There will be a lot of kids walking around the neighborhood during Halloween. Apart from the planning for the event, children will be knocking on your door and asking for goodies so be ready for them by exercising these safety tips.

1. If you are going to be at home the whole night, keep your porch lights and any other exterior lights on so they know that they come and knock at your door.

2. If you live in a street where a lot of cars pass regularly, go out so you can tell the drivers not to speed and you can check that there are no acts of malicious mischief or crimes happening against children. Should you see someone out of place, report this directly to the police by dialing 911.

3. For those who have candlelit jack o lanterns on their front porch, make sure that this is placed a bit far from doorsteps or landings. Children could play with it or at worse, their costume could catch fire and you will have a bigger problem on your hands. One alternative is to use lighted bulbs instead.

4. When you are carving a pumpkin or working on a lantern, don’t let the kids touch any of the sharp tools.

5. Your children will choose what they want to wear during Halloween night. Just makes sure that the outfit they choose to wear is flame resistant and is not too long as this could make them trip or fall.

6. Should you own a pet, make sure it is leashed or in a caged as kids who don’t know any better could be discouraged from knocking.

7. When children knock at the door, give candy to each of them. If they push and shove, tell them to line up as there is plenty for everyone. Never invite them into your home so you won’t be accused later on of anything. When everyone’s trick or treat bag has been filled, tell them the safest route to take so they can be on their way. Also, remind them to have their goodies checked first by their parents before eating it.

8. Since everyone is going to give candy, you can do something different by providing them healthier treats. Examples of these include a pack or raisins, pretzels or biscuits since this will not damage to their teeth compared to candy. These are also easy to swallow since some candies may choke the child.

9. Most kids will only go trick or treating in the late afternoon or early evening. So you don’t get a knock at 9pm or 10pm, put up a sign that says you will only be giving out candies until a certain time.

10. If your kids are going trick or treating, remind them of a few things like going around the neighborhood with a group, don’t take candies from strangers, only visit homes of people they know, look both ways before crossing the street, come home at a specified time and have the candies checked before eating them.

Nobody wants anything bad to happen during Halloween. By practicing these safety tips, you are sure that kids who will be knocking on your door as well as your own will have a fun filled evening so everyone will sleep soundly that night.

Filed in General, cheap halloween costumes, creative halloween, halloween make your own costume, homemade halloween costume ideas, how to on Friday, September 25, 2009 · 911, Acts, Adults, Budget, Bulbs, Candy, Carving A Pumpkin, Crimes, decorations, Doorsteps, Front Porch, gifts, Goodies, halloween, Halloween Night, homemade, ideas, kids, Landings, making own, Malicious Mischief, Neighborhood, Parents, Porch Lights, safety, Safety Tips, sewing, Sharp Tools, story, Trick Or Treat · No Comments »

Just because kids are the only ones that go trick or treating does not mean that grown ups cannot have some fun too during Halloween. Adults throw grown up parties and also give gift baskets that the recipient will surely enjoy.

A gift basket is pretty self-explanatory. Since it can be used for any occasion like a housewarming present or a baby shower, you have to put items that suit the occasion like a bunch of scary masks, pumpkins, candies, grapes and even a bottle of wine.

You can make this yourself by buying the materials and the items from the grocery or buying it directly from the store.

If you choose to make one, the first thing to look around for is the basket. These come in different sizes so be sure that what you get will be able to contain whatever you want to put inside.

From there, you can already pick out what goodies will go in the basket so you can fix it up. Before you put the contents inside, get some crumpled and loose paper cut into small pieces then put this in the bottom of the basket so this can act as a cushion. Wrap each item carefully using a colorful gift wrap then slowly put it inside.

It will take some time to fit everything right inside the basket so be patient because you are doing your best to maximize the limited space.

The last thing you have to do when all the items are inside is to cover up the basket using cellophane wrap. If the basket is big, you might need a couple and when you are finished, bring it up and then tie it using a ribbon as this will preventing it from opening.

Now to add a personal touch, put a nice card addressed to the person you are giving the basket to. A cute one could read in the front something like “open at your own risk” or simply greeting that person a “Happy Halloween.”

Aside from making or buying a Halloween gift basket from the grocery, there are some that sell it online. They range from $30 to a little over a $100. If you look carefully, there are some who offer this at discounted prices so you end up with a good deal.

So, should you make a Halloween gift basket or buy one? That decision is up to you. If you are working on tight budget, follow the instructions so you can make one by yourself. To add a touch of creativity to it, you can put other items than candy, masks, a bottle of wine or pumpkins.

A few examples of these are a bouquet of dead flowers since we are accustomed to getting those that blooming already or just about to, toy spider webs, a Halloween CD and some popcorn.

Your friend will surely be surprised with the Halloween basket that you are about to give to them. It is creative and original which shows that you are giving something not for the sake of the occasion but because you care about them.

Since the gift basket can be used for any occasion, you can do this again and give it to other people. With Christmas less than 2 months away after Halloween, that would be a great idea to give out to friends and family.

Filed in General on Friday, September 18, 2009 · Baby Shower, best, Bottle Of Wine, Candies, Cellophane Wrap, Colorful Gift, Cute One, Gift Basket, Gift Baskets, Goodies, Grapes, Grown Ups, halloween, Halloween Gift, Happy Halloween, haw to, help, homemade, Housewarming Present, know how, Loose Paper, Personal Touch, Scary Masks, select, Small Pieces, Ups, where to, Will Take Some Time · No Comments »

Some parents are overly protective and they don’t want to let their kids go trick or treating. If you are one of those parents, you have to find some other ways to make them have fun and here are a few options.

