Halloween is almost here and more than likely your kids are already trying to come up with a great costume. Sure, you could go to the store and buy one, but often the costumes available aren't very original, not to mention all the money you spend on something your kids only wear once. One great idea is to make your own homemade Halloween costumes for your kids this year. You'll ensure your kids have a unique costume that no one else is wearing and you'll save a lot of money too. Maybe you think you have to be a master seamstress to accomplish this – that's not true. There are actually many simple ideas you can find that won't require sewing skills. To help you out, here are some great ideas that you can easily make at home and some great money-saving tips you can use this Halloween as well.

Great Costume Ideas You Can Make at Home

From classic costumes, to box costumes, to character costumes, you'll find that you can easily make most of them yourself. Here are several great costume ideas and instructions on how to make them. Follow the instructions, add in a bit of creativity, and you'll be sure to create some great costumes for this Halloween.

Cowboy or Cowgirl Costume

One easy and classic costume idea is a cowboy or cowgirl costume. All you'll need is a western shirt, a pair of jeans, boots, and a brightly colored bandana. If you can find one, a good cowboy hat will complete the costume.

Mummy Costume

Designing a mummy costume is pretty simple. You'll need white clothing underneath, and then strips of white sheets or some gauze can be used to wrap around your child. You may need some safety pins to hold the strips in place. Make sure you leave ample room for their mouth, nose, and eyes.

Scarecrow Costume

A scarecrow is definitely appropriate at this time of year. You'll need a flannel shirt and a pair of jeans. Patches on the jeans make it even better. Use some duct tape on the inside of pants and sleeps to attach some straw so it sticks out. Add a straw hat. You can take an eyebrow pencil and use it to draw triangles around each eye and a bit smile on your child's face.

Soldier Costume

It's easy to dress up your child as a soldier. You'll need some camouflage clothing, camouflage makeup, and perhaps a homemade compass, canteen, and other accessories to make the character believable.

Elvis Costume

Maybe you'd like to dress up your boy like a little Elvis. If he already has dark hair, you won't need a wig, you'll just need to tease it up for hair that looks like Elvis. Otherwise you may need a black wig to pull off this costume. Then add some sequins to black pants and a black shirt, along with a brightly colored ascot. Don't forget the microphone (you can make one yourself).

Quasimodo Costume

Quasimodo, the character from the Hunchback of Notre Dame is an excellent choice for a Halloween costume. You can use cardboard or foam to make the hunch back. Then find a coat that is a couple sizes large for your child along with some old ragged clothing. Wear the hunch back under the coat and tousle the hair for a Quasimodo look.

Dice Costume

If you have some large cardboard boxes around, a dice costume is easy to make. Paint the entire box white. Put a hole on top for your head and holes in each side for your arms. Paint large black dots on each side and you have an easy costume that didn't cost a thing. If you happen to have twins, dressing them both up like dice is an excellent idea.

Television Costume

Another fun costume you can make with a large box is a television costume. Again you need holes for the head and arms. Draw a screen on the front and then draw controls on the front. Milk jug lids can be used for the knobs on the television as well. Consider drawing static on the screen or a scene from a favorite show. You can use a metal hanger or some pipe cleaners to make an antennae for the television.

Old Man or Woman

It's fairly simple to come up with an old man or old woman costume. For the old man you just need a button down shirt, a jacket, dark colored pants, and a hat. Add a cane and a limp to add effect. Use a bit of flour in the hair to give it a gray look.

For the old woman costume, you'll need a dress in a old style. Wear knee highs with the dress and carry a big purse. Again you can add flour to the hair to make the hair look gray.

Playing Cards

To make a player cards costume, you'll need some poster board, markers or paint, some rope or clothes line, and a staple gun. Take two pieces of poster board and decorate them like a playing card. Punch holes in the top of both of your cards and tie with clothesline or rope. Then the costume can merely slip over the head and settle on the shoulders.

Harry Potter Costume

Harry Potter is a popular choice for costumes, and you can make one at home with just a few items. You'll need a black robe, such as a graduation gown. You can make your own wizard hat and a magic want. Make or find some fake glasses as well.

Great Costume Money-saving Tips

Sometimes even making your own Halloween costumes can cost you. After all, you have to come up with the supplies to make the costumes. To keep the costumes cost effective, here are some great money-saving tips that you can use.

Tip #1 – Make Items Out of Cardboard - There are many accessories that you can easily make yourself instead of paying a lot for them at the store. For example, it's easy to make weapons and many other types of props with cardboard. Use tin foil to cover them or paint the items and you have simple and cheap accessories for your costumes.

