Halloween Safety on FOX Morning News

Always a blast with Holly Morris from FOX Morning News (D.C.) – I wanted to share that segment along with some more Halloween safety tips – and treats – that we didn’t have time to cover.

Holly Morris – Holloween Costume Ideas: MyFoxDC.com

Halloween could be the “perfect storm for disaster” – kids sprinting around in the dark, sugar highs, etc.  But with some careful planning, you can have a fun and safe Halloween!  Here are some quick highlights of some of the safety tips we covered along with some treats you may not have heard about…

• Checkpoints – For older kids who venture out alone, set up times to check in via phone or text.
• Go hands free – Avoid Halloween costumes that require constant adjusting; carry a backpack so your kids can “dump” and continue!
• Dog Safety – LOVED Camp Bow Wow’s doggie safety tips – in addition to trying on the costume in advance, making sure it doesn’t restrict movement or scare them, CEO Heidi Ganahl suggests leaving the pet at home that night to and being REALLY careful about chocolate – can be toxic to dogs.

Also, Halloween seems to be recession-free — spending is expected to be UP by $1.1 billion (!) – we scare up $6.9 billion in consumer spending, according to Ad Age.

Here are some more treats we didn’t cover on TV:

• Easy costume ideas - I have to give Real Simple magazine the award for continuing to come up with creative, punny & EASY do-it-yourself costumes.  Online and in the magazine…my favorites are…Raining Cats & Dogs (umbrella with stuffed animals on top), Fork in the Road (black shirt with road dots in the middle and a plastic fork), Split P (zip up sweatshirt with a P taped in the middle) – adorable!
• The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons – Noting that Halloween is a busy time in the ER, the AAOS said that only parents should carve pumpkins with specially designed carving tools (NOT regular kitchen knives); and to be careful when lighting pumpkins and consider glow sticks or non-flammable lights instead.  More safety tips here…
  
• Face painting – did you catch the video of truly Extreme Face Painting?  I caught up with the book folks who said to always use water-based, hypoallergenic, non-toxic paint (NEVER acrylic); to remove, use baby oil or eye make up remover.
• IHOP gives away a FREE Scary Face pancake for kids on Friday October 28 from 7a-10p.  Parents can even sign up for a FREE wake-up call that day from “Count Spatula” with a fun reminder about the free give-away.  Cute!

Many thanks to Edible Gifts Plus for the delicious (and very spooky!) Halloween treats we showed on TV – I was particularly impressed with how fresh their candy and cookies were…especially the ghost marshmallows!

Happy Halloween!

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