Creating a Memorable First Halloween for Baby

Pictures, albums and home video may be the only way children ever know they even participated in trick or treating as a baby. Who are we kidding? We all know the fun of baby’s first Halloween or two is more for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and siblings. Here are some suggestions for saving money on baby’s first trick or treat experience as well as safety tips to make the night as fun as it can be.

Be Frugal with Baby’s First Halloween Costume

The first Halloween costume should be special, but that doesn’t mean it has to break the bank? Before you go crazy spending out of your budget for a Halloween outfit for baby, try networking with other parents. Many parents save their own children’s first costumes. They may be open to swapping costumes with you or willing to sell their little one’s old costume at a minimal cost. If this isn’t an option for you and you find you need to purchase your baby’s costume, there are lots of children’s thrift stores and boutiques that carry precious Halloween outfits in the month of October. Another option for making sure baby’s first costume is cute and inexpensive outfit is to check eBay.

Safety Tips to Keep Baby’s Safe and Sound

• Pass On Inhibiting Costume Items

Babies do not like to wear masks and most will fight and cry in discomfort if you put them in costumes that restrict their movements.

• Avoid Scary Masks and Costumes

Don’t be surprised if older babies are frightened by other people’s masks and costumes as well. This is not a time to instill fear into your baby. Sometimes adults and older children find it funny to show babies “the ropes” without realizing they can inadvertently scare infants.

• Keep Weather Conditions in Mind

When choosing your costume, keep in mind what your weather will most likely be that time of year. In the northern part of the U.S., it is not unusual for children to wear coats over their costumes. The more south you go, you may have children overdressed in 80 degree weather. That adorable fur bear or lion outfit may not be the most comfortable outfit for baby if you live in an area that’s still a bit warm on Halloween. Don’t over or undress baby.

• Give Family & Friends a Call Ahead Before Visiting

You have special people in your life that you’ll want to share baby’s first Halloween with. A phone call ahead to these people to be sure they are going to be home will help ensure that pictures (or videos) of baby with this special someone can be taken. Try and make your plans up to a week ahead. You don’t want to be disappointed later when trying to scrapbook your child’s first trick or treat experience and someone is missing.

Celebrate Baby’s First Halloween Again and Again

Just like every other first for your little one, you’ll want to keep record of his or her first Halloween with pictures, video and other keepsake items. One way you can do this is by creating a scrapbook that will preserve these items for years to come. Get creative in how you layout your album. Don’t be afraid to take pictures with props that symbolize the holiday and the season. Hay bails and pumpkins are just a few ideas; you can also check with your local craft store for other embellishments such as stamps, stencils and more.

Memories are something we all have. With some extra care and planning, Halloween and your baby’s first trick or treat experience can be most memorable for everyone involved. Who knows, that adorable first Halloween costume might find its way into the senior year book later.

No matter what costume you choose or how you remember the day, keep the tips and suggestions above in mind for a safe, happy and fun Halloween.

Halloween Fun for Children

The time is upon us. The weather is starting to get chillier, the leaves are falling, school has started and that can only mean one thing: Halloween is around the corner! This time of year is all spooking a few friends, stocking up with goodies on the big night and having fun. So, here are some ideas to help your children (and you) have a great time this Halloween. Have fun!

Halloween Riddles for All Ages

1. What did Dr. Spook give the witch who had a sore throat?

Answer: Coffin Drops

2. What do Ghost’s wear when their eye sight is failing?

Answer: Spookicles

3. How do you make a witch stew?

Answer: Make her wait!

4. What do lady ghosts put on their skin?

Answer: Vanishing lotion

5. What do you get when you cross a witch with an iceberg?

Answer: A cold spell

6. How do bats learn to fly?

Answer: They take batting lessons.

7. If you worked in a mortuary, what would you call your free time?

Answer: Coffin Break

8. Why do skeletons always catch a cold?

Answer: the get chilled to the bone.

9. What is a vampire's favorite fruit?

Answer: Necktarines

Tombstone Quotes to Make You Giggle

Bonnie Parker (Bonnie and Clyde): “As the flowers are all made sweeter by the sunshine and the dew, so this old world is made brighter by the lives of folks like you.”