Tip #2 – Shop at Goodwill for Used Items - If you need specific clothing items or even accessories for a costume, check at a local Goodwill or other thrift shop. Often you can find what you need without spending much money.

Tip #3 – Check What You Have – Before you go shopping for items, check what you have at home. Go through closets and find old clothing that may be used for costumes. You'll be surprised at how you can reuse clothing and other old items to make great costumes.

Tip #4 – Don't Make it Too Complicated - These costumes don't have to be works of art. No need to hem up costumes to make them look perfect. They'll be worn for one night, so while you want them to look good, don't waste your time making it too complicated.

Tip #5 – Use Old Makeup - Instead of purchasing special costume makeup, why not go looking through all the old makeup you don't use often anyway. You'll probably find about everything you need to get kids painted up for Halloween and you won't have to spend a lot of money.

Halloween can be a lot of fun without having to cost a lot of money. Get your kids involved and make it fun. Let them help come up with ideas and then make the costumes. Use these costume ideas and these money saving tips and you and your kids will have a wonderful time.

Boo! Hosting a spoo-tacular Halloween Party

It is that time of year! Fall leaves are blanketing the ground, pumpkins can be seen on most porches, stores are stocked with spooky costumes and more candy then any youngster could imagine. That's right; Halloween is just around the corner. This means fall parties at school and costume parties at home. Every little kid dreams of turning their house into the spookiest house on the block and having all their friends over for scary games and a huge junk food fest.  If you are feeling brave and want to host the best Halloween party but aren't sure of where to start read on.

The first thing to consider is the age of your children and their friends. The party games and themes are going to be different for older children, scary blood and gore really doesn't have a place at a party for 5 year olds. Then you are going to need to think about how many guests you are going to have your child invite, and for the younger kids you need to think about whether you want their parent(s) to stay with them.

You can buy invitations for your party, or you can get creative on the computer and create your own and then let your child color the invites. Remember this is their party, so letting them color with markers and glitter can be a lot of fun… and for the older kids stopping at WalMart and hitting the Halloween aisles where they can find fake blood, cob webs and other gross items they can even have fun making the invites. I recommend that on the invitation you put a start and end time this will help eliminate any confusion about how long the children are welcome to stay.

Now decide if you are going to convert your whole house into a Halloween spectacular or just a room? Actually if the party is for a younger crowd and the weather is nice you can even covert your backyard into the Halloween playground. Thankfully, stores like Target, WalMart, Meijer, Hobby Lobby, Michael's and the Flower Factory make decorating for Halloween cost effective. If you are going to host the party outside you can create your own backyard ghosts from old white sheets, which you can get at your local Salvation Army or Goodwill or you can get left over fabric from a fabric store. Buying hay, "spider webs" and pumpkins will also add to the decorations.

If you are going to hold the party inside, again depending on the age of the guests, the stores listed above can offer excellent party ideas. I have seen screaming ghouls, talking witches, huge black spiders that not only blow up but they move… and my personal favorite the candy bowl with the talking hand that grabs you when you stick your hand in the bowl.

I believe that it is the goodies that make the party. You don't have to spend a lot of money buying the store made goodies, you can easily make your own. This will help control cost, and honestly sugar content. Consider making monster eye balls, which are peanut butter balls dipped in white chocolate with an M&M in the middle. You can also make monster fingers which are made out of breadsticks and use sliced almonds for the fingernails. If you want you can frost the breadsticks with homemade frosting.

You can also peel grapes, make spaghetti and break up jello and hide them in a box for kids to stick their hands in and tell them that they are feeling eye balls, worms and monster brains. My munchkins also liked to make dirt cupcakes with worms, we would make blue kool-aid and mix it with seven up and call it our magic potion that turned all the kids into Halloween monsters. Granted that won't work for the older kids, but if you are having a party for kids that are older than 10 I recommend that you talk to them to see what it is they want at their party. I know if they are like my older two then being scared out of their mind is what they want.

Another option to consider for the older kids is taking a look around in your area and finding a corn maze or haunted hayride and hosting the party there. Most places will offer a group discount if the group is large enough and in some cases it can be more cost effective to do it that way then hosting it at your house.

Don't forget your costume! This is the one time of the year that it is okay to dress like Brittany even if you are 40 something! Find the costume that fits your alter ego and dress up for the Halloween party, just remember that you are hosting the party for your children. Have a spoo-tacular time!

Halloween Fun

If you have a child that is anything like my son then I am sure you have heard your fair share of corny jokes. If your child is anything like my son, then when you laugh and say you've heard that one before… chances are greater than not that your child is going to try to create their own joke just so you will laugh and they will know that it isn't a joke you have heard before.

