Now that the leaves on the trees are starting to change color and that familiar chill in the air can be felt, it's time to start thinking about that scariest of holidays; Halloween. Ghosts and goblins, ghouls and witches and all that candy! I don't think there is any time of year more exciting for kids than Halloween.



Halloween is celebrated on October 31st and "trick or treating" has become a tradition, but it's not the only one. Costume parties, haunted houses, hayrides and creepy movie festivals are all part of the weeks leading up to the big day. Here are some sof my Halloween ideas, perhaps you'll use some of them this year.

Halloween decorating does not need to be expensive, but if you want you can spend a fortune. People do everything from the most simple decoration (a pumpkin) to extravagant light shows and my favourite personal haunted houses and yards. You need to find something which matches your budget and commitment. Dollar stores have a lot of inexpensive Halloween decorations, my favourite from the dollar stores are the glow in the dark spiders and skeletons. I hang the skeletons on tree branches and they light up at night giving a spooky chill to the yard.

I like to do a couple of pumpkins on Halloween, one for each of the kids, a family effort and of course my personal masterpiece (which I usually do on the 30th after the kids have gone to bed). You can find nice pumpkin templates all around the Internet, but be sure to use a sharp knife and if the kids are young, you do the carving, but let them tell you what to cut.

Fog is another Halloween essential for me. I use two fog machines, one in the house (I hope that stuff isn't dangerous) with some windows open for ventilation and one outside to highlight whatever creepy item I feel needs it. Usually the creepy item is a 6 foot tall ghost we like to call "scary big man". I purchased him at a garden centre and probably paid too much, but he's going on his 3rd year now and I stand by my purchase. He's totally cool!

Hay bales and corn stalks are great yard accent pieces and nothing brings out fall's creepiness better than those two items. If you live on a farm, you could even build a maze out of the bales and make the kids go through it to get to the front door.

Last but definitely not least is Halloween music. I've been building my collection for years, but for starters you can get a simple halloween sounds CD and put it on repeat. Chains, howling, screams make the young ones shake in their boots. The old ones (including parents) find it amusing but neat. I like to throw in a mix of halloween songs like monster mash and of course what Halloween would be complete without a little Danny Elfman. If you're not familiar with Mr Elfman's work, he has done soundtracks for some of the scariest movies out there. Google him and see what comes back.

So, get started early. Get the decorations up and maybe have a Halloween party too. Christmas shopping is just around the corner, so enjoy Halloween while you can. It's the chance for every grown up to act like a kid again.