Tombstone Arizona: “Here lies Lester Moore; Four slugs from a .44; No Les No More.

Pennsylvania Tombstone, US: “Here lies the body of Jonathan Blake. Stepped on the gas instead of the brake.”

England Tombstone: “The children of Israel wanted bread and the Lord sent them manna. Old Clerk Wallace wanted a wife…and the Devil sent him Anna.”

Massachusetts Tombstone: “Under the sod and under the trees, lies the body of Jonathan Pease. He is not here, there’s only the pod. Pease shelled out and went to God.”

Dentists’ Tombstone: “John Brown is filling his last cavity.”

Can you come up with more funny or spooky tombstone ideas?

Who Can Make the Most Words?

On a piece of paper write the words “Trick or Treat”. See who can make the most words using only the letters found in the phrase.

Possible Answers: (There may be more, but here are quite a bit to get you started): rock, ate, tick, tack, race, oat, are, rate, crate, car, rack, trace, tart, tort, crater, racer, rice, track, or, tea, tire, ace, ice, ore, tore, rico, roar, kite, tear

Here’s a Halloween poem kids will love:

Witches and Goblins and Ghosts, OH NO

By Sheilah Warner Blackledge

Out on a night called Halloween

I’m dressed like a dog and my mom’s a queen

The sounds of ghosts make me turn green

I think I’ll run, but instead I scream

The witch over there behind those trees

Put me and mama on our knees

A goblin grabbed me by the arm

It was my friend Jo who meant me no harm

Oh my, oh why do I want to go?

To hear witches and goblins and ghosts, OH NO!

Halloween Wreath Craft for Pre-School and Kindergarten Students

This is a fun project that you may want to break up across a couple of days, so be sure to start a few days before Halloween. Mom, you can join in the fun as well and make a Halloween wreath of your own too!

Material List

• Paper Plate (One per child/adult)

• Scissors

• Leaves

• Glue Sticks

• Orange Construction Papers

• White Construction Paper

• Black Construction Paper

• Washable Black Marker

• Black Yarn (optional)

Adult Preparation: (To Be Done Prior to Actual Wreath Making)

Cut the center from each paper plate prior to giving one to each child. These will be the base for the homemade wreaths.

Day 1: Grab the kids and head outdoors.

Gather as many fallen leaves of different shapes and colors as you can find. Once you’ve collected enough leaves to cover each paper plate, head back inside and glue them to the paper plates. You can glue the leaves to cover the entire plate, randomly around the plate or even as a border around only the edge, whichever you prefer. Once you’ve glued the leaves to the paper plate, leave the plates to dry for 24 hours or at least overnight.

Day 2: Creativity

Depending on how much time you have to complete this project you can have the children do the next step after the leaves have been glued on, while you’re waiting for them to dry or you can make another day of it.

Let the children draw Halloween images on the construction paper. Here are some ideas for each color of paper:

Orange – Pumpkins (Use the black marker to draw the face on their pumpkins)

White – Ghosts, Mummies, Bones

Black – Cats, Witch Hats (You can use the yarn to put a tail on the cat and hair on the witches head if you’d like to put that under the hat)

Once the children have picked out and drawn which decorations they’ll be using, carefully cut them out and paste them to the wreath.

Tip: Pre-placement (before gluing) will give the child an idea of what the wreath will look like once it is all glued together. When the children are happy with the way the decorations are placed, it’s time to glue them to the leaves.

Again, allow the decorations to dry completely.

Day 3: Decorating Time

Congratulations! You’ve made your very own homemade Halloween wreath. Enjoy your child’s creation by hanging it on the front door or his or her bedroom door for all your friends and family to see and admire.

How to Make 1920s Flapper One Hour Dress Costume

How to Make a 1920s Flapper style Dress in only One Hour! Includes 4 Special Bonuses.

Check it out!

Freddy Krueger Prop – Nightmare on Elm Street Animatronic

There is a new Freddy Krueger Nightmare on Elm Street Animatronic that is great. It is not based on the classic Robert Englund version, but based on the 2010 movie remake version

It is six feet tall and motion-activated. He moves his head from side-to-side, bends his arm, his eyes and mouth move and one really cool feature is that his gloved fingers move!

