When you want to host a memorable Halloween Party, there are several items that must not be omitted from your list of Halloween Party ideas.

Halloween party ideas means the plans outlined for the social gathering at the celebration of Halloween that will make it a wonderful occasion of pleasure and amusement.

Below are top ten (10) Halloween party ideas.

1. Home Decorations: There must be Halloween pictures and objects that will line up the front-door, the walls, the ceiling, and even on the floor. The windows and other glasses must have spooky items to match.
2. Costumes for people: You have to decide the type of Halloween garments to put on. What of the kids? Are you shopping downtown or on the Internet? What of the other accessory wears and the hairstyle?
3. Masks: There are bundles of Halloween masks to choose from. For adults, the more scary, the better.
4. Pumpkin Carved into a jack-o-lantern: This is one of the most important aspects of the Halloween.
5. Recipes/Treats: The meals must be real treats. Thus ordinary sweets purchased from the grocery shop down the street may not make the impression you desire.
6. Drinks: There must be enough to drink for the party as the people celebrate.
7. Music: You have to arrange for some sounds (music) that will fill the air.
8. Games/greeting cards: Please do not forget to plan for the Halloween games and greeting cards.
9. Tricks/story telling: The Halloween is a season of “treats and trick”. Thus you need to learn some magic for the occasion and lots of ghost stories to be told to the children.
10. Fortune telling: There is need for some “divination” concerning marriages, health, luck, and death.

Planning the party for the first time? Ask your friends and family members to help you or someone who has an experience or who can do better. You must have some ideas in your mind. Not them together and prioritize them later. Keep a brainstorming session if you have some other people with you. This will not only make you feel relaxed but will also bring up new ideas. If you are working all alone, you might want to shout on other people out of frustration, which nothing but natural.

The date of the Halloween party is normally placed somewhere in the last week of October. Because the other guests might have other plans for Halloween, you could either setup the party at an earlier date or time. The invitation for the guests should be given sometime around the last 2 weeks of September where they can still find time to prepare for the costumes to be used at the party. For couples, a Halloween couples costumes might need some careful selection and some may even decide to have it custom made, unlike the Halloween sexy costumes that can be easily found in shops and stores.

If some of the guests that you invited are working during the morning hours, you will probably have to make a deal with the costume shop for those guests who prefer it like that. You can mention the address and the contact number of the shop form where you rented the Halloween sexy costumes or are available at a special price only for your guests. This will also ensure that they do not turn up in a wrong attire as the shop owner will provide them with the costumes matching with the selected theme.

The invitation should give a hint of what to expect in the Halloween costume party. It is a plus to be able to spook the guests at this point, so they will expect more when they arrive at the party. A lame looking invitation can be a factor for the invited guests on whether to come or not. A well prepared and scary invitation card will surely raise their curiosity which will make them want to see more. Also, it should indicate on the card what to expect for those who will come in complete Halloween attire and to expect the unexpected for those who won’t come dressed to the occasion!

The food should look spooky and scary in a Halloween party but at the same time should also taste good. Covering the soup with flour or something edible making it look like eyeballs, cocktails with blood red color, cakes covered with slime green color can really add to the magic of the party. Play safe and prepare some finger food or bat crackers bust in case no one dares to touch the food.

Halloween without prizes? Keep in mind that it is one of the many essential reasons that persuade the guests to attend the party. Halloween sexy costumes grab hold the prize most of the times. But now a days cute bubbly and funny looking costumes are competing with these. Also Halloween couple’s costume, if well prepares can win the race!

Make sure that you enjoy the party to the fullest as it is the most important aspect of the party. Try to wear a scary mask if you were not able to arrange for a costume as its not the costume that’s important, but the enjoyment and the your company.

As the owner of a leading adult costumes store, Raymond Plona markets different costumes as well as costume accessories like hat and wigs for costumes for example. His site regularly features clearance costume sale on items like angel costumes, pirate costumes, Disney princess costumes, just to name a few.

#1: My children end up eating too much candy.

Solution: Limit the amount of candy your kids collect, rather than attempting to stop them from eating it once they have it.

#2: My children and I endure endless negotiations about how much candy they can eat and when they can eat it.

Solution: Try something crazy: just let them eat their candy! It’s not only easier, it’s often healthier to let your children decide for themselves how much to eat and when they want to eat it. Why?