I decided that for Halloween, maybe a better treat then candy… would be a few new jokes. I have scoured the internet looking for only the best kid friendly jokes for Halloween. Share them with your kids… or even other parents to make the spookiest of all holidays a little funny for all the pranksters out there.

Joke 1: Why didn't the skeleton dance at the party?

Because he didn't have any body to dance with.

Joke 2:  Why did the baker stop making donuts?

He got bored with the whole business.

Joke 3: What room does a ghost not need?

A living room.

Joke 4: Where do baby ghosts go during the day?

A day-scare center.

Joke 5: What do witches put in their hair?

Scare-spray

Joke 6: Where do spooks water ski?

Lake Erie

Joke 7: Where do mummies go for a swim?

The Dead Sea

Joke 8: How do you mend a broken jack-o-latern?

With a pumpkin patch.

Joke 9: What kinds of roads do ghosts haunt?

Dead ends.

Joke 10: Who did the ghost invite to his party?

Anyone he could dig up.

Joke 11: What kind of horse only comes out on Halloween?

A nightmare.

Joke 12: What do you get when you drop a pumpkin?

Squash

Joke 13: What do you get when you take the middle out of a hot dog on Halloween?

You get a hollow wiener

Here are a few funny little jokes to tell the older pranksters…

The nurse walked into the doctor's office and said, "Doctor the Invisible Man is here." The doctor replied, "Sorry, I can't see him."

Little Baby Dracula was chasing a man around the house when his mother walked in. The mother scolded, "Junior! How many times have I told you not to play with your food before you eat it!"

Did you hear the one about the vampire that was seen crawling through the desert screaming, "Blood! Blood!"

Monster 1: "Did you hear that the Zombie is going to marry the Invisible Women?" Monster 2: "I don't know what he sees in her."

If you prefer to sing a song or two to spook away the fearful cries, here is one that we should all know. Now the key here is to sing this song along with the tune of 12 Days of Christmas BUT sing it with a Transylvanian accent. Go ahead… try it.

The 12 Days of Halloween

"On the first day of Halloween my best friend gave to me.
A boney witch's knee.

On the second day of Halloween, my best friend gave to me.
Two bats a flying,
And a boney witches knee.

On the third day of Halloween, my best friend gave to me.
Three pumpkins growing,
Two bats a flying,
And a boney witches knee.

On the fourth day of Halloween, my best friend gave to me.
Four vampires biting,
Three pumpkins growing,
Two bats a flying,
And a boney witches knee.

On the fifth day of Halloween, my best friend gave to me.
Five haunted houses,
Four vampires biting,
Three pumpkins growing,
Two bats a flying,
And a boney witches knee.

On the sixth day of Halloween, my best friend gave to me.
Six ghouls a dancing,
Five haunted houses,
Four vampires biting,
Three pumpkins growing,
Two bats a flying,
And a boney witches knee.

On the seventh day of Halloween, my best friend gave to me.
Seven witches cooking,
Six ghouls a dancing,
Five haunted houses,
Four vampires biting,
Three pumpkins growing,
Two bats a flying,
And a boney witches knee.

On the eighth day of Halloween, my best friend gave to me.
Eight ghosts a flying,
Seven witches cooking,
Six ghouls a dancing,
Five haunted houses,
Four vampires biting,
Three pumpkins growing,
Two bats a flying,
And a boney witches knee.

On the ninth day of Halloween, my best friend gave to me.
Nine monsters dancing,
Eight ghosts a flying,
Seven witches cooking,
Six ghouls a dancing,
Five haunted houses,
Four vampires biting,
Three pumpkins growing,
Two bats a flying,
And a boney witches knee.

On the tenth day of Halloween, my best friend gave to me.
Ten bats a hanging,
Nine monsters dancing,
Eight ghosts a flying,
Seven witches cooking,
Six ghouls a dancing,
Five haunted houses,
Four vampires biting,
Three pumpkins growing,
Two bats a flying,
And a boney witches knee.

On the eleventh day of Halloween, my best friend gave to me.
Eleven Trick-or-treaters,
Ten bats a hanging,
Nine monsters dancing,
Eight ghosts a flying,
Seven witches cooking,
Six ghouls a dancing,
Five haunted houses,
Four vampires biting,
Three pumpkins growing,
Two bats a flying,
And a boney witches knee.

On the twelfth day of Halloween my best friend gave to me.
Twelve Jack-o-lanterns,
Eleven Trick-or-treaters,
Ten bats a hanging,
Nine monsters dancing,
Eight ghosts a flying,
Seven witches cooking,
Six ghouls a dancing,
Five haunted houses,
Four vampires biting,
Three pumpkins growing,
Two bats a flying,
And a boney witches knee.