Check out the : Freddy Krueger Prop

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Freddy Krueger Costumes

Frederick Charles, or Freddy Krueger, refers to a fictional character that appears in the horror flick Nightmare on Elm Street. He is a disfigured stalker of dreams who wears a glove with razors to murder people in their dreams, causing them to die in the actual world. In the actual world, however, his vulnerability and human strength is just like any other person’s. Freddy Krueger first appeared in Wes Craven’s movie in 1984 but thanks to the remake this 2010, he is more popular than ever with Robert Englund replaced by Jackie Earle Haley.

A lot of people call Freddy Krueger a part of the undead as he can attack people from inside their dreams. His face is disfigured and burned and he wears a striped burgundy and olive green sweater along with a brown fedora and his trademark brown leather glove with metal claws sticking out of them. Freddy Krueger also happens to be one of the most well-known villains within the last century.

If you love horror flicks, then Freddy Krueger the dream stalker shouldn’t be a new character to you. Whether this movie made an appearance in your life when you were child or an adult, it must have made you not want to fall asleep for a while. Either way, it is now possible to turn into this fictional yet legendary killer this Halloween with authentic looking Freddy Krueger costumes. Yes, make a fearful and unforgettable fashion statement this year by wearing one.

Look like the person who makes people fear sleep and haunts people’s dreams by sending them into horrible inescapable traps. This Halloween, you can bring this terrifying fictional character to life and the best part is that a lot of different variations of this costume now exist. One great variation is the most classic one and includes the striped burgundy and dark olive green shirt along with a disfigured and grotesque molded mask.

One costume variation that is more modern would be the Ms. Krueger costume, which gives women the chance to join in the action. A sexier version of the classic Freddy Krueger costume, you can look both scary and hot at the same time with the same colors and trademark look of its male counterpart.

This year, no matter which costume party you attend for Halloween, you can definitely become the talk of the town with an authentic Ms. Krueger or Freddy Krueger costume. To complete your costume, make sure you take a look at the various accessories available today that match the ensemble, as well. After all, no Freddy Krueger costume would be complete without the legendary glove and fedora hat. Plus, you can take things up a notch by donning a molded mask, too. Additionally, these accessories can all be found in a lot of different variations to suit your personal budget. Enjoy looking around!

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10 Frugal Kitchen Tips For The Holiday Hostess

The holiday season is just around the corner. If you are hosting a holiday dinner, now is the time to start preparing. I know it’s tough to think about this early, but planning ahead will help you save time and money. Waiting until the last minute can cause you to go overboard with your spending and, gasp, pay full price! Here are 10 tips to help you create a budget friendly holiday dinner.

1. Set a budget - How much can you afford to spend on the holiday meal? Depending on how many guests you are hosting, buying the food for a large group can get expensive. Set a realistic budget for yourself and try not to go over it.

2. Create your menu - Take some time to decide what you plan to serve. Are you cooking the whole meal or will family members bring a dish? If your guests are bringing something, do you know what they will bring? Make sure to contact family members early enough so everyone knows what their responsibilities are. If you are looking for some budget friendly holiday meals, take a look at some ideas here.

3. Make a shopping list- Now that you have your menu, it’s time to decide what you need. Take a look at the ingredients you will need for each dish and write down what you need to buy. Chances are you will probably have some items on hand, so you can start setting those aside (see tip #6). If you do not have the necessary ingredients on hand, add those items to your shopping list.

4. Watch the sale ads -Take a look at your grocery ad and start comparing what is on sale (match your coupons to the sale items for even more savings) and what you need from your shopping list. Try to buy a little bit each week so you are not stuck overpaying the week of the holiday. This tip can go a long way to help you budget. Spending $20-$30 over 5-6 weeks isn't nearly as bad as spending $120-$180 at once.

5. Buy the store brand - Using the store brand for cooking is a great way to save money any time of the year but it can add up to big savings during the holiday season. Don’t be afraid to try this tip to help save money in your holiday food budget.

6. Keep everything in one place- If you are buying a few items each week to prepare for your holiday meals, keep them in a separate place so you and/or your family members don’t get tempted to eat it beforehand. You wouldn’t want to start cooking and realize half your ingredients are gone!