#3 – My child seems overly-interested in sweets, candy and junk food, and I want to make sure that Halloween candy doesn’t encourage this interest.

Solution: Use Halloween as an opportunity to teach your kids to be “picky junk food eaters.”

#4 – But, candy is junk food and I want to make sure all this candy doesn’t harm their health.

Solution: Feed your children extra nutritious food for meals and snacks! Eating all that candy really won’t hurt kids… if you make sure they are also getting the protein, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients their bodies need.

Ellie Taylor, RN and Pamela Gould are the authors of Feeding the Kids: The Flexible, No-Battles Healthy Eating System for the Whole Family. It’s the new book that will make feeding your family a (mostly!) nutritious diet do-able, simple and even fun. The book is available at Amazon.com and at bookstores nationwide. Go to http://www.FeedingTheKids.com to find out more.

Six Flags over Texas Fright Fest, Arlington

Giggle with the ghouls at this family-friendly event. While some attractions may be too intense for very young children, scare-free zones are provided.

Nightmare Factory, Austin

Your fate is in your hands as you choose which way to turn along the path at the Nightmare Factory mansion, which has been scaring folks in the capital city for nearly 20 years. Dubbed “the most terrifying haunted house in Texas,” this attraction is not for the faint of heart.

6th Street Halloween, Austin

As the moon begins to rise over the capital city, Austinites gather along a seven-block stretch to cavort in costume. This event is one of the world’s largest Halloween celebrations.

Dallas ScareGrounds, Dallas

Celebrating its 10th season of scares, this Halloween haunt houses three terrifying attractions in a 23,000-square-foot venue. Dallas ScareGrounds also offers a FestEvil featuring a series of live bands.

Boo at the Fort Worth Zoo, Fort Worth

This family-friendly event combines the fun of an evening zoo visit with the excitement of trick or treating. Lions and tigers greet young ghosts and goblins in three sections of the zoo; along with trick or treat stations, the event includes stage shows and plenty of carnival games.

Cutting Edge Haunted House, Fort Worth

Billed as the world’s largest haunted house, your screams will echo inside this former meat packing plant. Texas Chain Saw Massacre ghosts will terrify visitors, and jolly old Saint Nick will never look the same after an encounter with Santa’s spooky specter.

Terror on The Bayou, Jefferson

The train whistle mimics the screams of the passengers who dare to climb aboard the Runaway Fright Train, which makes a five-mile trek through the Piney Woods. Family-friendly trips are scheduled for the early evening hours, while a PG-13 version is available as the clock creeps closer to the witching hour. Other attractions include a haunted forest walk, the Creepy Screamin’ Maze and the underground Tunnel of Terror.

Nightmare on Grayson, San Antonio

Scaring citizens of the Alamo City for nearly 20 years, this haunted attraction also features the family fun of FestEvil, a carnival-style atmosphere complete with flame throwers, a magician, face painting and tarot card and palm readings.

Thrillvania/ Verdun Manor, Terrell

Considered one of the top haunted attractions in the nation, creatures at the thrill park’s many different attractions lie in wait to send a shiver up your spine. The horror of “The Island of Dr. Moreau” is conjured up inside haunted Verdun Manor, and the surrounding grounds are no safer as you make your way through Voodoo Bayou.

Screams Halloween Theme Park, Waxahachie

As All Hallows Eve nears, the grounds of Scarborough Renaissance Festival are transformed into the World’s Largest Halloween Theme Park, where medieval mayhem awaits those who dare to enter the Castle of Darkness, the venue’s most popular attraction. Anarchy reigns inside the Arcane Asylum, while a crazed clown causes chaos at Terror Visions In 3D and time traveling trick- or-treaters can get sucked into The Black Hole and encounter a T-Rex and history’s most notorious night stalker, Jack The Ripper. Little ones can enjoy the park’s fear-free zone, Spooky Hollow.

Travel writers and husband-wife team Paris Permenter and John Bigley are the publishers of Texas Tripper Travel Guide at http://www.TexasTripper.com.

Don’t worry, I am not going to proselytize about how you should not give out candy this year. On the contrary, I believe that if you are going to participate in Halloween, you should do it all out. One night a year, I am ok with the free flowing unrestricted distribution of the “white powder” (aka: sugar).

