Tips To Make Halloween Night Safe And Fun

Halloween is just still a couple of days away so now’s the time to start thinking about what precautions you plan to take to ensure that everyone in your family has both a safe and fun night of trick or treating!

Tips For Costume Safety On Halloween

Choose Good Materials

When picking out or making costumes, prioritize comfort and safety. Avoid materials that can easily catch fire or have loose parts that may be a tripping hazard. Choose a costume made of breathable fabric to avoid overheating or thick fabrics to keep your little ones warm depending on the climate of where you live! 

Prioritize Visibility

Dark-colored costumes might look spooky, but they can make it difficult for drivers to see your child, especially at night. Incorporate reflective tape or stickers into the costume design, and give your child a flashlight or glow sticks to carry for added visibility.

Tips For Trick-or-Treating On Halloween

Adult Supervision

Always accompany young children when they go trick-or-treating. Stick to well-lit, familiar neighborhoods, and use the buddy system if they’re old enough to go out with friends.

Set a Time Limit

Establish a curfew for trick-or-treating and plan a route in advance. This will help ensure that your child doesn’t get too tired and can enjoy the Halloween festivities without becoming overwhelmed or getting upset when trick-or-treating ends unexpectedly.

Tips For Street Safely On Halloween

Stay on Sidewalks

Remind your child to always walk on the sidewalk and use crosswalks when crossing the street. Emphasize the importance of looking both ways before crossing, even if the road appears empty.

Be Cautious Crossing the Road

Drivers may be distracted, in a hurry, or have a hard time seeing trick-or-treaters. Make sure your child understands the importance of making eye contact with drivers before crossing in front of them if they’ve stopped at a crosswalk or intersection.

Tips For Keeping Your Home Safe On Halloween

Keep Home Well-Lit

If you’re handing out candy at home, ensure that your porch and walkway are well-lit to prevent accidents and falls. Remove any tripping hazards from your yard or walkway.

Pet Safety

If you have pets, consider keeping them in a separate room during trick-or-treating hours. The constant doorbell ringing and unfamiliar costumes can stress out animals which can also stress out your young visitors.

Tips For If Your Child Has Allergies and Dietary Restrictions On Halloween

Be Vocal About Their Restrictions

If your child has food allergies or dietary restrictions, be vigilant about checking labels and communicating their needs to those distributing treats. If you’re going to a party or trick or treating around your neighborhood, reach out in advance to anyone you feel comfortable with and see if they’re able to accommodate your child’s allergy or dietary restrictions.

Plan Ahead

There will be nothing more disappointing on Halloween than your child not being able to eat any of the treats they receive so try planning ahead to have a stash at home just in case the treats they get aren’t allergy-safe. 

Tips For An Emergency On Halloween

Discuss A Plan In Advance

If your child is going trick-or-treating without you or there is a chance that they’ll be walking ahead of you and get separated, come up with a plan beforehand about what you both will do if that happens. Discuss meeting points and who in the neighborhood they can ask for help if they need it.

Give Them Emergency Contact Information

Make sure your child knows your phone number and address in case they get separated from you. Consider writing this information on a small card that they can carry in their pocket, especially if they’re too young to memorize it. Even if you have no intention of separating from your child, including an emergency contact card in their pocket or treat bag can’t hurt.

 

Ghoulishly Good Books For Halloween

October is finally here which means it’s time to get ready for Halloween! If your little ones can’t stop talking about their costumes and asking when they’re going trick or treating, try breaking out a few Halloween books to hold them over! We’ve got a list of seven fun Halloween books out of our many, many favorites!

The good the bad and the spooky

The Bad Seed Presents: The Good, the Bad, and the Spooky

Great for preschoolers, & kindergarteners!

Halloween is the Bad Seed’s favorite holiday of the year. But what’s a seed to do when he can’t find a show-stopping costume for the big night? Postpone trick-or-treating for everyone, of course!

Can he get a costume together in time? Or will this seed return to his baaaaaaaaad ways?

Find out in this hilarious, charming, and thought-provoking continuation of Jory John and Pete Oswald’s bestselling Food Group series.

Little ghost who lost her boo

The Little Ghost Who Lost Her Boo!

Great for toddlers & preschoolers!

Little Ghost went out in the middle of the night and flew up to someone to give them a fright.

She opened her mouth–but her BOO wasn’t there! All that came out was a rush of cold air.

“I’ve lost my BOO! I’ve lost my BOO! Where has it gone? What will I do?”