7. Freeze what you can- Once you have your necessary ingredients, start reviewing your menu. Is there anything you and make ahead of time and freeze? This is a great way to cut down on the amount of work you need to do on the actual day your guests will arrive. My mom makes this baked potato salad recipe that freezes very well and is always a big hit. Her tip is to stir it in the last 15-20 minutes so everything blends together.

8. Make your own table decorations - No need to buy expensive themed items to make your house more festive for the season. Try creating your own! Better yet - did your child create something for the holiday at school? Use this as a centerpiece for something different. My grandma used a paper mache turkey my dad made in kindergarten as her centerpiece for Thanksgiving for years! Women's Day has some creative ideas here and here. All You magazine also has some great ideas here and here.

9. Clean ahead of time - Will you be using your good china for the holiday meal or your holiday-themed cloth napkins? Chances are you use these once a year so they probably need to be washed. Are there other tasks like this in your kitchen? Make a list of everything that needs to be done and add a few of these little jobs to your calendar each day. You don’t want to spend the night before trying to clean and cook, you will be exhausted and in no mood to enjoy the holiday. Breaking the tasks down into smaller steps you can do each day will save you time and energy.

10. Start preparing for next year- It’s hard to think about, but once the holiday is over, start shopping for next year to find the best deals. You can usually find holiday themed items like napkins, paper plates, cups and other decorative items 75%-90% after the holiday. Shop the sale racks and put those items away to be used next year.

These tips can help you get a head start on your holiday plans to make sure you stay within your budget. Do you have a favorite frugal holiday tip? If so, I’d love to hear it! Please feel free to leave a comment with your favorite tip.

Jenny Kerr is the creator of The Jenny Pincher and savings expert for the single girl. Visit The Jenny Pincher to learn more.

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Sexy Halloween Costumes

Have a Little Adult Fun with Sexy Halloween Costumes

Sexy Halloween costumes have been a long time favorite for men and women alike. Men absolutely love the look and women love cutting loose and feeling like a sensual goddess. There are many different sexy outfits that can be worn this season. When choosing the look, there are a few things you should consider first.

Where Will You Wear your Sexy Costume?

Some sexy Halloween costumes are more risqué than others. There are outfits that simply should not be worn around younger party guests while some are a little less revealing. For example, a Vampire Slayer or Top Gun women’s costume is still very alluring, but not outright offensive. Enough flesh is covered to be acceptable, while accentuating curves. These costumes might be a better choice for parties or public venues.

On the other hand, if the event is adults only, or if you are entertaining only one other, something far more revealing might be a better choice. Lady Gaga or the sexy Indian adult costumes could be quite appropriate. In the end, you can always add a few extra garments to turn a revealing costume into something slightly more family friendly when necessary.

What Personality Are You Going For?

Sexy costumes are all eye-catching, but that is often where the similarities end. This category of Halloween costume comes in many different flavors. There are cute and innocent styles, such as the Lucky Lady Bug or Daisy Bee outfits, but then there are costumes with a little more edge like the sexy Devil adult costume. With so many options, you can choose a look that suits your personal preferences while still being extremely sexy.

Will Accessories Get in the Way?

There may be moments when accessories make it difficult to move. Whether you are spending an intimate evening alone with someone special or attending an adult Halloween party, it is important to choose a costume that is comfortable. Some costumes come with wings, props, or other accessories that complete the look but can become a bit of a burden to you throughout the evening. Try to find a costume that looks great but also offers the full range of movement without hindrances.

If your sexy costume includes an accessory that could get in the way, just make sure you can remove it easily later. Have a place to stash your accessory so you will not forget it, such as in a closet or in your car (if you are going to someone else’s home).

The Right Shoes

Most sexy Halloween costumes do not include footwear, so make sure you have something ready to go. High heels can make some of the best eye candy, but they can also be very difficult to walk around in. If you plan on doing a lot of moving in your stylish heels, make sure you break them in long before. Wear them a few times in the evening, even if it is just around the house. You will be so glad you did when you can dance and strut the night away in your extremely sexy Halloween costume!

