For Parents

Safety Tips for a Fun and Healthy Halloween!

The happiest Halloweens are the ones that don't involve injuries. Help ensure a safe Halloween for your trick-or-treaters with the following tips from PBS.org:

• Only go to houses that are lit.
• Make sure everyone has flashlights with fresh batteries.
• Add reflective tape or striping to costumes and trick-or-treat bags.
• Always walk on sidewalks. If there aren't any, walk on the left side of the road, facing oncoming vehicles.
• Remind children of safety basics, such as never talking to or getting into a car with strangers.

Creative Costume Ideas

This October, pumpkin carving isn't the only activity when your children can get creative. Halloween is the one special day of the year when children are allowed to dress up as anything they want! And although costume superstores have tons of characters to choose from, there are a few reasons why making your own costume is coming back in style. A cowboy robot? A penguin princess? You won't find those in the store. Get the creative juices flowing!

Thrift stores are a great resource for recycled Halloween costumes. There are literally endless possibilities. It's a cheap and environmentally friendly alternative (Goodwill has been in "green" since 1902!) to purchasing brand new costumes for your kids. With the variety of options, it gives them the opportunity to mix and match: i.e. monkey pirate or Superman-dinosaur hybrid! Let your child be the designer!

Another fun and simple way to create a unique costume is to get a basic sweat suit — a hoodie and sweat pants - in the color of their chosen creature: a lion, for instance. Stop by a local fabric store and pick up some felt and faux fur. Sew a mane of faux fur around the opening of the hood and cut two half circles of felt and sew them on the front (belly) of the hoodie. (Think Max, from "Where the Wild Things Are") Attach a tail, paws, and whatever else you can think of to make your costume the cutest — or scariest — lion out there! You can make many different animals with this formula, and as an added bonus: you won't find a more comfy or warm costume on the racks!

Let your children have a little creative license this Halloween — they'll feel proud that they made their own unique costume.

Pick-Your-Own Pumpkin Patches

There's nothing more fun than picking out your own pumpkin straight from the patch... except taking it home and carving it!

Here are some Pick-Your-Own farms in the area:

-Johnson's Farm
133 Church Rd
Medford, NJ 08055-9595
(609) 654-8643

-Mood's Farm Market
901 Bridgeton Pike
Mullica Hill, NJ 08062
(856) 478-2500

-Shady Brook Farm
931 Stony Hill Road
Yardley, PA 19067
215-968-1670

-Active Acres Farm
881 Highland Road
Newtown, PA 18940
215-860-6855

A Favorite Fall Recipe

While your children choose their perfect pumpkin, go pick some apples! And try this great recipe from Martha Stewart:

Apple Strudel
Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried breadcrumbs
• ¾ cup grated peeled red apple (1 to 2 apples)
• ½ cup golden raisins
• ¼ cup pitted prunes, coarsely chopped
• ¼ cup honey
• 2 tablespoons Armagnac or other good-quality brandy
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling
• ½ teaspoon coarse salt
• 5 sheets phyllo dough (at least 11 by 14 inches), thawed if frozen
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• Confectioners' sugar and whipped cream, for serving

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with rack in upper third. Gently stir together breadcrumbs, apple, raisins, prunes, honey, brandy, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Set filling aside.

2. Brush a sheet of phyllo with butter. Top with 2 sheets, and brush with butter; repeat. Spread with filling. Starting at a short end, roll to enclose filling. Transfer, seam side down, to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

3. Bake until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Transfer strudel to a wire rack; let cool 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and serve with whipped cream.

Serves 4.

Halloween Bash

Suit up and come down for the sixth annual Halloween Bash presented by Y Kids Club and PNC Grow Up Great! Meet SuperWhy and Princess Presto! Click on the image below for more details.