Poor Little Ghost has lost her scary BOO, so she sets out on a nighttime hunt to find it. She searches high and low, but it’s nowhere to be found! Will she ever find her lost BOO?

With bold and gorgeous art accompanied by bouncy, rhyming text, The Little Ghost Who Lost Her Boo is a charming, not-so-spooky read aloud perfect for Halloween or any time of year!

We're going on a pumpkin hunt

We’re Going on a Pumpkin Hunt

Great for preschoolers, & kindergarteners!

We’re going on a pumpkin hunt.

We’re going to find a big one.

What a beautiful night!

We’re not scared.

Three trick-or-treaters are looking for the perfect pumpkin on a beautiful, Halloween night. They have to make their way through some sticky cobwebs, flying bats, and even a dark, spooky house! But they’re not scared. The trick-or-treaters eventually find their pumpkin and…a ghost!

Stumpkin

Stumpkin

Great for toddlers & preschoolers!

Stumpkin is the most handsome pumpkin on the block. He’s as orange as a traffic cone! Twice as round as a basketball! He has no bad side! He’s the perfect choice for a Halloween jack-o-lantern.

There’s just one problem—Stumpkin has a stump, not a stem. And no one seems to want a stemless jack-o-lantern for their window.

As Halloween night approaches, more and more of his fellow pumpkins leave, but poor Stumpkin remains. Will anyone give Stumpkin his chance to shine?

Pick a pumpkin

Pick a Pumpkin

Great for toddlers & preschoolers!

Pick a pumpkin from the patch. Tall and lean or short and fat. Vivid orange, ghostly white, or speckled green, might be just right.

Pairing a wonderfully rhythmic read-aloud text with expressive retro illustrations, author Patricia Toht and illustrator Jarvis capture all the excitement and familial feeling of a favorite holiday tradition. Readers will be happy to follow along with each step, from picking out the perfect specimen at the pumpkin patch (be sure to stop for cider and toffee apples) to carting it home, scooping out the insides, carving a scary face, and finally lighting a candle inside — savoring the familiar ritual of transforming an ordinary pumpkin into a one-of-a-kind glowing jack-o’-lantern.

The little kitten

The Little Kitten

Great for toddlers & preschoolers!

Ollie and her cat Pumpkin are out frolicking on a beautiful fall day when they come upon a tiny kitten shivering in a pile of fallen leaves. Ollie warms the kitten up and the three become fast friends, but when Ollie sees “Lost Kitten” posters hanging on the trees in the forest, she knows she has to help her new friend get home. As Halloween draws nearer, magic is afoot, and Ollie’s good deed is rewarded in an unexpected way

Pete the cat: trick or pete

Pete the Cat: Trick or Pete

Great for toddlers, preschoolers, & kindergarteners!

Pumpkins, candy, and costumes! With flaps that reveal fun Halloween surprises, this Pete the Cat holiday story is sure to be a sweet treat for your little trick-or-treaters.

Follow Pete as he goes trick-or-treating from house to house and discover what is waiting behind each door.

Lift the flaps to reveal fun spooky surprises—this book is spooktacular!

 

Halloween Safety Tips for Little Ones

Trick or Treating is just about a week away, and as everybody looks for their favorite costumes and plans trick or treating with family and friends, we often lose sight of the dangers associated with this fun activity. There are a lot of people out and about, it’s dark, there are decorations everywhere, and the costumes can make it difficult to keep track of the little ones.

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Local Halloween Events for the Kiddos

Halloween is only a few weeks away, and while everybody goes trick-or-treating on the 31st, there are plenty of other Halloween-themed events in the area for you to take part in throughout the next two weeks aside from our own Halloween parades! From parades, to hayrides, to trunk or treats, we have compiled a small list of events within our local area:

  • Trunk or Treat at the George H. Wimberg Funeral Home, 1707 New Road, Linwood – Saturday, October 27, 1-3pm. Partnering with local Police and Fire Departments, this tunk or treat is completely free of charge and includes face painting, candy, safety demonstrations and much more! The only request is to please bring a gently used book as a donation!
  • EHT Trunk or Treat – EHTHS Parking Lot, October 13th, 3-5pm. The 3rd Annual EHT Trunk or Treat is a safe, fun, family event featuring music, games, and contests. Admission is $5 per child or $10 per family if 3 or more children.
  • Northfield Family Friendly Halloween Hayride, Birch Grove Park, every Friday and Saturday through the end of the month. Every year Birch Grove Park holds their family-friendly hayride: a nighttime ride through the park decorated with fun ghosts, dinosaurs, and other family-friendly items. Addmission is $5 per person.
  • Historic Smithville’s Costume Pet Parade, 615 E Moss Mill Road, Smithville, Saturday, October 20 at 1pm. Hosted by Paw Dazzle, this annual parade boasts over 100 dogs dressed up in their little costumes!
  • Ocean City Exchange Club’s 71st Annual Halloween Parade, Asbury Avenue between 6th and 11th streets, October 25 and 7;15pm. Floats, cheerleading and drill teams, antique cars, costumes, and much more.
  • Boo Bash Halloween Party, Boscov’s, 6725 Black Horse Pike, October 27, 1-4pm. Come dressed in your Halloween costume and parade through Boscov’s to trick-or-treat throughout the store. Also featuring crafts, games, contests, and prizes! Open to children 12 and under.