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Origins of What People Love about Halloween

During the crazy frenzy of throwing parties, dressing up and decorating the house, people tend to forget to think about why they love Halloween so much in the first place. All of the candy, costumes, trick or treating and decorations consume most of their energy this holiday and sadly, because of this, the importance of Halloween fun is easily forgotten.

Did you know that Halloween has been around for thousands of years now? Halloween was actually first celebrated in northern France, Ireland and the UK by the Celts. The day was celebrated a day before the Celtic Samhain festival in November, which they considered to be their New Year.

During this time, the Celts would bring down cattle from the hills and they would gather together in their houses to do handicrafts and tell stories, some of the many things that people still love about Halloween today. Admit it: as scary as they may be, Halloween ghost stories are some of the things you always look forward to hearing every year.

The origin of trick or treating is completely different. This can be attributed to the parades on All Souls’ Day in England where the poor approached rich people and begged them for food. These wealthy families would normally offer the poor some pastries known as soul cakes and the poor would, in turn, pray for the rich people’s dead relatives. Soon, people started giving sweets to kids who arrived at their houses dressed like ghosts or witches and if somebody refused to give them sweets, the kids were entitled to play a practical joke on them. To this day, both children and adults enjoy trick or treating for candy and it is probably the highlight of every child’s year now.

The reason why people celebrate Halloween now by dressing up is because the Celts found the winter to be extremely frightening because they could run out of food at any time. Halloween costumes happen to be another factor that people love about the holiday and these can be traced back to the tradition of the Celts where they covered themselves in costumes and masks, so that ghosts wouldn’t be able to recognize them as they left home to look for food.

Carving faces on pumpkins is another favorite pastime of Halloween and can also be attributed to the Celts who carved various faces on potatoes back in the day. However, after migrating to America, they realized that there were more pumpkins and thus started carving faces on pumpkins instead. This is still a Halloween tradition to this day.

In the United States of America, Halloween is one of the largest commercial holidays today. People now religiously dress up in fancy or scary costumes every year and even decorate their houses to look as scary as possible. However, the eeriness that once came with this particular festival no longer exists nowadays and has instead been replaced by a community spirit filled with fun instead of fear. Happy Halloween!

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What Is A Halloweenie?

Urban Dictionary: Halloweenie "...A person who loves Halloween above all holidays. Halloween is their Christmas, Easter...makes cool props, decorates their yard and home like a haunted house and has no problem coming up with the most creative and original costumes ever to show up at a party."

Halloween with Older Kids - I'mTotally Over It

I used to love Halloween. As a parent, I mean. What's cuter than little kids in costumes? Nothing! Little kids in costumes are awesome, and their joy over dressing up and getting mini Kit-Kats is its own reward!

I even loved Halloween the year I decided I could easily make my daughter a costume, even though I really don't sew and am not crafty at all. I loved Halloween while I followed the "easy" costume directions, stabbed my fingers repeatedly, and swore a blue streak about the difficulty of sewing fake fur. I loved all four Halloweens that that homemade skunk costume was worn. (Twice by my daughter, twice by my son. With all of the hours that went into it, you bet I made sure we extracted the maximum value from that particular getup.)

I loved the Halloweens of licensed characters ("I'm Buzz Lightyear, Mama! TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!") and I even loved the more recent Halloweens of clever play-on-word costumes. (What do you get when you attach a bunch of fuzzy Easter chicks to a regular outfit? A chick magnet!) I have loved a lot of Halloweens, is what I'm saying.

But now? Now I am completely over Halloween.

Halloween is next weekend, and neither of my children have settled on a costume. My son (in 5th grade) wants us to make plans to go trick-or-treating with some friends of his, but he can't decide what he wants to wear. I'm not particularly looking forward to an evening of tromping around just so that he can get all jacked up on sugar. My daughter (7th grade) wants me to make her a costume, but she's not sure what, and also can't I please just drop her off with friends and then cease to exist?

"Aren't you a little old for trick-or-treating?" I ask her.

"What? That's like asking if I'm too old for candy. Which I'm not," she assures me.

