Halloween “Survival” Guide (NAPSA)—When planning for Halloween, how can you make the day parent-friendly and kid-fun? The answer may be simple— throw a “spooktacular” bash for your little ghosts and goblins. Here are some tips to get you started: The Planning Be sure to involve your child in the planning process—from selecting the guestlist to choosing party favors, food and decorations. Take a trip to the store together and pick out Halloween favorites such as plastic spiders, scary music and cobwebs. By involving your child, you'll not only spike his or her interest, you'll get some help as well. The Food A focal part of any childhood party is the food. While it’s important to prepare delicious and scary snacks for the kids, Halloween doesn’t have to be a dentist’s nightmare. Healthy treats can be just as much fun as traditional Halloween foods and will set your child’s party apart from the others around town. Treats such as Spooky Sprinklins Parfaits actually provide vitamins and minerals for the kids, but with the Halloween fun they expect. Here’s what you'll need: Parfait glasses DANNON?Sprink/ins lowfat yogurt (For Halloween, the white, vanilla-flavored yogurt will spookily turn either black or orange) Whipped cream * Orangeandblack jelly beans Gummy wormsand/orlicorice Instructions: Alternate jellybeans and special Halloween Sprinklinsin a parfait glass (kids can have fun mixing up the yogurt and seeing what color they get). Top the parfait with whipped cream. Makespiders out of licorice or use gummy wormsto finish itoff. The Games You’ll also need some kid- of’ Fp ‘a friendly activities to bring that special spooky something to the party. One Halloween favorite is Ghost Hunters. Split the group into teams. Make “ghosts” by covering lollypops in tissue paper tied with a ribbon and giving them eyes and a spooky mouth. Write a letter on the back of each ghost. Team members put the ghosts together and work to decipher their mystery Halloween word. Possible words include: witch, haunt, scary and grave. The team that uncovers its word first wins the prize. The Spooky Stories The library is a great resource for more Halloween ideas. Many libraries have Halloween storytime gatherings where children can wear their costumes and play games; this is a great way to spark your imagination and think up activities for your guests. The story-telling session may also help you choose a spookytale to read at your party. The Costumes A Halloween party is not really complete without a costume contest. Have the children vote on their favorite picks for most original, best imagination andthesilliest. Give out prizes such as spooky award certificates and candy bags. With some unique ideas and a bit of creativity, any Halloween party can be the talk of the town.