Have you heard of any other Halloween-themed events for the little ones? Please share them in the comments below!

8 Great Halloween Books for Toddlers

It is that time of year again: the leaves are going to be changing colors, the air gets a bit crisper and cooler, and the kids are getting used to a school schedule again. Before we know it September will turn into October, and Halloween will be here with all of the amazing costumes, decorations, and treats! This time of the year provides for some great books for toddlers that are fun, very creative, and great for improving your children’s apprehension skills. Everybody loves Halloween, so we might as well incorporate some good reading into the fun!

Here is a list of 8 great Halloween books for toddlers that you might want to check out, as well as links to learn more about them!

  1. The Itsy Bitsy Pumpkin – A gently spooky twist on The Itsy Bitsy Spider, this books turns a favorite nursery rhyme into Halloween-themed fun!
  2. Seven Orange Pumpkins – A perfect read-aloud book for helping toddlers learn about colors and counting. It’s bright, bold, and fun story captures the imagination of even the little trick-or-treaters.
  3. I Love You, Little Pumpkin – An interactive cloth-covered book that encourages interaction on each spread and blends a heartfelt message with a touch of Halloween. The ending contains a mirror which reveals who is loved most of all, causing babies to giggle and toddlers to laugh with excitement.
  4. Splat the Cat: What Was That? – A favorite with all kids is Splat the Cat. Watch as your little ones listen intently as Splat decides if he wants to trick-or-treat at the scariest house on the block with his friend Spike. His pet mouse, Seymour, makes the decision for him as he runs into the house, causing Splat to rescue him.
  5. One, Two…Boo! – Another interactive flip book, the littlest of trick-or-treaters can life the flaps as they count their way through a spooky old house, and perhaps they will run into a surprise or two!
  6. The Spooky Wheel on the Bus – This is a humorous Halloween-themed version of the classic nursery rhyme, The Wheels on the Bus, with a few ghoulish tricks and treats up its sleeves!
  7. Peppa’s Pumpkin Party – Peppa Pig and her family are having a Pumpkin Party and everyone is invited to come dressed up in the spookiest costumes, even Madame Gazelle!
  8. Corduroy’s Best Halloween Ever! – This adorable book is about Corduroy and his plans to have a Halloween party with his friends. They will carve jack-o’-lanterns, bob for apples, and go trick-or-treating, but what will Corduroy choose as a costume?

This list is just a few of the amazing Halloween books out there for toddlers. Take a look at your local library, book store, or online distributor for more titles that your little ones might love! Do you have any Halloween books that your kids look forward to every year? Or have you read some of the books on this list? Let us know in the comments!

Practicing Halloween Safety Tips

With Halloween only two days away it is important to review some safety tips for Halloween night with any of the trick or treaters leaving your house. These tips are helpful to remember when getting your little ones ready, as well as, before you set your older children off on their own. KidsHealth.org posted an extensive article with tips to remember about costumes, pumpkin carving, trick or treating, and candy eating. We’ve narrowed it down to the most important tips to remember this Halloween.

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Spooky Halloween Crafts

With Halloween right around the corner you’re probably seeing crafting and diy ideas all over the Internet. Most of these crafts are either for adults or children that have developed those fine motor skills already. So if you’re looking for some fun activities to do with your little ones in the count down to Halloween this is the perfect list for you! Happy Hooligans published a list of 21 Halloween crafts for toddlers and we’ve chosen 4 of our favorites for you!

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Halloween Books for Children

Reading to children is one of the most important, beneficial things that you can do for them. Not only does it provide a time for bonding with your child during a hectic lifestyle, but it helps improve their intelligence and develop skills that will help them develop mentally, emotionally, and socially. Everybody wants their child to succeed in life and by building a strong fundamental reading foundation, you are giving them a great advantage to further themselves and improve their self-confidence at the same time.

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