However, some of you will resist the pull of sweets and try to give out alternative treats. Here then are a few guidelines to help you make your Halloween decisions easier. Proceed with caution; your choice of Halloween treats should never be taken lightly

Fruit – Let me start out by stating it plain: Fruit has no place on Halloween. 364 other days of the year, sure, get healthy. But on Halloween, you should never give out apples instead of candy. Or boxes of raisins (Ewwwwww!). No kid, no child, no one, nobody, nowhere wants a piece of fruit in their Halloween bag. They can get fruit from their parents! Plus, fruit is heavy! If you’re walking around from house to house all night, the last thing you want is an apple orchard in your bag.

Do you really think you are somehow inspiring change? You are not. You might be inspiring hundreds of apples to be dumped on your lawn, or hurled at other trick or treaters (not that I would know anything about that). If you really don’t want to buy into the Halloween obesity machine, then go with the lesser of two evils and give out money or gift certificates. If you are going to be truly obstinate, then you can try other non-candy options: bags of Goldfish (the crackers, not the animal, though if you did give out water filled bags with little Nemos in them, I would certainly applaud your initiative), pretzels, and even non-food items like stickers or crayons. Can’t say I would be too happy myself getting crayons or stickers, but I wouldn’t hate you like if you gave me an apple.

Money – Overall, giving out money is a pretty poor strategy. When I was a kid, if someone gave change, the thought process was, “come on! Where’s the candy!” Kids will think you were too lazy to go out and buy a few bags of candy (and they might be right). You would have to give out a decent amount of money to make them appreciate it. The rare dollar bill would elicit an, “ok, that’s cool,” but then you could blow through a week’s paycheck in your quest to not give out candy.

There is a very interesting business lesson here. While the real value of the money you are giving out is greater than the cost of the small piece of candy, the perceived value is actually much less. You may whine and moan about how the kids should be happy that they are getting money, and that they can then use that money to buy whatever they want, but most kids won’t see it that way. Most adults wouldn’t see it that way either…

Lesson: Your logic is meaningless. All that matters is what the customer perceives.

Then there are the people who give pennies and nickels. I won’t deign to comment on you.

Gift Certificates – Gift certificates are a safe and simple way to give stuff out. Unfortunately, they take away the immediate gratification element of Halloween. It’s like when a well meaning aunt gives you a U.S. Treasury Bond on your eighth birthday – it’s all very nice and practical, but you can’t very well unwrap it and go play with it that day. (can you guess that this happened to me?) And now the child will have to convince his parents to let him go to McDonalds to redeem his coupon, which can more difficult than trying to convince Britney Spears to have a modicum of self-respect. Of course, once you are there you’ll be tempted to buy a value meal. Talk about the fattening of America! You’ve gone from small pieces of candy to full blown fast-food meals. It gets worse and worse.

Toothbrushes and Floss – Hard to believe, but it happens. I would love to be inside of the head of someone who makes the decision to give out toothbrushes on Halloween. “Hey, I know! Kids are going to be eating all sorts of candy tonight, and if I give them a toothbrush then at least they won’t get cavities! I am so brilliant and clever!”

Come on. You do realize you are accomplishing nothing, right? The kids already have toothbrushes at home. If they are not brushing their teeth, your little brush is not going to make them suddenly dentally responsible. No child is going to look at your brush and say, “hey, maybe I should give some consideration to the health of my bicuspids.” In fact, no child will even give your brush a second look. Mom will take the toothbrush and throw it into the medicine cabinet for future use. You have essential helped a family with their sundry shopping.

I don’t care if you are a dentist, dental hygienist, work for Oral-B, or are Laurence Olivier from “Marathon Man;” save the toothbrushes for the office.

Informational Pamphlets – I read a comment from someone who said that in his neighborhood there were two houses that would hand out pamphlets explaining why Halloween is Satanic. I don’t need to make a joke here, it kind of writes itself. The only thing worse would be getting an informational pamphlet about proper brushing and flossing.

Which would still be better than fruit.

Candy – The best choice. However, I think it’s time that we, as a society, standardized on candy choices. I remember some Halloween nights coming home and feeling like I had a huge bag filled with candy, but when I dumped it out there was at least 50% of inedible dreck in there. It’s like being excited to go a blind date with someone your friend has been hyping up to you, only to find yourself sitting in a restaurant across from Sloth from the Goonies (I’m sure he/she has a great personality).

