What’s a more frightening prospect for most for moms and dads; navigating through a maze of downed trees, wires and other debris with their children, or being left home alone with multiple bags of Halloween candy? In many communities along the East Coast slammed by superstorm Sandy, trick-or-treating has been postponed or cancelled for safety reasons, leaving hundreds of thousands of parents in a precarious spot: Having to explain to their mini ghouls and goblins how a fierce weather phenomenon dampened an annual tradition, and then finding ways not to waste the mountains of sweet treats that were bought for … Continue reading →

And by “simplify” I mean “keep it cheap.” Fortunately, cheap doesn’t have to translate into ugly. Goodness knows my 8-year-old would just “diiiiiiiie!!” if I suggested we scale back on Halloween costumes and decor. However, like many families the world over; we live on a budget. A tight budget, that doesn’t allow us to go bat wild celebrating pagan holidays. Still, I don’t want her missing out on all of the candy-coated fun, so instead of canceling Halloween, I find frugal ways we can participate without going into debt. Here are some of the inexpensive ways we keep the holiday … Continue reading →

Forget about bloody fangs, hanging skeletons and cackling witches, if you want a real scare leading up to Halloween, try filling up your gas tank in California. An unprecedented spike in fuel prices has added more than 50 cents a gallon to the Golden State’s pump prices. The AAA reported that gas prices hit a record of $4.67 per gallon on Monday morning, though market analysts say that number should fall in the coming weeks. Still, for many families the damage is already done. Now, it’s a matter of cutting back in other areas in order to stop the bleeding. … Continue reading →

Who buys Halloween candy this early? Places like Wal-Mart, Target and Walgreens have had their spooktacular holiday displays up since Labor Day, but that doesn’t mean you have to succumb to their marketing ploy… Mom. Yes, my mom is a candy company’s dream customer. She is the sucker purchasing pumpkin-shaped lollipops, snack-size candy bars and other sugary sweet Halloween treats weeks in advance of the pagan holiday honoring the dead. And while my mom and others like her are responsible for keeping Willy Wonka’s smile from fading, it’s a different story with dentists. Many teeth experts are already sounding the … Continue reading →

Our home’s sugar-free status has finally been restored. Can I get a Hallelujah? Following a nearly week-long candy gorge the likes of which no trick-or-treater should be allowed to attempt, my kid is back living in a sweet-free zone. Yes, I dumped what was left of her Halloween haul. Liberation personified. Call me mean, nasty, insensitive, unfair, hasty… or a hold-out (I know some parents who executed the big dump a mere 24 hours after their kids’ annual holiday candy collecting was over). Regardless, I was completely honest about my plan. From the moment my child donned her Halloween costume, … Continue reading →

Sure, you can donate your leftover Halloween candy to hospitals, food pantries, churches and shelters. You could also send excess hard candy (chocolate melts in the desert) to troops based overseas. There are even some dentists and retailers who are buying kids’ Halloween loot. However, none of those ideas scream F-U-N to me the same way eating does. When I was young I refused to part with any of my sugar stash. After all, I schlepped for three hours collecting all that junk, and by gosh, I was going to devour every last calorie… unless it started with Laffy and … Continue reading →

Why no, I don’t think 8 a.m. is too early for a 100 Grand bar. Just don’t tell my kid I’m raiding her Halloween loot. Now, if someone could just invent a fun-size Whatchamacallit bar. Peanut-flavored crisp candy topped with a layer of caramel and dipped in milk chocolate. Forever and ever. Amen. It’s been 24 hours since a sugar storm, named trick-or-treat, rained down on our neighborhood, and the kids have yet to recover. Interestingly, this evening while my child, who is up to her eyeballs in chocolate-covered anything and everything, was rifling through her sugar stash (in search … Continue reading →