Masquerade Ball - M's Gems

By: Melissa Goldberg

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Halloween was brought to North America by immigrants from Europe who would celebrate the harvest around a bonfire, share ghost stories, sing, dance and tell fortunes. I thought it was a day to see how many Snickers bars I could round up by sundown. Halloween is also the second largest commercially successful holiday behind Christmas. Each year I forget how crazy it gets until I head into a party supply store the day before the holiday and see the Chaos.

I enjoy Halloween much more as a parent compared to when I was a kid growing up. Watching my children enjoy the fun has brought a completely new experience for me. The element of surprise makes this holiday so much fun and unpredicable.

I get excited during the days before Halloween, when preparing my kids costumes and buying the candy. I love the orange and black colors that seem to be everywhere and the different decorations that are displayed. I also think it’s such a wonderful time of the year because we know winter is coming and we take time to enjoy each day we get to be outside before it’s too cold to be outside to play.

The only thing which I have yet to invest in, is one of those oversized sweaters donning some creative Halloween scenes...not sure if I can pull that one off.

Some Tricks...
Tell a Scary Story - Kids love to sit and listen to scary stories. The trick to keep them listening is to use things they know, like using your street name or familiar places they can relate too. Once you get into the story, let the kids add some details. In our house, the scary stories end up taking a turn to being plain old silly stories. To make it scarier, use a flashlight and make sound effects, like nails tapping.

Play a Scary Joke - Fake spiders are a fun way to play a joke without being too scary. You can always use Grandma and Grandpa to play a joke on or have one parent organize the prank and then let the other parent “walk into the trap.”

Jokes that the little ones will roll over laughing from -
• What do you call a witch who lives at the beach?  A sand-witch
• Why didnʼt the skeleton dance at the party?   He had no BODY to dance with
• What do you call a goblin who gets too close to a bonfire?   A toasty ghosty
• What does a ghost like on his ice cream sundae? Whipped Scream
• Why didnʼt the skeleton cross the road?   He had no GUTS

Some Treats...
Things to Do Besides Trick or Treating - Trick or treating is one of those things the kids can do for hours, but there are so many other wonderful activities that are fit for this time of year. My kids just asked if we could rake all the leaves in the yard into a big pile so that they jump in and play in them. I personally love the leaves as a backdrop to great photos. Some other ideas are: make a scarecrow, paper towel ghosts or carve a pumpkin. You can make a scary Jack oʼ Lantern or a pretty Disney Princess. Craft stores sell great stencils and carving tools to help. This year we are going to make caramel apples with pretzels and popcorn balls.

Look For a Local Parade - For those who have been to the annual NYC Village Halloween Parade it is an experience like none before. Many areas host their own parades, some that you stand on the side lines and watch and others your kids can be part of and march in. As much as kids love to dress up, they enjoy seeing others in costumes as well.

Throw a Party - No need to go fancy. Put out a couple of treats and maybe some tricks and invite folks over to show off their costumes. If your looking to have games you can organize a scavenger hunt or play pin the wart on the witches nose. If youʼre more into letting the kids run around screaming, put out a bunch of yummy (or mummy) treats. Our friends are doing a decorate your own cupcake party. Stop by before you go trick or treating and decorate a scary cupcake. Best part of a Halloween party is you get to be a kid too.

Healthy Treats to Give Out - Okay, Iʼm not saying you should give out Apples or Raisins, because then youʼll be left with the threat of eggs being thrown at your door. When you think about healthy, it can still be chocolate, but supermarkets sell many new individually wrapped treats that are healthier options such as organic or free trade lollipops or chocolate. You can head to a wholesale store and stock up on granola bars or cheese and cracker packages. We are giving out super bouncy eye balls and fake vampire teeth along with M&M 100 calorie packs. Our giant bowl looks super cool for presentation.

Donʼt forget candy corn, itʼs a vegetable... kidding, I just want to see if your still paying attention -
trick or treat!


A Scary Family Movie - Since this year we have the whole weekend to celebrate, perhaps a fun evening activity for just the family or with a group of friends is to watch a scary movie. For those with little ones here are a couple of not too scary options...
• The Goosebumps Series
• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Walt Disneyʼs The Haunted Mansion - Eddie Murphy is in that one.
• Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin - No need to search far for that, itʼs always on television on Halloween.

Donʼt forget the popcorn! We made popcorn balls with popcorn, melted marshmallow and orange and brown M&Mʼs all rolled up into a hand sized treat.

Wishing everyone a Happy Halloween! We’ll post some pics next week to show you how we celebrated!

~ M’s Gems