There are too many great candy choices out there to justify giving out nonsense. You can’t go wrong with Snickers, Hershey’s Twix, Reese’s, M&M’s, Nestle’s Crunch, Kit Kats, etc.

And yet, for Halloween, people give out candy that is the equivalent of Christmas fruitcake. Nobody likes it, nobody eats it, and nobody even understands it. I propose a ban on the following: O’Henry, Payday, Smarties, Now and Laters, Circus Peanuts, and 90% of anything manufactured by Brach’s.

Here’s a rule of thumb: Next time you are in a supermarket or convenience store, take a look at the candy section. Not the bulk candy aisle, but the individual candy bars section, like at the checkout. If the candy you are planning to give out on Halloween warrants a place on that aisle, you are usually safe giving it out (Paydays being the exception, of course). If not, well, there’s a reason that candy isn’t popular enough to be sold on its own…

And now it is time to discuss candy corn. Another Brach’s specialty. What the heck is up with candy corn? It’s like the Great Pumpkin: it only comes out at Halloween, no one knows where it comes from or what it really is, and only one or two kids in the entire world anticipate its arrival. It tastes like fermented plastic. And no one ever, *ever* buys candy corn for themselves. Have you ever been hanging out with friends or family and heard somebody say, “You know what I could go for right now? A giant bag of candy corn”? Ever? Me either. It’s the “Soylent Green” of Halloween candy.

If you are sitting there considering sending me an angry email saying, “I love candy corn!” then stop, step away from the keyboard, and go see a doctor. You have eaten too much of it, and the alien chemical components of the candy corn must have seeped into your brain and impaired your judgment.

The candy corn manufacturers must have the world’s best marketing department because year after year they get people to buy this stuff even though no one likes it. There’s a lesson there: Even if your product is terrible, you can still sell it.

Have a great, happy, and safe Halloween, and please, give out your treats with caution.

***

Avish Parashar is a dynamic keynote speaker who uses Improv Comedy to show organizations and individuals how to quickly make the most of whatever life throws at them. He weaves together humorous stories, witty observations, and interactive exercises from improvisational comedy to get people laughing, learning, and motivated!

Get free humor articles and see video clips of Avish in action at http://www.AvishParashar.com/

Halloween remains one of my most favorite nights. Coming from a large family, we had the safety part of our Halloween Evenings down. Here’s a lifetime (all 32 years of it) of Halloween Safety Tips for you and your family to use. I’m using them this Halloween as I go as a plus size sexy Venus in my Halloween Costume. My daughter was thinking of going as a regal Hera!

The Costumes themselves seem to cause the most problems:

- Take a good look at the costume. Is it safe? Is it fire proof? Are the eye holes large enough to see through, and, allow peripheral vision?

- Are there long flowing robes tailling behind your little one that may get caught in the shoes…or entangled in the trick-or-treater behind him?

- Is the costume bright and reflective? Consider adding a bit of reflective tape or striping to costumes and trick-or-treat bags for greater visibility.

- If your child is carrying some type of prop, such as a scythe, butcher knife or a pitchfork, ensure that the tips are smooth and flexible enough to not cause injury if fallen on.

- Place emergency identification (name, address, phone number) discreetly within the costume or on a bracelet. This is a great time to teach your young ones your home phone number and how to dial 9-1-1 if they have an emergency or become lost. Remind them that 9-1-1 can be dialed free from any phone.

- Unless there’s one built in, have your young one carry a flashlight. Make sure each child has a flashlight with fresh batteries. Bring along some chemical lightsticks just in case. Also, this would be a great time to buy fresh batteries for your home smoke alarms.

Safety around the house is also important:

- If you’ve put out jack-o-lanterns on your porch with candles in them, then get on your knees and see the perspective a youngster might have on Halloween. Ensure that those jack-o-lantern’s are far enough out of the way to prevent kids costumes from accidentally being set on fire. This would be a great time to review with your children the principle of “Stop-Drop-Roll”, should their clothes catch on fire.

- Since you’re already on your knees, make that extra effort to eliminate tripping hazards on your porch and walkway. Check around your property for flower pots, low tree limbs, support wires or garden hoses that may prove hazardous to young children rushing from house to house.

