The chill is in the air. Orange is the dominant color and kids are beginning to think of their plans for October 31st. Before you go out shopping for costumes and buying bags of candy this year, spend a few minutes planning the night ahead.

Identify what type of celebrations will be taking place and where they will be located. Not only will it help determine your plans, it will help you be an aware driver as you travel on the roadways. If you will be attending a party, plan for a designated driver or commit to not drink. Even small amounts of alcohol can impair your judgment and driving. Driving under the influence can kill or cause trauma, be expensive and embarrassing. 

When costume planning, make sure that all costumes fit appropriately and will not restrict movement or visibility, either as a pedestrian or behind the wheel. Ensure foot wear is sturdy. Tripping, falling, difficulty steering or braking can be dangerous!

Add reflective tape to costumes and replace flash light batteries to ensure you will be visible, whether escorting trick or treaters or attending an event yourself. Confirm any children you are with have flashlights, glow stick, bright candy bags, and reflective tape on costumes as well. Clear up any yard obstructions, water hoses, and overgrown vegetation to make it easier to see and maneuver for both pedestrians and vehicles.

Know your planned route, to avoid the unexpected. Plan to travel in well lighted areas. If walking, use sidewalks and crosswalks. If driving, avoid areas of heavy pedestrian traffic and park in areas with the greatest visibility. Design alternate routes that will provide the least amount of risk and the most amount of safety. Arrange to give yourself extra time to and from your destination. 

Halloween is on Saturday this year, so expect the festivities to begin early in the day and prepare to be a defensive driver. If you can, avoid driving on Halloween. 

Be alert for kids playing in costumes during the day, darting from house to house or in between parked cars. Pay special attention beginning at 4:30pm for the younger treat seekers. Turn your head lights on to make your vehicle more visible.  Drivers need to be especially diligent driving during dusk through the night time as visibility is reduced. 

Reduce distractions. Make sure your cell phone is on silent, your radio volume is low and your passengers are aware to minimize distractions and assist with being alert to the surrounding environment.

Be extra cautious as you pull into and leave driveways, parking lots and alleys for children that may dart out between cars, at roadways, medians and on curves. Be sure to check your blind spots thoroughly and maintain a search and scan of the driving environment every three seconds.

Travel well below the posted speed limit. Be extra patient with pedestrians and other vehicles and always be prepared to stop at a given moment. They may be carrying trick or treaters and be distracted. Avoid passing or going around stopped vehicles. They may have passengers entering and exiting hurriedly and carelessly.

Halloween can truly be a fun night full of great memories! Take a few steps to keep it safe and trouble free.

For more driver safety tips please visit www.nationalsafetycommission.com.

Halloween can be plenty of fun for children. Unfortunately, it has the capacity to turn into a sheer nightmare for them if safety measures are compromised. Let’s face it; whenever there are kids around, one should be extra cautious about safety. Children are well known to get into all sorts of nasty accidents and mishaps while playing around and having fun together. So it is up to us, the adults, to ensure that such undesirable circumstances are kept to a minimum and the possibility of their occurrence is nullified.

Halloween costumes, these days, come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. While some are simple to put on and follow uncomplicated designs, others can be rather elaborate and too complicated to be controlled by a child. It is with such Halloween costumes that one has to be extra-careful. While it would be difficult to keep the kids from putting them on (especially, if it’s the rage of the season that year), you can at least do the following to ensure better safety.

1. Ensure the correct size and fit: Choosing the right size of the costumes is very important to ensure that there are no loose folds or extra lengths of the fabric to get in the way while your kids run around in them. If necessary, ask your tailor to make alterations to the costume to bring it down to the right size. With a good fit, your kids will stay comfortable and safe in their Halloween costumes.

2. Choose fire-proof materials: Some kids often get adventurous around Halloween and choose to add a host of risky objects to their list of ‘essential’ Halloween props, like fire. Moreover, with countless lighted Jack-o-Lanterns all around, there is every possibility of an accident. If fire-proof materials are not available, make sure to choose a fabric that does not readily catch fire. Denim and cotton are excellent in this regard.

3. Avoid costumes with sharp metallic accessories or jewelry: Don’t encourage the use of fancy costumes with metallic accessories (such as pointed spikes, sharp studs or horror-themed jewelry with sharp edges) even if they are ‘hot’ that season.

Follow Costumes4less.com at twitter.com http://twitter.com/costumes4less

Halloween is a very unique holiday for both adults and kids. It’s important that when your kids are trick or treating that you follow safety guidelines, so everyone can have a fun and safe Halloween.

Bring Flashlights

Before you take your kids out to trick or treat, make sure you and your kids each have a flash light, so you can locate the walkways, steps, and any other obstacles. It’s a good idea to bring extra batteries with you just in case if your batteries wear out.

Inspect the candy

Don’t allow your kids to eat candy while they are trick or treating. Instead, wait until you return home (in a well lighted room); so, you can inspect each candy wrapper to determine if it has been previously opened. If you see any open candy, immediately discard it.

Cross the Street in a Safe Manner

When crossing the street, make sure that everyone holds hands and look both ways before crossing. If crossing a busy street, always use cross walks and lights; therefore, you and your children can get safely across.

