fun. The run up to the day of Halloween itself is filled with preparation, anticipation and decoration. Yes, decoration. For many people, decorating is a great way to get into the Halloween spirit. One of the most popular Halloween decorations are Halloween lights.

Halloween lights come in a wide variety of shapes and colors. Like other types of holiday lights, Halloween lights can also be used both indoors and outdoors for spooky effect. In short, Halloween lights are inexpensive, reliable and lend a eerie vibe to any setting. Let’s take a closer look at some of the different lights that are available.

One of the first decisions any Halloween decorator needs to make is what color lights to use. Setting the mood is an important part of the Halloween season. Color is an important means to to accomplish this goal. Halloween lighting comes is a wide variety of colors. The two most popular colors, however, are orange and purple. When used alone or together, these traditional Halloween colors are able to create the perfect effect for any party or get together.

The next decision to make is shape. Halloween lights come is a large number of shapes and sizes. One of the most popular shapes is the pumpkin or jack o’ lantern. These lights lend the right orange glow to make anyone get in the Halloween mood. Another popular shape is the spider. These lights usually come in purple and are the perfect color companion to pumpkin orange.

There are other Halloween lighting shapes as well. These include ghosts, witches and bats. There’s even candy corn shaped lights. How much fun is that?

This Halloween, try something a little different. Pick up a couple strands of Halloween lights and get in in that spooky Halloween mood early.

Whether you look at your local discount store or, a department store, or online, you are sure to find many different Halloween jewelry looks. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to show your Halloween excitement this time of year, either. Take a look at your local discount store or dollar store and you’ll see that you have many options to choose from, none of which cost a lot.

A pair of small, dangly jack-o’-lantern earrings and a matching necklace or bracelet are perfect subtle accessories during the autumn season. Or how about a light scarf featuring small pumpkins or ghosts loosely tied around your neck?

Halloween jewelry also makes for great trinket gifts at Halloween parties, whether for adults or children. A visit to your local dollar store will give you many options to choose from., and you won’t end up breaking the bank. Choose fun, age-appropriate jewelry, and place these small prizes and festive Halloween themed treat bags.

One way to let kids have some fun with Halloween jewelry is to help them make their own jewelry by stringing candy corn and popcorn onto a length of yarn, using a blunt yarn needle. With your help and supervision, this could be a fun Halloween party activity and the kids can end up eating what they make!

Get creative and you will find many uses for fun, inexpensive Halloween jewelry! Give small gifts away at the office, your kids play group, or at your next PTA meeting and you will automatically receive lots of brownie points from all your friends.

One of the best ways to have Halloween fun is to go to a pumpkin patch. And pick out a few perfect pumpkins to carve, have fun taking photos of your family at the pumpkin patch, and maybe even take in a hay ride while you’re there! Kids, especially, love going to the pumpkin patch and this is their idea of Halloween fun.

Bobbing for apples is a traditional activity during the autumn season that both kids and adults will enjoy. Add several ripe apples to a large bucket of water and let the Halloween fun begin! Close your eyes, dip your head into the water, and use your teeth (but no hands!) to grab an apple out of the bucket. Use a timer to time each person and the one who gets the apple the quickest, wins!

A great amount of Halloween fun can be had by making your own Halloween decorations. You can make small ghosts by cutting out circles of white fabric and placing a few cotton balls in the center. Now gather the fabric around the cotton balls with the ribbon, effectively making the head of your ghost. Use a black permanent marker to draw a face on these little fabric ghosts and hang them from the branches of the trees around your home using Christmas ornament hangers.

Sometimes the best Halloween fun is also the simplest. Take your family for a drive in the country to see the autumn colors, or stop and go for a walk in the crisp autumn air. It is these types of memories that will last your whole life, because the simplest pleasures are always the best.