By: W. S. Daniel"

Pineapple Pumpkin Drink

Ingredients:

1 cup pineapple juice
1 1/2 cups apple juice
1 cup fresh pumpkin, peel and cut into small chunks
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

How to Make

Place the apple juice and pineapple juice into the blender.  Add the pumpkin chunks to the juice.  Blend until beginning to smooth.  Pour the honey into the blended mixture.  Sprinkle in the cinnamon and nutmeg on top.  Blend until all the ingredients are mixed together.  Pour into a pitcher and refrigerate until ready to serve.  Best when served chilled.   

Halloween Ham Slices

Ingredients:

4 ham steaks
8 baby carrots
2 pickles, cut into 4 long strips
4 black olives, cut into 3 slices each
2 tablespoons of canola oil
4 hard cooked eggs, cut in half
Red pimento
4 pieces of string cheese

How to Make:

Place the canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Place the ham steaks into the skillet.  Fry 4 minutes or until slightly browned. Turn and continue browning 3 minutes or until cooked through.  Remove from the skillet and drain on a piece of paper towel.  Place a ham steak on a plate.  Place one slice towards the bottom of the ham steak for a mouth.  Place 3 slices of olive on the pickle for teeth.  Cut the rounded back off of each egg half.  Place the eggs on the ham slice for eyes.  Place a piece of pimento on each egg white to make them look bloodshot.  Place a carrot on each side of the ham slice for ears.  Use the string cheese on the top of the ham slice for hair.  Serve to your children for a treat on Halloween.  

Cinnamon Pumpkin Waffles

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 large eggs, beaten

1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon salt

How to Make:

Sift together the flour and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir to combine all the ingredients together.  In a separate bowl add the milk to the beaten eggs and mix slightly.  Pour in the buttermilk and melted butter.  Mix to incorporate.  Fold in the pumpkin and mix until all the ingredients are incorporated together and mixture is smooth.  Add the dry ingredients to the smooth mixture.  Blend together making sure all the dry ingredients are moistened well.  Heat the waffle iron.  Pour a scant amount of the batter onto the waffle iron and cook according to the waffle iron directions.  Set the oven temperature to 200 degrees.  When the waffle is done place it on the preheated oven rack to keep hot.  Continue cooking the waffles until all the batter has been used.  Serve with warm Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Syrup.

Halloween is a little over a week away. Time has been flying this year it seems. Halloween is a fun time but it is also important to make sure our kids stay safe. There are a large number of Halloween safety tips for children of all ages. This holiday creates a number of activities and festivities that put people out and about. Since this occurs, there is always the opportunity that an accident, sickness, or even a fatality may occur. This is why it is so important to take the time to focus on safety measures that can keep you and your children safe this Halloween. In this helpful and informative guide, you will learn many different ways that you can stay safe, as well as safety measures that are required to keep your children safe this holiday season.

Costume Safety Tips

When it comes to costumes, there are many different safety tips that should be considered. The following represents some of the tips that you should keep in mind when it comes to the safety of your children:

• You should ensure that the costume that you purchase is a good fit for your child. Many injuries occur each Halloween because of the fact that a costume is purchased that is too large for the child, and they accidentally fall over the material that the outfit is composed of.

• The next thing that you have to consider when it comes to the costume that your child receives is the mask that comes with it. Children’s Halloween masks often have only very little areas that they can use to see out of. If you purchase a costume that contains a mask, it is important that the eye holes on the mask are open enough that they can see where they are going. Even if you have to cut them a big larger, it is a good, safe step to take.

• When choosing a costume, be certain that the materials are fire proof. In many instances, there will be pumpkins lit by candles, or bags lining the street for light that are lit by candles. In the past, children have accidentally put their costumes in the way of these flames, and have actually caught on fire! Fire retardant materials are especially important when it comes to children and the task of trick or treating on Halloween.

Candy Safety Tips

When trick or treating, there are many different candy safety tips that you should keep in mind when it comes to ensuring the health and life of your kids. They are as follows:

• You should only allow your children to go trick or treating in areas that you are familiar with, and are comfortable with.

• You should let your children know that they should never consume any type of candy that they receive unless it has been properly checked by you. When checking Halloween candy, you should be sure to check to make sure that the wrapping has not been opened or tampered with in any way. Be sure to keep an eye out for puncture holes and other types of evidence that indicate that the candy may have been tampered with.

• If your child receives home made items and fruits while trick or treating, it is often best to just throw these things out. Unless, of course, they have been prepared by a trustworthy friend, neighbor, and/or relative. It is really easy for individuals to include dangerous substances in home made items.