- Kids always want to help with the pumpkin carving. Don’t allow small children to use a sharp knife to cut the top or the face. There are many kits available that come with tiny saws that work better than knives and are even safer too, although you can be cut by them. It’s best to let the kids clean out the pumpkin and draw a face on it, which you can carve for them.

- Look over the candy your children received tonight. Have them dump it out all in different parts of a large room so they won’t complain about their sister or brother’s candy getting mixed in with theirs…. Now, look at it closely, all of it. No fruits (razor blades), No torn packages, no “loose-fit” wrappers, nothing that’s suspicious. You must do this as the little ones are simply too concerned about eating it than inspecting it for themselves!

Now, although this is a great bit of advice, it technically has nothing to do with safety…but it could prevent your kids from getting sick on over ingesting all that collected booty: Jedi Mind Trick #1. Make Halloween really fun. Take the kids out to eat before the trick-or-treating kicks off. Let them get filled up at dinner, and they probably won’t be tempted to burn through their booty of candy at the end of the night.

Happy Halloween!

Would you like more tips or safety advice? Even though I’m going as a Plus Size Venus Halloween Costume there are some safety tips speifically for all of us wearing our best plus size sexy venus costumes!

I started this adventure in Sept 2006. Yes, it was over a month away, but I wanted to make sure I had enough time and balanced the expenses though several paychecks. Since the ages ranged from 1-9 years i wanted to do something creepy but not so terrifying it would give the kids nightmares. Each room (and outside) had a special theme. Here’s how we did it:

The Decorations

Haunted House: double sided tape and black plastic. Go to the $1.00 store and find as many lawn bags as possible. Cut the ends and open them up. Tape them to the walls, ceiling and floors. Use a black light in the hall, and put bubble wrap under the black plastic for that crunching effect. Double sided tape works great because you can really cover the edges without the tape showing.

I wanted the fog effect, but I was worried the kids would either play with the fog machine or trip over buckets of water and dry ice. I was also on a budget. So I took 2 corner heavy duty planters and screwed them up at the top of the corners. Just before the kids went into the haunted house, I put a small piece of dry ice and filled it full of hot water. It was a great effect because the fog looked like it was falling down the walls.

Throughout the hallway, I took rubber bats (another $1.00 store find) and stuck them with a needle and black thread so they would hang. Since I wanted some bats lower than others for the kids to walk though, I needed to find a way to hang them without thumb tacks. So double sided tape again!! That way if they fell out, no one would get hurt. You could also use the same tactic with plastic spiders, ghosts or any other decoration.

Buggy Bathroom

This one was great. My daughter collects plastic animals, so it was easy for us. I asked her to collect all the “creepy animals” in her room. (snakes, bugs, spiders etc) With more double sided tape, we just stuck them all over the walls. For heavier animals, I used heavy duty double sided tape made for pictures. Just be careful, because it can pull off the paint on your walls when you remove them. A good way to avoid that would be to stick the bugs on pieces of plywood and then hang the pieces up on the walls with a picture frame hanger.

For effect, we put spider webs all over the ceiling and left the tub dripping. I put another corner planter filled with dry ice for fog and used battery operated candles to make it kid friendly. Never use real candles in a haunted house!! You don’t want costumes catching on fire.

The kids thought it was great… but be prepared! You will need another bathroom for the kids that are too scared.

Enchanted Forest

We couldn’t figure out how make my daughter’s room scary. She first wanted to have a man eating jungle, but I had no idea how to pull that off. So after lots of research, I decided to create a MAN EATING TREE out of paper mache.

To complete the room, we used fake ivy, trees, dried spanish moss and whatever else we could find that looked like a plant. I hung the decorations up with thumb tacks, trailing down the walls and on the celing. I also used dark green spooky fabric you can find during Halloween time ($1.00 store find).

I also added a fake witch. The witch was made by taking a long black dress of my daughters, stockings and long boots I had in my closet. We stuffed it filled with newspaper to give it a body shape. I added a head by using a green balloon, mask, wig and a old witch costume hat from last year’s costume. I had a difficult time making sure the head was straight, but I taped it to the back of the chair. Ironically, during the party, the head “fell off” and scared the big kids!