Wear “Safe” Costumes

Hand-me-down costumes are great way to save money, but make sure they fit your kids before trick or treating. Small and oversized costumes are hazardous for children to wear be they are more likely to trip and fall due since the costume does not fit them. Sometimes, it may be better to purchase costumes instead of borrowing them, so you can make sure they fit your kids. In addition to well fitting costumes, make sure the costumes are flame resistant, so you can prevent fire hazards. Finally, make sure that props are made from soft rubbers and plastic especially and weapons, wands, and pitch forks. This way, you can prevent your children from getting hurt.

A great source for selecting costumes for your family and kids is Costume Craze. Costume Craze has thousands of costumes and accessories at great prices. You can also save money on your Halloween and other holiday costumes with Costume Craze coupons and Costume Craze coupon codes by clicking the link below.

http://www.onlinestorecoupon.com/ShopbyStore/costume-craze-coupons.htm

Find a great costume at Costume Craze and be sure to follow these safety tips above, so you and your family can have fun and safe Halloween.

As Halloween approach, we as parents get to enjoy in the frenzy of the holiday season. As a worrisome mom, I care about the safety of my beloved ones. I’ve decided to create 10 Halloween safety tips for you parents to implement. Here are some of the tactics that can be easily put into action.

1. Buy Toddler Halloween Costumes that fit. Avoid toddler Halloween costumes that are loose or over-sized. Items that were just mentioned can be tripping hazards.

2. Consider buying bigger candies to take away the chance of chocking hazards for smaller kids. You will be the talk of the town by giving out big sweet treats.

3. Always be attentive for kids in around your place as to make sure they do not hurt themselves. When there is excitement, safety could be the last thing on their mind so watch for uncertain reactions.

4. I have a knack for Halloween decorating and therefore I am aware of sight lines, trip hazard or even fire hazards. Keeping others safety in your forethought, you are also keeping your family safe.

5. Toddler Halloween Costumes. Be visibly seen. When your kids are out there trick or treating in the neighborhood, make sure that they wear reflectors on their Halloween costumes.

6. For protection of the older kids, a time line and expectation of when they will return home is a must. In addition to time line, learning their travel route would be very useful in figuring out where they will be at.

7. Children’s age need to be in your thoughts when you are carving pumpkins. Kids of the younger age should only draw what they would like carved and have an adult do the carving. Saving many punctured fingers just by doing something this simple.

8. If you are leading a group of kids trick or treating, make sure everyone knows who is boss and that they are required to obey all the signs.

9. Without question, children under the age of 12 shall be escorted by a trusted parent to veer off bullies or candy hunters.

10. For burn safety, make sure little ones cannot reach the lit pumpkins. Display that master piece proudly but keep it on stable grounds.

I hope that you will be able to apply some or all of these safety tips. To keep Halloween out of harms way, we all need to pitch in and do our part. Last but not least, have fun and enjoy the spirit of Halloween. At the end of the day, you as the guardian get to see all those wonderful Halloween costumes out there trick or treating, particularly those cute little Halloween costumes for toddlers.

Soon enough the season of costumes and Jack-O’-Lanterns will fill our neighborhoods with an endless parade of trick-or-treaters heading for our doorsteps. This year, be prepared to make the season a safe one for all members of the family. Here are some important veterinarian-recommended tips:

·      Halloween season is a time of mischief and pranks, and too often dogs and cats become unwilling participants. Keep your outdoor pets well supervised in the yard or, better yet, keep them indoors and safe from neighborhood hooligans at night.

·      If your dog has the personality and temperament to accompany the kids trick-or-treating, there are a variety of costumes available in pet-friendly sizes. Just make sure the costume doesn’t interfere with his ability to breathe, see, hear, move, or bark. Always make sure the fit isn’t constricting, and keep an eye out for signs your dog may be getting stressed out.

·      Like any other night you take your dog for a stroll, make sure he’s wearing his collar & nametag/ID. And with so many other people on the street, it’s important to keep him on a lead or leash.

·      Just as you’d make sure your kids aren’t eating unsafe candy, never let your dog get a hold of any bite-size sweets. Candy and wrappers are potential choking hazards, and chocolate is particularly dangerous for dogs – a toxin. Instead, pick up a container of baked cookies for Dogs to share or any other of your pooch’s favorite biscuits and treats.

·      No other time of year will so many strange kids in even stranger costumes be knocking on your door. This can be especially nerve-wracking for the territorial dog. With the door opening and closing all night, be careful of them darting out. You may even want to put up a temporary gate in the entranceway, or keep your pup in a separate room.

·      For especially nervous animals, the haunting screams of kids and endless chiming doorbells can get to be too much for comfort. There are a variety of calming products designed for storm- and travel-shy pets, which are also useful on Halloween.

• Finally, decorations and Jack-O’-Lanterns are tempting for pets to get their noses into. Needless to say, it’s too easy for them to get hurt if left unsupervised, whether it’s in a tangle of crepe paper or a singed coat from an open flame. Always keep these Halloween favors out of your pet‘s reach!