Outdoor Safety Tips

There are many outdoor safety tips that should be considered when it comes to Halloween. First, you should be especially cautious when allowing children to go in areas that are decorated. Electrical cords, holes, and even decorations may obstruct their paths and cause them to fall. Making sure that the costume fits appropriately, and the child is able to see where they are going through any types of masks is important. You should also encourage your children to stay in areas that are well lit and avoid dark areas where no other people seem to be located. In addition to this, it is important to ensure that children go trick or treating in large groups, rather than alone. If you pay close attention to these Halloween safety tips, you will find that both you and your child have a wonderful time this holiday!

A little common sense and attention to detail can go a long way when it comes to Halloween safety tips! From More4kids we wish everyone a safe and happy Halloween!

Creating a memorable Halloween bash for children can be rather difficult. It is challenging due to the fact that there are a lot of Halloween party ideas out there, but very few that are considered to be “unique”. You have your standard Halloween party, with bobbing for apples and spooky music. Then, you have your average “haunted house”, or “haunted hayride”, “Spook walk” and more. The issue is not a lack of ideas for Halloween; it is a lack of “unique” ideas for this festive holiday. Here, I will provide some “not so common” ideas on how you can go about creating a memorable Halloween bash for children.

Halloween Idol

Halloween Idol is a relatively “new” concept when it comes to creating a “memorable” bash this holiday. This concept is based on the ever-popular “American Idol” that many of us, and our children, enjoy watching each year. Basically, this works by establishing three judges who either dress like, or act like, the famous “Paula, Randy, and Simon”. You must also have a person who represents “Ryan”. The children will take a number, and then sit in the “Audience”. Each child will be permitted a “turn” to either display their costume, play a small skit in their costume, or display whatever other talent that they choose to display.

The “judges” should act much like the ones on the show as far as choosing the best, and doing eliminations. However, they should not be as “harsh” as the real judges generally are. Eventually, the participants should be broken down to five, and they should then be “voted off” until there is a winner. All the children should get small prizes for their participation, and then there should be a larger prize for the main winner. Several individuals have put the idea of “Halloween Idol” into place and have found it to be highly entertaining and successful overall. If you are looking to create a “memorable” Halloween bash, this is a great idea to put into place!

Ghost Hunters Live

“Ghost Hunters Live” is another unique Halloween bash that can be quite memorable for the children who attend. There should be one main “ghost hunter” (typically an adult”), and that adult should take a group of about three children and “ghost hunt”. The difference is, instead of seeking out “real” ghosts, it should be more like a scavenger hunt where various types of novelty Halloween toys can be placed. The group should be given a list of clues in which they have to figure out where to go, and what they are looking for. In the end, the group that found the most “ghosts” wins the challenge. This has been experimented with, and enjoyed by many. If you are looking for a way that you can go about creating a memorable Halloween bash.

The “Pet” Halloween Bash

If you want to create a memorable Halloween Bash, instead of focusing on the costumes that the children wear, have the children bring their pets – all dressed up! This is a very interesting twist to the standard Halloween party. It is extremely important that you work to focus on encouraging the children to bring friendly pets only! The pets should also be kept in a proper container, or on a leash. Each pet should be displayed in a way that the children can easily see them, and then they should be allowed to vote on the best of the best. You may have categories like:

• Funniest Pet Costume
• Scariest Costume
• Beautiful Costume
• And, more!

There should be trophies, ribbons, and more that the children can receive for the items that their pet won while participating in the Halloween bash. This is a unique and collectively entertaining concept that is fun and unique all in one!

There are many ways that you can have a fun Halloween bash that is entertaining and unique all in one! This guide details three ways on creating a memorable Halloween bash this October!

From all of us here at More4kids we wish people to have a happy and safe Halloween. If you have not already check out an article on some Halloween safety tips .

Part of the fun of Halloween is playing silly games. When planning the games, it’s best to keep the costumes in mind and plan things that will work around them. Games should be simple with easy to follow rules.

Mummy Wrap Up – Divide guests into small groups. Provide them each with a roll or two of toilet paper and see who can use the tissue paper to wrap up one of their teammates the fastest. The first one to complete their mummy using the entire roll wins.

Bobbing for Apples – A classic Halloween party game has always been bobbing for apples, however some kids don’t like putting their face in the water or don’t want to mess up the make up that took a long time to perfect. One variation of this game is to tie the stems of the apples to varied lengths of string and then hang them up. Then the people have to put their hands behind their back and try to take a bite out of the apple. You can also play the game using marshmallows.

Ghost Hunters – Cut out several paper ghosts and divide the players into two groups. Have one team hide the ghosts around the room. The other team has to hunt down the ghosts. Play continues until all ghosts are found. The team that hunts the most ghosts wins.