I wanted to add a “dead body” in her bed by stuffing men’s clothing and using a bit of red paint where the head would be on the newspaper. I figured the little kids wouldn’t be in her room, so it was OK to add more gore. Unfortunately, we ran out of time.

We added a table and added a witches kitchen. I used a small cauldronn with dry ice, fake rats, snakes and a brain. I wanted to create “magic potion” by using yellow hi-lighter ink (soak it in water) and it glows under a black light. Once again, I ran out of time, so we just used food coloring and water in jars with labels.

Ghost Room:

My son was only 2 and 1/2 at the time. So I wanted to find something fun for his room. With the magic of wire hangers, white plastic bags, tape and a pen I created a circle of ghosts dancing around a fire. Our GHOSTIES were cute but not too scary for the little ones.

Animal Graveyard

Since there were little kids, I didn’t want to be too gruesome. I thought a human graveyard might be over the top, but what about a animal graveyard??

I made HEADSTONES, picked up a sack of dirt and made the kids find old stuffed animals I could toss once the party was over. We wrapped a toad in toilet paper for a mummy, dug a hole and buried an animal except for his arm, used the rabbit ears off a rabbit headband costume so the ears would just stick out of the ground and cut holes in a teddy bear and pulled some stuffing out to make him into a zombie. On the gravestones, we wrote very silly epithets.

• “Poor Ms Snake, made a big mistake, Greeted the Gardener with a long rake”
• “Here lies Hoppy. One day he went floppy”
• “Ode to the Toad, that was too slow on the road”
• “Mr Bear – He got a fish-bone in his throat, which made him sing an angel’s note”
• “Melinda the Cat. Was just too fat. Drank water from a pool but fell and went splat”

The Games Since the haunted house was such a big hit, I did not plan many games. Mummy Wrap

Ages: All ages What you need: toilet paper

Preparation: None

How to play: Break out into pairs of two. One person is the wrapper and the other person is the mummy. Have 2 parents be the judges. Whoever is the best mummy wins!

Find the monster

Ages: 3 and under

What you need: helium white balloons and 1 colored balloon, pens, string, boxes, paper

Preparation:Gather the amount of boxes you need for the number of little kids. Write large numbers (I used a printer) and tape the papered numbers on each box. In each white balloon make them into ghosts by creating the eyes and mouth. On the colored balloon draw a monster face. Put the balloons in each box once they are filled with helium. Create number slips corresponding to each box. (Note: you can use streamers for the ghosts, but I found it weighted the balloons too much and they didn’t float. Also wait until the party is close to starting so the balloons do not deflate)

How to play: Give each child a number. All at once, have them open the boxes. The object is to have the ghosts float to the top and whoever has the monster wins.

Scavenger Hunt

Ages: All ages.

(Warning: little kids maybe knocked over by big kids. Take turns by age group)

What you need:Halloween items for them to find (spiders, eyeballs, etc)

Preparation: Strategically place Halloween items around the house. This worked great for the haunted house because the objects blended in with the decorations. Create a list (or several lists) for the kids to use during the hunt.

How to play: Elect a parent to be the “home base” for each team. The parent can also assist in counting. Whoever has the most items wins.

Costume Contest

Ages: All ages.

What you need: 3 jars and with a pad of paper and a pen

Preparation: Place an area where people can “vote”.

How to play: During the party, direct people to the table to vote for the costume contest. At the end of the party, announce the winners and hand out prizes.

The Food

I just wanted spooky snacks for the kids. I created little signs for each platter.

In the end, the hard work paid off. The kids had a great time, so did the parents. I was happy to know I carried on the tradition. I only hope my daughter will do the same when she is a mom.

Going Nuts is a family service owned and operated by Kimberly. She works to parter with like minded businesses offering support, tips and tricks, and innovative ideas for parents. For more information please visit [http://going-nuts.net]

Before leaving the house, every person going out to Trick-or-Treat should be dressed appropriately. Begin by making sure attire is weather appropriate. The cooler the temperature, the more layers needed to keep warm. These layers should be easily removed as not to interfere with the costume if it gets too warm. Any masks being worn should fit so that vision is not obscured in any way. Children can’t be expected to be completely safe if surroundings can’t be seen easily. Batman and Darth Vader costumes are popular this year, and their dark cloaks can make seeing trick-or-treaters almost impossible after the sun has set. Take the ultimate safety precaution by purchasing reflective tape and place it on the back of the costume, which can be done without changing the appearance or effect of the costume. It also helps to add reflective tape to the side of shoes to add extra reflective surfaces. If a car approaches your child from any direction, enough reflective tape will give your child shape and the driver will be able to see the children. Glow sticks and other accessories are also great ways to make sure you and your child can be seen in the dark.

