v 3 issue 12: Boo To You!

Halloween is almost here and we have unveiled our finds to make this Halloween a treat. Be sure to read our article on putting together a spookily fun party.

Cover by Ashley McNamara

Boo to You




1. Pottery Barn Kids has rolled out their new costumes along with some of their previous best sellers. We simply adore this cow costume…it is udderly fun! Constructed of plush polyester, it will keep your little one warm and comfy. View the entire collection at PotteryBarnKids.com.
2. As equally stylish are the costumes at Babystyle. Their high-quality construction, soft and comfy fabrics and easy-on zippers make these costumes a favorite all year. We love their Rule the Rooster Costume with its bright, bold colors and fuzzy wings and tail. View their collection for infants through toddlers at Babystyle.com.
3. The String Doll Gang is handmade in Thailand using one continuous piece of string. These tiny little companions are perfect for a little Halloween décor (check out their Christmas collection for ornaments).
4. Emily Allyn created these adorable pumpkin tees make of premium quality combed cotton that is comfortable and durable. Emily Allyn creates sweatshop-free tees that are stylish, fun, humorous, and unique. Choose from adorable designs like peanut, monkey and sweet pea at EmilyAllyn.com.
5. This fun appliquéd Halloween tee by Liliputians NYC is simply adorable. The black tee is adorned with a fun face appliqué, orange top stitching on the shoulder seams and white lettuce edge ruffles on the sleeves and bottom edge (for girls tees only).
6. Tote and Tee has created this yummy tee with the word boo appliquéd with candy corn fabric. Choose from a black and white raglan shirt or a black short/long sleeve tee. Available for infants up to size 12 at toteandtee.com .
7. Celebrate Halloween with these Glow-in-the-Dark Halloween shoes. These adorable hand-painted shoes have ghosts on one side and pumpkins on the other. Exclusively at Tadpoles Shoes for Kids, $30.


This Week's Mom Tips

Cleaning Tip: Clean after a steamy bath or shower. The walls, fixtures, etc., will be much easier to clean because the steam will have loosened the dirt.
Green Tip: Programming your thermostat to reduce your home’s temperature by 5 degrees when you are asleep or away will reduce your heating bill and your impact on global warming. Wearing a sweater and turning down the heat while you are home will save even more energy. In fact, each degree below 68 will reduce the home heating bill by about 3 percent.
Time Saving Tip: Dread folding laundry? Sending out your laundry may not be as expensive as you think. Some will even pick up and deliver your laundry as well.
Financial Tip: Purchase your gasoline when it's the coolest temperature outside such as early morning or at night. Gas becomes denser in cooler temperatures. Gas pumps only measure the volume of fuel, not the density so you'll get better overall gas mileage for your money.

Easy, Spooky, Budget-Friendly Halloween Ideas for the Under 5 Crowd

What a delight! What a Fright! Today, Halloween is out of sight! Looking for ideas to bring the holiday alive for your kids this year? Check out these eerie, easy, budget-friendly ideas to make the party full of tricks and treats this year.


For your invitation, purchase mini pumpkins, and write the party details on the pumpkin itself and hand-deliver to your guests. Use spooky speak like Trick or Treat, But Don’t Smell My Feet, Come on Over and Party With Me!

Spooky Decorations
· Use construction paper to create ghosts, pumpkins, bats, spiders, and other creatures. Make half ghosts that peek out around corners.
· Blow up balloons, place material, such as a small white sheet over them, tie their necks with a string, and use a black marker for a ghostly face. Suspend the ghosts using a fishing line placed around the neck.
· An inexpensive spider web will go a long way in decorating any corner area of your home and/or front porch.

For The Ghoulish Menu
At your upcoming Monster Mash, don't forget to dress up the party table with festive goodies.
· Use Halloween cookie cutters to make a batch of sugar cookies.
· These cookie cutters can also be used to cut out spooky sandwiches as well. Fill the sandwiches with blackberry jam and cream cheese. Make sure to add chocolate chips for eyes!
· Serve all sorts of gummy candies, including worms and spiders. Throw these into a mix of popcorn and chocolate chips for a "Bugs in a Bowl" treat.
· Make a bowl of Jell-O. Before it sets, add in gummy worms, bugs, and fish for a swampy treat.
· Make Jack-O-Lanterns. Toast English muffins. Add orange food coloring to cream cheese to make a pumpkin spread. Spread on the English muffin and provide the kids with raisins to make pumpkin faces on them.

Halloween Activities for the Kids
· Play Pass the Pumpkin. The kids sit in a circle and pass small pumpkins and gourds to music. When the music stops, whoever isn’t holding a pumpkin is out!
· Play Pin the Wart on the Witch!

Enjoy a Halloween Treasure Hunt. Fill in the clues based on where you place them around your home.

Happy Halloween To You,
Get Your Glo-Sticks to Look For The Clues
Don’t Get Scared When the Ghosts Go Boo!!
Look Under ______ for Clue #2!!

Jump for Glee
When You Find Clue #3
Under the _____-
It Will Be!!

Are You Ready To Go,
Outside the Front Door,
Sitting On _____ is Clue #4

To The Back Yard We Go,
Under the ____,
Let’s All Look Alive
As We Find Clue #5

Clue #6 Is Under ______ In The Front Yard
Don’ t Worry About Finding It,
It Really Won’t Be Hard!
Are You Getting Tired Yet?

Clue #7 is Under _______
Be Careful When You Look,
So You Don’t Bonk Your Head!

Finally, you must find the treasure itself, but first you must pass through the witches and ghosts!

Halloween Goodies
For kids’ Halloween parties, a spooky favor is an absolute must!
· Halloween sugar cookies wrapped an orange cellophane bag and tied with a black satin ribbon
· Orange and black balloons
· Green slime
· Plastic spider rings
· Glo-Sticks


Lisa Kothari is the founder and president of Peppers and Pollywogs, a kids’ party planning company that provides parents with ideas, entertainers, and interesting web-based tools (customized rhymes and cards for your invitations!) to make kids’ party planning easy. She has recently written and published [b]Dear Peppers and Pollywogs…What Parents Want To Know About Planning Their Kids’ Parties[/b] which is available at Amazon.com and Peppers and Pollywogs.