Upset the Candy Dish – Place chairs in a circle, facing in, having one less than the number of players. Whisper in each child’s ear the name of a favorite Trick or Treat candy. They will become this piece of candy in the candy dish. Have one person stand in the middle of the circle to be “it”. The child in the middle will call one or two types of candy. If the candy name that’s called is matches the one the children are, they should stand up and try to move to another empty seat. Occasionally, the child who is “it” calls out, “Upset the candy dish.” and all the players need to move to a new seat. If any of the candy kids can’t find a seat they then become “it.”

Jack-o-Lantern Faces – Hang a picture of a jack-o-lantern on the wall and have matching face pieces cut out of black paper for the eyes, nose and mouth. Place sticky-tack on the back of the pieces. Blindfold each player when it is their turn and play the same as pin the tail on the donkey except players put the eyes, nose and mouth on the pumpkin face. Younger children can do just the mouth, while older children and adults can do the entire face for more of a challenge.

Pirates’ Treasure – Fill two small buckets with sand and place inside a larger washtub or box. Bury treasure in the buckets such as small prizes or candy. Each player receives a plastic spoon to dig for their treasure. Divide players into two teams. Position players around their designated bucket and tell them when to start. They dig in their treasure “chests” until every piece is found. The first team to find all their treasure wins.

Ghost Bowling – Collect ten empty one or two liter soda pop bottles (use the larger bottles for younger guests). Paint the bottles white and decorate with silly ghost faces. Use a small playground size ball as the bowling ball. If you can find orange ones, decorating them as jack-o-lanterns can add to the fun. 

Once again stay safe and have a great Halloween with your kids!!

by Mamma G

I don’t know why most of us Mommys do it, but we pretend June Cleaver is a realistic role model. “To be a good Mommy, I gotta have at least a little June Cleaver in me!” is the inner voice so many of us guilt trip over.

I can’t say I’m innocent. Look at this picture of my daughter so many Halloween moons ago. Yes, that’s a homemade costume. I bent coat hangers to make the wing frames. I sewed the dress from scratch. Glued on all the tiny beads. How many hours did it take? Probably about twenty or thirty. At a paltry five bucks an hour, that makes this a $120-$170 fairy suit. Not counting the actual $30-40 bucks I spent on materials.

Yikes!

There’re are a whole lot cheaper ways to dress your kid for Halloween! Don’t feel guilty about buying something ready made.

If you want some of the fun of a home made costume, do something simple. Even if I had purchased just the wings and still made the dress I could have saved myself time, money and stress.

In my experience, children-especially tiny ones-don’t care nearly as much about what they wear for Halloween as their parents do. You can still have the joy of piecing together a costume with your child by buying a few separate components and adding a few creative twists, like tail feathers. But take it from me, obsessing over a fancy costume isn’t worth the trouble. Of all the extra work I did as a parent, making costumes was one of the more worthless efforts.

The best thing you can do for your child is to spend friendly, fun time with them. A costume doesn’t have to be any fancier than a paper sack in order to accomplish that. Time to put June Cleaver back in the time machine. Besides, how often do kids end up wearing their coats for trick-or-treating? Just what a stressed out June wanna-be needs, the guilt of having to cover up that darling costume with a worn out overcoat!

Halloween parties can be fantastic fun but they can also be scary for some children, and adults. Here are some tips to keep everyone smiling:

• Allow parents of young children the opportunity to stay with their children at the party. This will make the children, and the parents feel more comfortable and it will provide you helpers as the children make their crafts and play their games.
• For the very young, consider hosting a party during the day. This helps to reduce the spookiness of the event and it also makes it easier for parents to manage their schedule.
• If you’re having the party outside or are dimming the lights inside, make sure to light paths to the bathroom and make sure there’s enough light to be safe. Consider, handing out souvenir flash lights as your guests arrive.
• One of the best ways to determine how many people to invite to a party, and a great way to maintain consistency throughout the year is to, allow children to invite as many people as they are years old. For example, a five year old would invite five children and a fifteen year old would invite fifteen children.
• Don’t forget to take pictures or assign a party photographer. This is often a great job for dads or older siblings.
• Close all doors to rooms where children aren’t allowed to go. You can cover them with ‘keep out’ tape.
• Always have a few games and snacks in your back pocket in the event of a party lull.

If you’re spooked about hosting a party by yourself, consider teaming up with another family. Divide up the tasks and plan a party that you and your children will remember!

Hopefully you have enjoyed of the tips we have shared over the past sever weeks. No doubt you now you have wonderful ideas for your Halloween party swirling in your head and you’re ready to begin planning. Best of luck and have a Happy Halloween! Lets us know what you think, just go to the bottom of this page and leave your thoughts.

 by Stacey Schifferdecker

Boo! Halloween is almost upon us. I know the trick-or-treaters at my house are busy thinking about what they want to be this year. Of course, their ideas change daily, so no costume-making is underway.