I don't know what the accepted etiquette (if any) is, at this point; I do know that when kids my height come to my door begging for candy, I do think they're too old to go around begging for it, particularly as many of them don't even wear costumes once they get older. Some cities are banning teenage trick-or-treaters altogether. Call me a curmudgeon, but when a teen shows up with a bag and no costume, I always ask what they're dressed up as. And if they shrug or otherwise confess to not being dressed up, I tell them to come back once they're willing to work for their candy. I usually draw the line at telling them to get off my lawn, but c'mon. Put a little effort in, kids.

So I'm pretty much over it. I want to tell my son to make a decision and make it good, because this is his last year of elementary school and it's nearly time for him to give up this yearly ritual. And I want to tell my daughter to just buy herself a bag of Skittles and call it a day, but she claims that all of her friends still trick-or-treat, Mother, and I have no idea what I'm talking about.

Bah, humbug. Or perhaps it should be: Bah, gummy worms.

Other bloggers weigh in on Halloween and older kids:

Amy Mullis waxes hilarious about the options for her and her grown children.Jackie Layer of Fowlerville High School states her case for high schoolers still trick-or-treating.Free Range Kids has a few things to say about The Today Show's advice to parents on the acceptable age for kids to trick-or-treat without parents.And just because babies on Halloween are always timely, and singing babies (and dogs) are way more fun than contemplating my middle schooler's costume needs, check out Annie's Halloween Quandary for an overdose of cute.

Do you have older kids? Do they still trick-or-treat? Are you feeling as over Halloween this year as I am?

BlogHer Contributing Editor Mir is in your candy stash, stealing the dark chocolate. She blogs near-daily about issues parental and otherwise at Woulda Coulda Shoulda (where this piece originally appeared), and posts all day long about the joys of mindful retail therapy at Want Not.

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Pet Safety Tips for Halloween

Unlike their owners, cats and dogs don’t always enjoy the fun spirit of Halloween. While we humans tend to get excited and go romping out into the neighborhood, frolicking through fallen leaves, ringing doorbells and bringing home the rewards of our labor in the form of sweet treats, many of our animal companions find this time quite stressful.

Your pet does not realize the costumes and sounds are make-believe and the people behind those getups are just that…people. You may find that your animal will panic when you answer the door for trick-or-treaters or when you dress up in your Halloween costume.


Keeping Your Easily Agitated Pets Safe from Harm

If you’re hosting a party in your home or invite trick-or-treaters to your door, one of the best ways to keep Fido (and those who are visiting) safe is to remove him from the situation completely. You can kennel your animal somewhere else for the night or put them in a room that’s off limits to guests. If your cat or dog is normally skittish around people, it’s best to keep them away from all the commotion on Halloween.

While many animals will freak out from all the holiday hoopla, there are some who love it just as much, if not more than you do. Here are some tips to allow your people loving, socialite pet to get involved in the festivities in a safe way.

Let them enjoy your visitors – from a distance.

You may find that your pet is not bothered by the costumes at all. Maybe your puppy or kitty likes to go to the door and welcome your guests. If this is the case, make sure he or she does not dart out the door while you’re handing out treats. Try leashing your animal within a safe distance from the door so they can enjoy the guests while remaining safe inside.

This will also help the children who like to see the animals but don’t want to touch them or be close to them. Because animals scare some children while others get very excited and want to run toward them and be the aggressor, a leashed animal will help you stay in control of the situation and allow both the children and your pet to enjoy the experience.

Candy and Pets Don’t Mix

If you have children who will be trick-or-treating, you’ll have to pay careful attention to your pets once you return home for the night with the kids’ treats. While sorting and eating the goodies from the evening, make certain that all candy, especially chocolate, is out of the cat or dog’s reach.

Chocolate, even in the tiniest amounts, can be deadly to animals. Refrain from letting your little ones dump their trick-or-treat bags and buckets on the floor to sort their candy. Instead, head to the dining room table or a counter to pick through the yummy treats.

You Know Your Pet Better Than Anyone

As the “parent” to your pet, you know his or her temperament better than anyone else. If this is your first Halloween with a pet, don’t be surprised if he or she doesn’t find the day as pleasurable as the other members of the family.

Keep these simple, yet often overlooked safety tips in mind this year. By taking simple precautions beforehand to prepare for the night, you can ensure everyone in the family and all your guests have a healthy and safe Halloween.