"Fall Fun" by Ginger Garvey

As Halloween approaches, the seasonal “to-do” list, typically marked with finding the perfect costume and trick-or-treat route, is a bit more complicated with the growing need to protect the environment and manage household budgets. In preparing for your neighborhood ghosts and goblins, try these easy tips and tricks to “go green,” and spend less on your families’ spook-tacular celebration.

Howl to be Green
Incorporating small changes into your holiday preparation will go a long way to create an eco-friendly Halloween. Whether you’re hosting a party or adding colorful flare to the home or office, take inventory of your decorations and go back to nature by using locally-grown pumpkins, apples or fresh gourds to create tabletop and front porch accents. Organic, pesticide-free produce is widely available at farmers markets, grocery and specialty stores and leaves little waste once the celebration ends.

Also look for ways to “re-use” your Halloween accessories. Cloth or canvas shopping bags and pillowcases are great alternatives to paper, plastic bags and more traditional plastic jack-o-lanterns used by many trick-or-treaters to collect candy. Gather fall-colored scraps of fabric, ribbon, buttons or food coloring and spend the afternoon with the kids decorating a recyclable trick-or-treat bag. Use the custom creation to hand out candy at your door and your house will be the hit of the neighborhood.

Howl to Save
Spend less this Halloween by using old or outgrown clothes, sports equipment or dress-up items to make one-of-a-kind costumes. Unpack your graduation gown and buy a gavel at a thrift or prop store to transform your trick-or-treater into a judge. Dust off a wedding gown or bridesmaid’s dress, polish an old pair of pumps and grab a wig from a costume store and you’ve got a princess. Host a costume trading party and make sure everyone comes with old clothing or accessories to trade. Let the kids use their imaginations and see how many new and different costumes come to life.

You can also save by using recyclable household materials to decorate. Bed sheets hung from the ceiling or tree branches make convincing ghosts, as do balloons covered with a white sheet, tied with a ribbon around the neck and black felt tapped on for eyes. The sheets can be taken down, laundered and returned to the linen closet once Halloween is over.

Howl to Have Fun at Home
Consider baking at home this year to get everyone in the Halloween mood. Find unique recipes for Halloween treats that can be used as decorations or centerpieces before you indulge.

Gather everyone around and make creepy “edible eyeballs” with mini white powdered donuts, Life Savers Gummies, red icing and chocolate chips. Cover the hole in the center of the donut with a thin layer of icing and top with a gummy. Next, dip the bottom of a chocolate chip in icing before layering it on the gummy. Make the eyeball scary by drawing lines from the center of the donut to the outer edge with red icing. Finish the treat by poking each donut with a lollipop stick and arranging them in a bowl of candy corn to make a freaky yet tasty centerpiece.

Howl to Be Safe
Set the seasonal mood by decorating trees and sidewalks with lights and lanterns while making it easier for trick-or-treaters to find their way from door to door. Neat, well-lit landscapes make everyone feel more comfortable and confident.

Another simple way to help ghosts and goblins find their way door to door is to use makeup to finish a costume as an alternative to masks. Face paint makes it much easier for trick-or-treaters to see … especially at night.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Halloween safety tips can make a significant difference in the enjoyment for all.  Many of the Halloween safety tips are also appropriate for normal activities, but it is important to pay more attention to Halloween safety tips because of the additional activity around town on this special night.  Most children want to go with a group accompanied by adults, and this is a great Halloween safety tip.  Children should not go out on their own.  Younger children should definitely be accompanied by at least one adult although older children might not need the adult if they are with a group of responsible friends.

Halloween Safety Tips Keep Everyone Healthy

Children often collect a full bag of candy or more.  Most of them want to eat as much as possible as quickly as possible.  Parents should work out some kind of system for consuming the treats collected.  Although most people who hand out treats are good, there are some people who might not give healthy treats.  Anything that is not wrapped at the factory should probably be discarded just in case.  Children should be reminded to walk rather than run from one house to the next.  Someone in each group should carry a flashlight to guide the way.  This light should keep everyone on their feet and out of any mud.

Halloween is a great time to remind children about important safety rules.  They should take the time to look both ways before they cross all streets.  The traffic lights are a great guide, and children should be reminded of the workings of these signals on this wonderful night.  Many people welcome children for this special time, and they often have their yards and doorways lit to signal their welcome for the children.  A great Halloween safety tip includes avoiding any houses that is not lit up.  Halloween costumes should be made of cloth that will not burn quickly.  These costumes are available and should be the only ones used by small children.