In addition to getting your kids ready to go trick-or-treating for Halloween, you need to make your home ready for all the little ones who will be knocking on your door. You don’t anyone to trip and fall or to catch their costume on fire.

Lighting
The universal signal for a house where trick-or-treaters are welcome is a simple porch light. No light – no kids. So be sure and flip your porch light on so the kids know you are ready and waiting.

Of course, extra light is always welcome on Halloween, especially if you have a tricky path or a stump in your yard you don’t want anyone to stumble over. Some orange lights draped around your house will add both atmosphere and lighting. You could also light insert battery-powered candles or lights into plastic pumpkins and line your path with them.

You can also use fake candles to light up your real jack-o-lantern. If you do decide to use a real candle in your jack-o-lantern, make sure you put it out of the way so no one will trip over it or stand too close and catch a flowing costume on fire.

Pets
You love your pets and know whether they are friendly and safe. But many kids are scared of animals – or your pet might be scared of the kids. Do everyone a favor and keep Fido and Fluffy away from the door as much as possible.

Treats
It’s tough to buy treats that will please everyone. Many candies have peanuts, which leaves out the kids who are allergic to those. Little kids shouldn’t have hard candies, which are a choking hazard. Homemade goodies are a definite no-no.

What to do? Of course, you can’t provide a candy smorgasbord, but it is nice to have a couple options – maybe one chocolate-based and one hard candy. Or you can avoid the candy issue altogether and offer pencils or other trinkets. Age-appropriate comic books gleaned from the flea market are always popular at our house, especially among the “tweens.”

General home maintenance
Be sure to remove anything from your porch or steps that a child might trip over and to sweep up slippery wet leaves from the steps and sidewalk.

Decorations
Keep your decorations friendly and not too scary. While you may enjoy horror movie decorations, the young children who come to your door may be frightened.

By following these safety tips, the parent who stays home to pass out candy can have as much fun as the parent who takes the children out trick-or-treating.

Biography
Stacey Schifferdecker is the happy but harried mother of three school-aged children—two boys and a girl. She is also a freelance writer, a Children’s Minister, a PTA volunteer, and a Scout leader. Stacey has a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and French and a Master’s degree in English. She has written extensively about parenting and education as well as business, technology, travel, and hobbies.

No part of this article may be copied or reproduced in any form without the express permission of More4Kids Inc © 2007 All Rights Reserved

Are you planning on a Halloween Party for your little ghouls and their friends? Here are some ideas your kids will be sure to enjoy!

Bobbing for Apples: The classic Halloween party game is bobbing for apples. To make it creepier, peel the apples and call it bobbing for brains or carve faces into them.

Bowls of Goo: Another classic is the “Guess What You’re Feeling” game where you fill various bowls with food items like peeled grapes and call them eyeballs, spaghetti becomes guts, and pumpkin guts are brains.

To add a competitive spin on the games add three marbles into each bowl of goo and challenge the kids to find the eyeballs with their feet!

Guessing Game: Fill a jar with candy corn and ask children to write down their guess on how many pieces of candy are in the jar. Winners get the jar!

Games to get them riled up!

• Scavenger hunts for creepy items. Print out a list ahead of time, or if the children are very young print out a list of pictures, and send the children around the house and yard searching for their items. Pair them up and the first team back wins a special prize.
• Have children move jello, popcorn, or even cotton balls from a bowl on one side of the room to a bowl on the other side of the room. The first team to fill their bowl wins. Tip: If you’re planning on doing this game with food like jello, which is tons of fun, make sure you do it outside so that you don’t end up with a slippery floor.
• Dance contest
• Make your own monster movie contest
• Pumpkin carving contest (for older kids)
• Pumpkin painting (for younger kids). Check out our popular article on pumpkin painting from last year.
• Haunted house (this involves a bit of preparation and consideration of the age of the attendees.) Choose a room or series of rooms to darken and decorate. Gather family members or neighbors to help out with the haunting. The following are some props that you can build yourself to make your haunted house the best one on the block:
  • Coffins, tombstones and walls can all be created from cardboard boxes.
  • Skeletons and bones can be bought for less than $10 at your local dollar store or Halloween specialty store. You can also make them with clay or paper mache.
  • Monster cage can be created easily with PVC pipe and cardboard boxes.
  • Bats and spiders can be made with paper, black socks, felt and much more. Cut out shapes and hang them with black thread or fishing line.
  • Mazes can be made from boxes and/or PVC piping and sheets. Mazes make it easy to create hiding places for scary props and people.
  • Dinner anyone? Create a meal fit for a monster by placing a stuffed mask on a small table (Severed head) and setting the table for a meal. You can even place a monster at the table ready to dine.
  • Spooky pictures can be created by buying cheap frames or making them yourself. You can place real heads behind the frames or print out scary pictures and frame them.
  • Glow in the dark paint creates a fantastic effect. You can also find glow in the dark stickers, chalk, and more. 
  • Hire a witch or dress up a family member and invite them to stir their cauldron and cackle to their hearts content. 
  • Hidden effects offer great surprises. You can hide props where people least expect them, like behind the bathroom door. You can stuff panty hose, place a shoe on them and have a leg sticking out of a closet or cupboard. 
• Hay rides are also great events that take a little extra preparation. If you have the space and means to provide a hay ride, they can be a fantastic outdoor excursion. Of course you’ll also need to have a plan B in the event of rain. 