When moving from house to house, children should refrain from walking in-between parked cars and ideally, should only cross the street at crosswalks. Some neighborhoods are easier to navigate than others, but it is always better to visit houses on one side of the street at a time. Keeping on sidewalks and driveways and refraining from grass and other soft areas will help prevents slips, trips, and falls. Holes and dips in the ground are hard to see in covered areas. Blacktop and concrete surfaces should be used for navigation as much as possible.

Only visit houses that are inviting. Houses without a light at the door or front porch, or without any light from jack-o-lanterns or other means or decoration should not be included in the list of houses to visit. Not only is it not safe, but obviously the tenants do not want visitors.

Although neighborhoods with larger houses in prominent areas are more appealing, it can be tiresome for smaller children. These houses take longer to go from door to door, ultimately causing small children to tire more quickly. If you drive to a neighborhood to visit, try to pick one with houses that are closer together to make the trip more productive with less walking.

Some of the best places to trick-or-treat isn’t necessarily in a neighborhood going from door to door. Churches, malls and shopping center strip-malls often offer treats to those who stop by. Churches often offer forms of entertainment like “Trunk-or-Treating,” where the parking lot of the Church is filled with vehicles where drivers give out candy from their decked-out truck beds and lawn chairs next to their cars. These are wonderful places to take children because the people giving candy may already be a friend, therefore giving parents a more trusted source of treats. Parents are also able to socialize and have some fun themselves, too!

We all know of the importance of screening the candy our children receive during Trick-or-Treating. Some communities offer free screenings with X-ray devices, which is an ideal way to make sure the stereotypical metal object hasn’t been inserted into your child’s candy. In addition to screenings, parents should check each piece of candy thoroughly before consumption. All candy should be wrapped or packaged well without any tears or punctures. Make sure the wrapper on the candy is still secure and bags are free of puncture marks or tears. If candy looks like it has been tampered with in any way, be sure to discard immediately.

Whether you decide to stay home and give out candy, or take a stroll or drive to your favorite haunts, be sure safety is first, no matter what! Enjoy your Halloween!

Copyright 2005 by Rachael Towle

This article may be republished for web content as long as the author information, bylines, and active links are included.

Rachael Towle is a mom and owner of several family friendly websites, including Parenting Message Boards. You can read more about her and her websites at http://www.TowleCreations.com

Costumes and masks often involve new sensations against the skin and body that a child may find repulsive. Experiment beforehand with any make-up, masks, wigs, or hats and see if the child can truly tolerate them for a few hours. For a costume, consider working from the basic pieces of a soft, cotton top and bottom, such as a sweatsuit or pieces of clothing purchased at a used clothing store or pulled from his play clothes pile. Add elements and props that he can hold or wear comfortably. Start looking for a costume early, when the selection is best. Purchase a used costume or costume elements through eBay, second hand shops, and Craigs List to keep your costs down because after trying a costume for a few minutes, your child may realize it is too tight, scratchy, or uncomfortable in some other way.

Treats with plenty of sugar and artificial colors and flavors should be limited for all children, but kids with sensory issues are often more sensitive to these substances. Let her gather all her loot post trick or treating and choose the favorites, then have the rest mysteriously disappear overnight (maybe after using them as math counters!). Or hoard it to use a piece at a time as rewards for overcoming challenges, doing extra chores, or use in therapy. If your child has an occupational therapist or speech therapist, speak to this professional about the possibilities. For example, sour candies in particular can be good for helping a child with poor self-regulation who is stuck in the “loose and floppy” mode to become more alert so she can focus and attend to homework or school work.

If your child has food allergies and intolerances, skip the highly processed, sugary treats altogether. Have a party instead of going Trick or Treating, and provide healthy, fun snacks and nonfood items such as stickers, pencils, and small toys.

