Creepin’ it Real to Make this Halloween Boo-tiful
The spookiest season of the year is upon us. So while we’re pulling out skeletons and dusting off the cobwebs from our closet, we’re pondering ghastly ways to celebrate this year. To me, Halloween is the kick-off to the holiday season. From grim reapers to reindeer leapers, this is the most wonderful time of the year.
Right now, we’re just getting into the spirit of things. The past few years’ events have suppressed our joy, but this year we are finding ways to get beyond it and enjoy the festivities safely. Kids love this time of year and enjoy ‘goblin up’ candy and participating in all the spooky activities. It starts with trick o’ and treating ourselves to some fangtastic yummy foods, creepy decorations, and blood-curdling adventures.
👻 Boo! But, witchful thinking and hocus pocus put aside, we want this season to be safe and fun. Here are a few tips from the crypt that will make this Hallowed Eve Boo-tiful!
With fear as our ultimate goal, we’re all invested in decorating our homes and yards with the most ghoulish and spookiest decor! Many kids will be wearing masks, so have lots of lights so they can see where they are going. Keep stairs clutter-free and electrical cords off the walking path. Secure all props and decorations especially if you live in a windy area. Do not play with fire, use battery-operated candles for your pumpkins and lanterns.
Most of us are enamored with anything pumpkin-related. Pumpkin carving, pumpkin pies, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin seed brittle, pumpkin decorations, and so on. Get the kids involved and plan what meals and treats you will scare up this season. Bake coffin-shaped sugar cookies, make spiced popcorn, savor pumpkin spiced hot chocolate, create mummy pops, lunch on freaky franks or enjoy some pizza mummies. Haunt the web for recipes and ideas!
There is nothing more terrifying than scary movies to get your heart thumping and adrenaline racing. Make a list of your favorite spooky movies and enjoy a night of fright. We prefer the soft scare movies from classic horror actors like the old Vincent Price, Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney and so forth. For kids, movies like Casper, Goosebumps, The Adams Family, Frankenweenie, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Hotel Transylvania, Monster Inc, The Dark Crystal and Harry Potter are more entertaining and less scary.
With more no contact encouragement, people are coming up with innovative ideas to put candy in kids’ cauldrons. Some are leaving treats on a table in their yards, asking kids to be kind and take one item. This can be candy or other non-candy items like pencils. Others have fashioned chutes that allow the homeowner to send down a treat for the kids. Others are using long-armed grabber tools to fill pouches, bags and other containers. Make it fun and get creative.
Whether you purchase a costume or choose to be frugal and create your own, we’re all looking for that spooky vibe. But, keeping comfort and visibility at the forefront is imperative. Have your costume lit with reflective tape. Keep them above your ankles so you don’t trip on the fabric or get caught in things like fences or shrubs. Make sure your material is flame-resistant. Use face paint instead of masks for better visibility.
There is an abundance of spooky stories that will keep kids up all night in terror. That’s the best part of Halloween, staying up late with the lights out and reading a tale of terror. Dark, eerie and traumatizing tales about witches, vampires, ghosts, disembodies voices, graves, spells and other unearthly things are the perfect finish to a grisly day! Pull out your favorite stories…. real or fiction and embark on a night of horror, shock and dread! Or make up your own as you go along – sometimes our imaginations offer the best stories.