Happy Halloween!

I absolutely love Halloween. It's my favorite holiday of the year. I adore getting dressed up - evil witches, fairy princesses, and silly clowns - they are all so much fun! This year, I will once again be haunting the neighborhood as Maleficent, the evil witch from Sleeping Beauty. It's one of the spookiest costumes I've come across and I just adore it.

My kids have all picked out their costumes and are counting down to Saturday when they can finally pull out their Halloween bags and start knocking on the neighbor's doors. I'm sure many of you parents are experiencing something similar.

But before we do let our kids out of the house, I think it's very important to review with them (and ourselves) some Halloween safety. I found an excellent website called Halloween Safety Guide. They have tips for children, adults, parties, costumes, and even pets. Please stop by, read up on safety, then go out and have a fabulous time!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Happy Halloween!! Safety Tips for a Fabulous Night

Tips for Trick or Treaters:

- Carry a flashlight
- Walk, don't run.
- Stay on Sidewalks
- Obey traffic signals
- Stay in familiar neighborhoods
- Don't cut across yards or driveways.
- Wear a watch you can read in the dark.
- Make sure costumes don't drag on the ground.
- Shoes should fit (even if they don't go with your costume)
- Avoid wearing masks while walking from house to house.
- Carry only flexible knives, swords or other props.
- If there is no sidewalk, walk on the left side of the road facing traffic
- Wear clothing with reflective markings or tape.
- Approach only houses that are lit.
- Stay away from and don't pet animals you don't know.




Tips for Parents:

- Make your child eat dinner before setting out.
- Children should carry quarters so they can call home.
- Ideally, young children of any age should be accompanied by an adult.
- If your children go on their own, be sure they wear a watch, preferably one that can be read in the dark.
- If you buy a costume, look for one made of flame-retardant material.
- Older children should know where to reach you and when to be home.
- You should know where they're going.
- Although tampering is rare, tell children to bring the candy home to be inspected before consuming anything.
- Look at the wrapping carefully and toss out anything that looks suspect.




Tips for Homeowners:

- Make sure your yard is clear of such things as ladders, hoses, dog leashes and flower pots that can trip the young ones.
- Pets get frightened on Halloween. Put them up to protect them from cars or inadvertently biting a trick-or-treater.
- Battery powered jack o'lantern candles are preferable to a real flame.
- If you do use candles, place the pumpkin well away from where trick-or-treaters will be walking or standing.
- Make sure paper or cloth yard decorations won't be blown into a flaming candle.
- Healthy food alternatives for trick-or-treaters include packages of low-fat crackers with cheese or peanut butter filling, single-serve boxes of cereal, packaged fruit rolls, mini boxes of raisins and single-serve packets of low-fat popcorn that can be microwaved later.
- Non-food treats: plastic rings, pencils, stickers, erasers, coins.