 

 Find Out how to create Halloween Pumpkins That Outlast Carved Jack-O-Lanterns By Months!
Click here!  

Halloween is a little over a month away. Autumn is a fun season for little ones, because it means going on hayrides, painting pumpkins, and of course dressing up for Halloween. It is especially fun for small girls to dress up for Halloween, especially because there are many costume ideas to choose from.

Toddler Girls Love to Have Their Face Painted

Moms, do you remember back when you went to a fair or a theme park. Chances are, you liked getting your face painted, and little girls are the same way. There are many wonderful face painting kits that you can choose from either in the children’s section of your local book store, a costume shop, or online.

These kits come with instructions as to how you can paint your daughters face just as good as the professionals. You can do something as basic as a cheek design, or you can paint the child’s entire face. Thus, have your little girl choose the design she likes best, and start painting!

Toddler Girls Love to Play Dress Up

When it comes to Halloween costume ideas for girls, you have several options as to how extreme you would like to go. You can take the simple route, by tying some festive ribbons in her hair and having her wear something in autumn colors. Or, you can take more of a decorative route by dressing her up in full costume.

A full costume idea you can choose for your daughter is to dress her in the manner of a Disney princess. Three of the most popular Disney princesses are Cinderella, Snow White, and Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

Each of the Disney princess costumes can be nicely accessorized. For the Cinderella costume, get a pair of long white gloves and a tiara. For Snow White, get a little basket that can double as a trick-or-treating bag. For Belle, have your daughter wear a pretty locket and curl her hair.

If you are skillful in sewing, you can make a princess dress for your child. If you choose this option, save it as a keepsake from one of your child’s early Halloweens. Of course, if you cannot sew, you can just as easily purchase a nice princess dress from a local costume store.

As toddler girls move from infancy to being a toddler, and beyond, they begin to want to start playing dress up, which is perhaps the most favored form of playing throughout a young girl’s life. Halloween is all about dressing up, so no doubt your toddler girl will delight in the opportunity, and picking out or making the perfect costome with Mommy will make it extra special and fun.

Are you planning a Halloween Bash? The right decorations can make or break your party. Too scary and you’ll have little ones crying to go home, not scary enough and the older kids will be bored. Here are a few suggestions for decorating an age appropriate party.

A Pumpkin Themed Party

Gross Out Party

Magic Wonderland Party

Halloween is just a little over a month away Are you planning a Halloween party? Or are you just looking at cooking up something fun for your kids? Here are some of my favorite halloween recipes that are sure to delight and taste great too. How about some Pumpkin Muffins, or Spooky Honey Popcorn Balls? And to wet the kids whistles, why not try some Ghoulish Punch? Here are the recipes:

Pumpkin Muffins

• 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup buckwheat flour 
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup canned unseasoned pumpkin
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup fat-free milk
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon orange peel
• 1/4 cup orange juice

1. In a medium bowl combine the all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and baking soda.
2. In another bowl combine the eggs, pumpkin, milk, oil, orange peel, and orange juice.
3. Add the egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter will be lumpy). 
4. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the muffins are light brown. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups; serve warm. Makes 12 muffins. 

Ghoulish Punch

Ingredients and Directions

• 3 pints of grape juice 
• 1 ½ pints of club soda 
• Mix together the grape juice and club soda and pour into a large bowl or cauldron.

For that little bit of extra ghoulish quality, simply add:

• Grapes that will look like eyes floating in the punch.
• Apples diced in small chunks will float and resemble teeth.
• Rubber gloves filled with water tied off and frozen. Iced hands will keep punch cold and add a creepy touch to the punch.

Spooky Honey Popcorn Balls

• ½ cup honey
• ¼ cup sugar 
• 1 Tbs butter
• 5 cups popped popcorn
• ½ tsp cinnamon