Offer opportunities to escape from the noise and bustle of a party or trick or treating. A quieter street to walk down or an empty bathroom or bedroom where she can regroup will help her avoid sensory overload. Let her know what to expect from the occasion, from kids jostling her in doorways and running past her on the street to scary sounds and lighting changes like strobe lights at a Halloween party. And consider celebrating Halloween at a nature center, zoo, or cultural center with a quieter, more structured program, or having a small party at home.

You may want to use this opportunity to talk about fears and how to manage them. Books such as Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley, featuring a monster the younger child constructs then deconstructs as he turns the pages, can help ease anxiety about monsters and other scary creatures.

And if you do not celebrate Halloween, or your child finds it too scary, consider creating an occasion to give her the “just right” challenge of dressing in unfamiliar clothing and using her imagination to pretend she is someone else for a short time. Costumes and dress-up play encourage young children to break out of cause-and-effect, parallel play and graduate to cooperative, imaginative play, which are important developmental skills. Whatever you do on October 31, please be sensory smart and understanding of your child with sensory issues.

Copyright © 2009 Nancy Peske

Nancy Peske is an author and editor and the parent of a child who at age 2 was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder and multiple developmental delays. Coauthor of the award-winning Raising a Sensory Smart Child: The Definitive Handbook for Helping Your Child with Sensory Processing Issues, available from Penguin Books, Nancy offers information and support on her blog and website at http://www.sensorysmartparent.com She has been active in the SPD community since 2002.

Below I have listed just 15 of the many ideas that individuals and families everywhere can implement to make this holiday fun, meaningful, and memorable:

1) Make October 1 st ‘Pumpkin Carving’ day. Each family member gets their own pumpkin to carve (or decorate).

2) ‘Halloween Give’ – The day after Halloween, have your kids pick out a few candies and go give them to: kids at the hospital or orphanage, new kids in the neighborhood, children at a homeless shelter, etc.

3)’Phantom Halloween’ – Choose a local family who is in need and collect clothes, toys, books, and especially lots of candy – and leave it on their doorstep secretly with a note. Or just choose a friend or neighbor and leave a treat for them from the ‘phantom ghost.’

4) Dress up in a costume and act as a prop, or hide in dark clothes – and scare the older ‘trick or treaters’ as they come to your house.

5) ‘Donuts and Hot Chocolate’ – sit out on the porch every year and have donuts and hot chocolate as you pass out candy.

6) ‘Costume Party’ – Invite friends, family, or neighbors over and have a dress-up costume party.

7) Take a picture of the kids in their costume each year.

Each year, visit a local pumpkin patch, haunted house, or corn maze together as a family.

9) Just have fun! Dress up as you pass out candy, try to scare kids, or ask kids to do a ‘trick’ before getting a treat (and then when they place their bag down to do the ‘trick’ – take it and run inside).

10) Do a neighborhood ‘trunk or treat’ for the smaller children. Go to the local school, church, or parking lot and everyone will park their car in a circle and decorate their trunks. The smaller kids then walk around the circle of cars and collect candy.

11) Make some pumpkin pies or cookies (with orange frosting) and deliver them to neighbors, family, friends, or those in need.

12) Watch a scary movie or read a scary story together.

13) Take a drive as a family one night before Halloween to just look at houses that are decorated around town.

14) The day after Halloween, go as a family and spend an hour or two cleaning up smashed pumpkins from the streets in your neighborhood.

15) Family Game Night – after all the kids come back from ‘trick or treating,’ just spend time together as a family playing games, watching a scary movie, and just having fun eating candy and being together.

As is obvious, the fun of Halloween is actually not in the ‘trick-or-treating’, the candy, or the scary costumes and parties; Halloween is fun and is meaningful because we spend time with friends, neighbors, and family. And although the media, movies, and even businesses focus on the shock value (evil) aspects of Halloween – ironically this holiday can actually become extremely meaningful if we take the opportunity to serve others, have clean and wholesome fun, and most importantly – spend time with family.

Matt is the founder of http://www.Tips4Families.com/ – a website full of helpful parenting advice, fun games and activities, traditions and holiday ideas, and tips and articles for families everywhere. Matt is also the author of: “Great Games! 175 Games & Activities for Families, Groups, & Children.” To view the book and learn more, visit: http://www.GreatGamesBook.com/