I always marvel at how many people love dressing their pets up for Halloween, after all they are part of the family too! Enjoy this Halloween post from last year showing great ideas for your furry friends.

Halloween Pet Costume Ideas

Image via: Halloween Pet Costumes

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Original Entry #312, October 26, 2010

For the last few weeks Stagetecture has shown you Halloween ideas for:

• Children’s Halloween Costumes & Home Decor
• Ways to Save Money on Halloween Candy
• Guest Blogger: Safe Halloween Walkway Lighting
• DIY Saturday – Decorating your Haunted Mansion on a Budget

So what else is missing? Your pets of course! Today’s pet inspiration photographs come from Martha Stewart’s – 2010 Halloween Pets Photo Contest. Check her site to see all 55, here are my favorites below. Who said Halloween is only for the kids?

For more Halloween costume inspiration visit here!

Celebrate Halloween at your children’s day nursery with these fun ideas for pre-school kids and toddlers.

Image via: The Party Dress

Crazy costumes

Young children love dressing up, so ask them to come in Halloween costumes for the day. For busy parents, there are a range of affordable costumes in the shops and supermarkets at the moment.  Little boys will love dressing up as mummies, skeletons, wizards or ghosts while little girls can enjoy masquerading as witches, naughty fairies or black cats.

For more creative parents, costumes can easily be made using old sheets and cardboard boxes and are a great way to get kids crafty. To make it even more special, invest in some face paints or help the children make spooky masks out of cardboard and poster paints.

Make the most out of the costumes by holding a Halloween parade around the neighbourhood and holding a competition for the best outfit. And don’t forget to dress up yourself. The children will love to see the staff joining in!

Funny faces

With some adult supervision (of course) enjoy the traditional carving of Halloween pumpkins for the children to take home to use as lanterns. Allow the children to create their own designs and then carve them out for them. This is a great way of also introducing them to some learning about safety around knives and candles.

For something safer and a bit different, try making pumpkin faces out of oranges. It’s easy to do using craft materials such as googly eyes, pipe cleaner and foam shapes. Afterwards the kids can enjoy eating their spooky Halloween creations. Oranges are also a great alternative to the usual sugary treats around at this time of year.

Image via: At Home with Kim Vallee

Terrifying treats

Baking is part of the fun of Halloween. Push out the boat and make a haunted gingerbread house for them to share or for something a bit easier make gingerbread biscuits and cut them into the shapes of ghosts, pumpkins and witches hats. Buy some coloured icing so that the children can decorate them. Wash the biscuits down with limeade served out of a cauldron and renamed Witch’s Broth.

Spooky stories

Use the occasion to tell spooky stories and then ask the children to draw the characters or scenes from the book. There are some beautifully illustrated books available with witches and wizards which children will love.

Ghoulish games

Traditional games such as bobbing for apples never go out of fashion and the kids will love getting splashed as they try to reach for their apples without their hands. Or theme some word and number games around Halloween including basic letter games – identifying  ‘G is for Ghost’ for example, or counting the number of pumpkins.

A Halloween-themed treasure hunt is a great way of getting children outside kicking through the leaves and getting muddy. Just remember their wellies!

Of course some younger children can be easily scared by Halloween, so keep everything you do light and cheerful with friendly ghosts and smiling pumpkins.  Make sure you take a camera to capture the moment and create long-lasting memories of their day.

Rachel is a business blogger currently on the lookout for nurseries for sale.

For more Halloween ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Happy Halloween Stagetecture readers! We’ve finally gotten to the day that kids and adults enjoy having fun and dressing up to go Trick-or-Treating.  If you are still looking for last minute costume ideas, look at yesterday’s post.

Today I have a simple list for Halloween Safety from the CDC – Center for Disease Control & Prevention.

	Swords, knives, and similar costume accessories should be short, soft, and flexible.
	Avoid trick-or-treating alone. Walk in groups or with a trusted adult.
	Fasten reflective tape to costumes and bags to help drivers see you.
	Examine all treats for choking hazards and tampering before eating them. Limit the amount of treats you eat.
	Hold a flashlight while trick-or-treating to help you see and others see you.
	Always test make-up in a small area first. Remove it before bedtime to prevent skin and eye irritation.
	Look both ways before crossing the street. Use established crosswalks wherever possible.
	Lower your risk for serious eye injury by not wearing decorative contact lenses.
	Only walk on sidewalks or on the far edge of the road facing traffic to stay safe.
	Wear well-fitting masks, costumes, and shoes to avoid blocked vision, trips, and falls.
	Eat only factory-wrapped treats. Avoid eating homemade treats unless you know the cook well.
	Enter homes only if you’re with a trusted adult. Otherwise, stay outside.
	Never walk near lit candles or luminaries. Be sure to wear flame-resistant costumes.

Expecting trick-or-treaters or party guests?

• Provide healthier treats for trick-or-treaters, such as individual packs of raisins, trail mix, or pretzels. For party guests, offer a variety of fruits, vegetables, and cheeses.
• Use party games and trick-or-treat time as an opportunity for kids to get their daily dose of 60 minutes of physical activity.
• Be sure walking areas and stairs are well-lit and free of obstacles that could result in falls.
• Keep candle-lit jack-o’-lanterns and luminaries away from doorsteps, walkways, landings, and curtains. Place them on sturdy tables, keep them out of the reach of pets and small children, and never leave them unattended.
• Remind drivers to watch out for trick-or-treaters and to drive safely.

Follow these tips to help make the festivities fun and safe for everyone!

For more Halloween ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Happy Halloween Stagetecture readers – tomorrow is the big night are you ready? At my household we wait until the last minute to do everything, unfortunately!

Last weekend I showed you how to decorate your house like a  haunted mansion on a budget. Today I compiled some Halloween ‘How-to’ videos. From how to carve a pumpkin to easy do it yourself costume ideas.. enjoy!

How to Carve a Pumpkin

Best Do it Yourself Costumes on You Tube

How to Come Up With the Best Halloween Costume

Watch Stagetecture’s You Tube Channel for more DIY ideas

For the last few weeks Stagetecture has shown you Halloween ideas for:

• Children’s Halloween Costumes & Home Decor
• Ways to Save Money on Halloween Candy
• Guest Blogger: Safe Halloween Walkway Lighting
• DIY Saturday – Decorating your Haunted Mansion on a Budget

So what else is missing? Your pets of course! Today’s pet inspiration photographs come from Martha Stewart’s – 2010 Halloween Pets Photo Contest.  Check her site to see all 55, here are my favorites below. Who said Halloween is only for the kids?

For more Halloween costume inspiration visit here!

It is officially time for Halloween shopping for your home and kids.  The stores are filled with costumes, and Pottery Barn has their Halloween catalog and online catalog available. Look at these great inspiration ideas for your home, and get going… you only have a few weeks!

Get your home looking the festive part with these Halloween window decals.

Having a Halloween party for the kids or neighbors? Halloween decor is perfect for no-fuss decorating.

Hand out trick-or-treat candy in this Halloween treat basket.

Pottery Barn has creative one of a kind costume idea for your child:

How cute is this cupcake Halloween costume?

Cookie costume is simple and would make any child love this Halloween costume.

Want to see how your child will look in a costume, before you buy it? Check out Pottery Barns iphone App

For more Halloween ideas on Stagetecture, click here.