Halloween Safety

With Halloween a month away I thought I'd post some Halloween safety for both children and adults.

For children:
* Look both ways before crossing the street.
* Don't eat candy without your parents permission.
* Don't eat opened candy.
* Use face paint instead of masks if possible. Masks may cause vision and breathing restrictions.
* Carry a flashlight.
* Go to only homes that have a front light on.
* Accept treats at the door--don't go inside a stranger's house!
* Use sidewalks. If there are none then walk on the left side of the road facing traffic.

For Parents:
* All children under 10 yrs. old should be trick-or-treating with an adult.
* Try to make children's costumes a lighter colour. If not possible, use reflective tape for easier night visibility.
* Your children's costumes should fit properly and not be too long. If possible, get ones that are fire retardant.
* Plan a trick-or-treat route for your children.
* Feed your children a nutritious meal before going trick-or-treating as this can help prevent them from eating treats before being inspected.

Browsing the isles...

Yesterday I finally got the time to browse the isles in Walmart in their Halloween section without kids I might add happily! That meant I could take my time to look and not have to feel rushed or hearing the usual..."I want a drink of water" or "I need to go potty!" or hearing them whine saying they are tired and want to go home. Someone like me who doesn't get a chance to go anywhere alone without the kids is truly a blessing for me.
There they had many outdoor/indoor lights to hang whether they be in the shape of pumpkins or bats or whatever, then the large outdoor figures that you have blown up. I passed by all those without a second look. There were an array of costumes and I hope that I can get the kids what they want to be before they are all snatched up by others. There were alot of fairy and princess stuff with wings, wands, lots of nylons of different kinds. They had different trick or treat bags and containers for little ones to carry and keep their precious candy hoard but I prefer using the pillowcases. They are stronger, easily just toss them in the washer to clean and bigger. ;)
Onto the masks...not so much gore this year but creepy/scary looking. So I carefully proceeded to look through them all to find an old woman's facemask for my own costume. The one I chose was a witch. (there are a couple different ones of what they termed 'witch') It looked more of an old woman's face with a red and white checkered scarf for around the head which will be perfect to hide anything I need to around the mask and to make it look more real and not clumsily put together.
Before I had gone to the store to browse I had taken the baby sleeper and stuffed it with stuffing from old stuffed animals that were too old to pass on and were no longer used. No need to waste the stuffing and save money to boot! I sewed the mittens on as well and along the snaps on the body of the sleeper so no stuffing will peek out. It's slowly coming along and I think in a couple weeks or so I will be finished...depending on if I can find a large black dress to wear. I might have found a dress...but it's not black...it's more of a dark blue denim that I think if it comes down to it I will buy it (It's at the Salvation Army clothing store just a block from my house)

Signs of Halloween

Besides the usual display of Halloween magazines that are out and have been since the last week in August (at least here they were) there are now other tell-tale signs of Halloween. First was the dollar store getting their shelves stocked after school started. Walmart is now getting their shelves stocked. In the dollar store I found a great wooden cane for my costume! :D My only concerns are to find a large dress...everything else isn't a problem to find.
With the chill in the air I went to the Salvation Army to see what they have for sweaters for what I have a feeling will be cold this year. On one rack were some used Halloween costumes. Now there were none that I could use or have my kids use. My youngest daughter wants to be a tiger and my son a bat. All I need is to find a black sweater and he is done...just a matter of putting it together. My older daughter can't seem to make up her mind so we shall see what the stores have for costumes and maybe she will finally decide. lol! I don't blame her...so many costumes and you have to just pick one! Not fair! LOL!
Another sign of Halloween...at least in this house is my kids bugging me over and over every day once school started to decorate for Halloween...every year! lol! This year it's my older daughter who is doing the most bugging, whining and pleading. I told them I don't decorate till AT LEAST the 15th of October. But she is stubborn like me so I relented...sort of. I decided to bring up the Halloween movies last night so perhaps that might make them content for a little while...either that or it will backfire and cause them to be even more impatient and bug me all the more. LOL! We shall see. I will try to prolong it as long as I can and as close as I can till the end of the month.

Halloween Magazines

Well the Halloween Magazines are now starting to fill the shelves in full force. Off I was to go to pick up a few things I needed to make supper when Vic calls me on his cell to let me know at the drug store they had sales, etc. But what made my ears perk up was him telling me of all the Halloween magazines he saw out on the rack. I go over to discover there were about four or five there!
With three young ones I couldn't take my time to browse through them all so I flipped the pages quickly to make sure there wasn't any that was just all recipes. I picked one and off I went. (I always pick just one at a time) I got home to put things away and such and when I finally had some time to sit and relax I looked through it and I have to say I am impressed with what was inside.
Better Homes and Gardens has a magazine (as pictured) with something for everyone. There are actually some ideas here that I've never heard nor seen before and I'm thrilled to say its full of great stuff that I don't have to tear just a few pages out to put in my Halloween binder...just about the entire magazine is a keeper so I'll be keeping it intact and will be able to enjoy looking through it over and over. :)

Weird Halloween Trivia

Halloween stirs up all kinds of phobias, and many may be feeling creeped out by the festivities this year.
Some suffer from the following fears:
* Fear of cats = ailurophobia
* Fear of ghosts = phasmophobia
* Fear of Halloween = samhainophobia
* Fear of the dark = nyctophobia
* Fear of witches = wiccaphobia
* Fear of the number 13 = Paraskavedekatriaphobia
* Fear of cemeteries = coimetrophobia
* Fear of spiders = arachnophobia

It was believed that black cats were witches’ familiars and protected them.

Vampire bats do exist, but not in Transylvania. They are typically found in Central and South America where they feed on horses, cattle or birds.

If you stare into a mirror at midnight on Halloween, legend says you will see the face of your future spouse.

It is also believed that if you see a spider on Halloween, it is the spirit of a loved one watching over you.

If you have a unibrow or unusually long middle fingers, then you just might be a werewolf, otherwise known as a lycanthrope.

In France, more than 30,000 werewolf cases were tried between 1520 and 1630.

It's illegal to sell a haunted house in New York without informing the buyer.

Trick-or-treating is an Irish tradition, based on a custom where wealthy landowners would give food to the poor on Halloween night, believing ghosts would look favorably on them for doing so and spare them from mischief.

There is a poisonous mushroom called a jack-o'-lantern. These mushrooms are a bright orange-yellow in color and on rainy nights they appears to glow in the dark.

The first Frankenstein film was produced by Thomas Edison in 1910.

A pumpkin is a berry in the cucurbitaceae family, which also includes melons, cucumbers, squash and gourds. All these plants are native to the Americas.

The 13th

Happy Friday the 13th! :)

Found one!

Well, I found a picture online. A friend hunted it down for me and you can see it here...
http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/grim-granny-662441/
Sorry...still haven't figured out how to properly post links on here. But you can copy and paste it in your browser. It describes how to create the costume as well. I found it in a book, not realizing it was online too. :) Huzzah!
I actually got the cane and a purse at the local Salvation Army. It's a great place to find what you might need when creating your costume. :) (Especially if you are on a budget.)
So this will be the costume I am going to make for myself. :)