v 1 issue 8: Cool Ghoul

Have a spookily good time reading our current issue full of halloween goodies for kids. Be sure to read our current article on planning a fun and safe Halloween party.

Cover featuring Costumes de Boutique by Tutu Couture

Cool Ghoul Product Reviews



1. This gorgeous little girl is dressed in a piece from the Costumes De Boutique collection by Tutu Couture. This line is full of whimsical fun and will be cherished for years. Honeybee costume includes yellow and black tutu handcrafted from over seventy yards of premium tulle, wings, fur antennae, and a wand. Other favorites include their cowgirl and ladybug sets.
2. Pottery Barn Kids has rolled out their new costumes along with some of their previous best sellers. This Monarch Butterfly costume is one of our favorites as its appliquéd black dress with antennae headband and beautiful wings are reminiscent of homemade costumes of our childhood. View the entire collection at PotteryBarnKids.com.
3. We love these spookily fun pajamas by Hanna Andersson. Not only are the comfy and cute but they are made from 100% organically grown cotton! Start the nighttime excitement early with Hanna’s stripped long johns.
4. Don’t forget about Fido! We love Target’s collection of pet costumes and your child will love including his four-legged friend in the fun.
5. 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 (and check out their Christmas collection for tree ornaments).
6. Keep your children safe when Trick-or-Treating with this illuminated treat bag that is also hands-free. Found exclusively at Leaps and Bounds, the light-up bag can be seen from 500 yards away. With its messenger strap, both hands are free and minimize falls and tripping.
7. Use Halloween as a time to teach your children about the great deed of helping others with Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF. Help kids in other parts of the world get the things they need to survive and grow by collecting donations for UNICEF with their Trick-or-Treat box. Head over to UNICEF.com to get your free box as well as suggestions and fundraising ideas.


Easy, Spooky, Budget-Friendly Halloween Ideas for Kids 5-9


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 plastic fingers that have blood dripping from them and attach a note card to them. Write your invitation using a red marker in a shaky format, as to appear to look like blood.

Spooky Decorations
(1)Take an old pair of jeans, plaid shirt, work gloves, shoes, and hat and a brown paper bag to create the victim of a terrible Halloween murder. Have the kids rake up the leaves for stuffing the victim. The face can be the brown paper bag stuffed with the leaves and the hat pulled down over the bag. Place fake blood (white Karo Syrup with red food coloring) all over the victim’s wounds as well.
(2)Purchase a black cauldron and add dry ice and a submersible light to make a spooky Witch’s Cauldron.
(3)Use different sizes of jars and fill them with water and place “body parts” such as hands, eyeballs, hair, and fingers into the different jars. These will look creepy!
(4)Have a large punch bowl in the center with a brain ice mold floating in green slime punch. Ghoulish!

For The Ghoulish Menu
At your upcoming Monster Mash, don’t forget to dress up the party table with festive goodies.
(1)Serve each guest a Monster Hand. Fill plastic gloves in the following manner: place a gumdrop at the fingertips, fill the rest of the fingers and glove with popcorn, and tie it off with a black or orange ribbon. Enjoy!
(2)Make Blood & Guts Pasta. Use elbow-shaped green pasta, marinara sauce, and stuffed Spanish olives. Make the pasta and cut the olives in half to make the eyeballs.
(3)Serve Bat Wings. Use one dozen chicken wings and create a marinade using 1 c. soy sauce, 1/3 c. honey, and 1 tsp. ginger. Marinate overnight and grill or BBQ for your Halloween meal.
(4)Make a batch of Chocolate Spiders. Melt some chocolate chips in the microwave. Add dry chow mein noodles to the melted chocolate and mix together. Spoon onto grease-proof paper as little blobs and add two mini M&Ms for eyes. Place in the fridge to cool.

Halloween Activities
(1)Have a video camera on hand; give the kids the opportunity to make their own Halloween film. Give them five minutes to shoot the film on a Halloween topic and then watch their videos together.
(2)Sit in a circle in the dark with only flashlights and/or glo-sticks. Begin the tale of a scary story and go around the circle with each kid adding the next portion of the story until the end of the circle has been reached.
(3)String donuts on a clothes line, blindfold the kids and/or tie their hand behind their backs and see who can eat the donut the quickest!

Halloween Goodies
For kids’ Halloween parties, a spooky favor is an absolute must!
Fake Blood
Green Slime
Fangs
Costume Makeup
Eyeballs

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 Dear Peppers and Pollywogs…What Parents Want To Know About Planning Their Kids’ Parties which is available at Amazon.com and Peppers and Pollywogs.

This Week's Mom Tips

Cleaning Tip: If you have scratched CDs or DVDs, try toothpaste or a banana! Watch this video so see how it works!
Green Tip: This green tip is simple, but the results are profound: take your name off of pre-approval and junk mail lists and save a few trees!
Financial Tip: If you have debt on which interest accrues, then remember this simple fact: The sooner you make a payment, the less interest you're going to pay. So, to save on interest, make payments every week or every other week rather than every month. You will pay off your debt sooner and pay less interest, all while paying the same amount every month.
Parenting Tip: A great reference for parents, a learning development chart can help you understand what your child is doing, experiencing and feeling. Remember that development charts are simply guidelines, and that your child's development may be different and yet still be very normal. Of course, if you have any concerns please be sure to discuss them with your pediatrician.