The first is get in touch with your local community or recreation center to find out if they have any planned activities for Halloween. They may have a costume party or a night filled with games for everyone to enjoy.

For those who don’t want their kids to go trick or treating in the streets, their kids can still do this by going to the mall. This is because some shopping malls encourage their tenants to provide candies and other goodies for shoppers. There are also costume parades and contests which the kids will love to watch and maybe win a few prizes.

If you live in a small town, chances are there is an activity for the evening like perhaps a dance or a concert.

You can also go with your kids and visit a haunted house. This event is usually sponsored by the local community to raise funds and what they do is rent a house for the evening, decorate the place and scare people all in the spirit of fun.

For people who don’t want to go out and just stay at home, let the people come instead by hosting a Halloween party. You can plan it weeks in advance so you have time to buy the decorations, stock up on food and send out the invitations.

You and yours kids can then spend quality time together by putting the d?cor up like hang fake spider webs through the entry way after cutting them out using black construction paper, put out tombstones made from Styrofoam that can be made or purchased from craft stores and of course pumpkins which you can carve out yourself.

As for sounds, you can download a few songs as we all sound effects into you MP3 player then just put speakers around the house. To create a foggy atmosphere when people approach your home, buy some dry ice.

The only way your guests will have a good time is to make sure there is a lot of food and drinks to go around. So they don’t bored, plan a few games and activities that everyone can participate in. One game you would love is apple bobbing where you put a bunch of apples in the bathtub or basin and then let the participants pick it up using their teeth.

As for dinner, serve spaghetti that look like eyeballs, tomato soup and a few other dishes that are ideal for the occasion.

Since there will be kids attending the party, make sure there are games for them as well. One game could be pin the skeleton which is very similar to pin the donkey. You can also bake caramel apples so the kids can just grab them when they want another one.

Because kids love candy, be sure that there are plenty of them around. Don’t forget to thank everyone for coming by preparing loot bags that they can bring home.

Planning and hosting a Halloween party takes a lot of work but its all worth it if everyone was able to have a good time. The only thing to do now when the party is over is clean up and return things to the way they were.

Filed in General on Thursday, September 17, 2009 · best, Candies, Construction Paper, Costume Parades, Costume Party, Craft Stores, Dry Ice, Good Time, Goodies, halloween, Halloween Party, Haunted House, haw to, help, homemade, Invitations, know how, Local Community, Quality Time, Recreation Center, Scare, select, Shopping Malls, Sound Effects, Spider Webs, Styrofoam, Tombstones, where to · No Comments »

Aside from offering prayers to their loved ones, many people celebrate the Halloween season through parties! This is the time of the year that people enjoy scaring and being scared through costumes and other decorations that fit the Halloween theme. Come Halloween season, some of the things that people look forward to are costumes, prepared foods, Halloween gifts and treats, and the games during the party.

Indeed, what good is a Halloween party if there are no games for the kids? Compared to adults, teenagers and the younger ones enjoy the thrill and feel of the Halloween not only because of the costume for the games as well. Why? Because these kids look forward to playing Halloween games, winning them, and bringing home lots of Halloween-themed goodies.

All night fun!

Some adults may deny it but everyone enjoys Halloween games? And why not? Aside from the thrill and excitement, people playing these games will definitely have one of the funniest days of their lives. For those who are planning to organize a Halloween party, they should be thinking of Halloween games as early as now. This is because it is one of those things that will ensure that success of party.

Aside from the costumes, the foods, the venue, and the decoration, people who are planning to hold or organize a Halloween party should be very well prepared to Halloween games because many people-regardless of age and gender-will be looking forward to these.

If you don’t have the time to make your own craft for the Halloween games, you can buy ready-made one in bookstores and specialty stores. But if you do, you can come up with variations-in terms of crafts-which will make your party the most popular “Halloween party of the Year”!

The following are just some of the popular Halloween games for the season, it is up to you to make variations for the props and in the mechanics of the games as well.

1. “Halloween Who Am I?” This is a simple and fun game suitable for everyone. For this game, you will be needing names or photos of various items, pieces of paper, pins, and your limitless imagination! In this game, the guests are asked to find out what or who they are by asking other guests in the party simple “yes” or “no” questions. Once a guest arrives, he or she will be pasted with a tag on his or her back and will asked to guess what the paper says before the party ends. When they answer correctly, a prize is waiting for them to bring home!

2. The “Spooky Walk”. This game is “musical chairs” type of game less the pushing and running around. Here, you will be needing picture cut outs, supplies for crafts, and music which can be spooky or fun. This game-which involves funny graphics, spooky walking and music-will be a surefire hit to all attendees. The good thing about this Halloween game is that you can play it as many times as you would want to. And since it involves movements, sights, and sounds, it will also save you and your guests from getting bored or from getting sleeping during wee hours of the night.

3. The “Pumpkin Bowling”. This is probably one of the funniest Halloween games there are because it involves messy and funny antics as the participants run and roll the pumpkins everywhere. Here, you will be needing small pumpkins, empty clear soda bottles, white spray paint, black marker, and a bag of pebbles that will be placed inside of each bottle.

Filed in General on · best, Bookstores, Bringing Home, Costumes Halloween, Fun Game, Fun Games, Goodies, halloween, Halloween Games, Halloween Gifts, Halloween Parties, Halloween Party, Halloween Season, Halloween Theme, Halloween Treats, haw to, help, homemade, know how, Night Fun, Prayers, Props, select, Specialty Stores, Variations, where to, Younger Ones · No Comments »