Happy Halloween!!!!!

Halloween is a time of light-hearted fun, creative disguise, and, yeah, maybe a few shenanigans. But for anxious parents, entertaining an evening outing with several costumed kids – or letting older children navigate Halloween on their own – raises a few questions.



Here are some tips:

• Trick-or-treaters always should be in groups so they aren't a tempting target for real-life goblins. Parents should accompany small children.

Make Trick-or-Treat Trouble Free

• Make sure older kids trick-or-treat with friends. Together, map out a safe route so parents know where they'll be. Tell them to stop only at familiar homes where the outside lights are on.
• Try to get your kids to trick-or-treat while it's still light out. If it's dark, make sure someone has a flashlight and pick well-lit streets.
• Make sure kids know not to enter strange houses or stranger's cars.

Treats

• Kids need to know not to eat their treats until they get home. One way to keep trick-or-treaters from digging in while they're still out is to feed them a meal or snack beforehand.
• Check out all treats at home in a well-lit place.
• What to eat? Only unopened candies and other treats that are in original wrappers. Don't forget to inspect fruit and homemade goodies for anything suspicious.
• Use battery powered lights - never use candles to light jack-o’-lanterns
• Instruct children to stay away from open flames.
• Remove objects from the yard that present a hazard to children (garden tools, hoses, etc.).
• Do not allow children to carry sharp sticks or other objects that could cause injury to others.
• If you are driving on Halloween, take care…watch out for trick-or-treaters who will be too busy to watch out for you. 

Halloween facts and fun:

According to legend, the jack-o'-lantern took its name from a reprobate Irishman known as Stingy Jack who tricked the Devil into promising he wouldn't have to go to hell for his sins. When Jack died he found out he had been barred from heaven, so he journeyed to the gates of hell to demand his due. Wouldn't you know it, the Devil kept his promise and doomed Jack to wander the earth for all eternity with only an ember of hellfire of to light his way. Thenceforth he was known as Jack O'Lantern.
It wasn't until Irish immigrants brought the custom of carving jack-o'-lanterns to North America that the more commonly available pumpkin came to be used for that purpose, and not until the mid-to-late 19th century that pumpkin carving became a Halloween staple across the United States.

Samhainophobia is the intense fear of Halloween.

Trick-or-treating evolved from the ancient Celtic tradition of putting out treats and food to placate spirits who roamed the streets at Samhain, a sacred festival that marked the end of the Celtic calendar year.

According to an old tradition, if you want to see a witch on Halloween, put your clothes on inside out and then walk backwards.

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