How to Make Trick-or-Treaters Feel Welcome

Halloween is just around-the-corner and soon, there will be tiny ghouls and ghosts wandering the streets in search of tasty treats. Let's make them feel welcome.

Many parents have changed the day that they take their youngsters trick-or-treating and/or they will begin while it is still light outside out of concern for everyone's safety. For those who continue to trick-or-treat after dark, a well-lit house sure is inviting. Turn on your outside lights before the sun goes down so that you don't forget. If you do not have landscape lights along your walkway, use this occasion as an excuse to install some. It's relatively easy to do.

While adults find scary, and even gruesome, Halloween decorations entertaining, young children are often frightened by them and will want to avoid them at all costs. The same goes for scary noises. Remember these things as you prepare your home and decide whether your theme will be scary or friendly. Both types of decorations are widely available in retail stores.

Buy the good candy (chocolate) and plenty of it. Yes, it may set you back a few dollars, but this holiday only comes once a year. The joy that you will give children is worth a little extra money on your part. Have a large bowl ready beside the door overflowing with the good stuff. If you have a dog, let them run around the back yard or watch TV in a back room during trick-or-treating hours. A barking dog behind the front door tends to make many people skittish.

Greet each trick-or-treater with a warm smile and friendly words. Compliment them on their costume. Be generous with your hand-out and they will remember you each year as "one of the good houses." Most of all have fun. Happy Halloween!

Throw a Halloween Lock-In Party

It's that spooky time of year again when ghost and ghouls walk the streets in search of fun and yummy treats. Keep children safe and sound this year while entertaining them and create long-lasting memories with a Halloween lock-in party!

A lock-in party is an exciting way to entertain a large number of children, while keeping them safe from the outside world. During the Halloween season, a lock-in is the perfect way to celebrate with a large group of children, while reassuring parents that their little ones will not be roaming along dark streets, accepting candy from complete strangers.

The first step is to acquire a building for the event. This building must be safe and all entrances must be capable of being locked in a way that outsiders cannot sneak in and insiders cannot sneak out. Many churches have family centers that serve this purpose perfectly and will allow members of the church to use the facilities for free. A perfect building will be equipped with a kitchen, a large room or rooms for sleeping, a gymnasium, adequate restrooms, and many smaller rooms for separate events.

Well before the event is scheduled to take place, the coordinator of the lock-in should determine approximately how many people it will be possible to accommodate during the lock-in. Be sure to also check fire safety codes and set limits to the number of people who will be able to attend based upon these limitations. As you begin to generate interest in the event, try to determine the total number of people that will need to be fed and calculate the total cost of refreshments. It is a good idea to charge a small amount for each guest to cover these expenses unless an organization or church is willing to sponsor the event. Collect permission slips for all participants who are under the age of 18. Verify that a phone number and contact name is available for each child. Be sure to arrange for enough adult volunteers to be present during the entire event to assist with the festivities and to ensure the safety of all guests. It is not a bad idea to hire a security guard to watch the building and to regulate who comes and goes through the main entrance.

In the days leading up to the lock-in, begin decorating the rooms of the building. The adult volunteers will be very useful for this work. Orange, black, and white streamers, fake spider webs, and large sheets of black paper make good decorations. If colored lighting is available, it may be used to create eerie effects. Plan which games and activities will take place in each room. Some suggestions are bobbing for apples, a cake walk, a bean bag toss, and even a maze or a small haunted house. Another popular idea is to create a fake jail cell in one room. Play a game where you have people "arrested" and put in the jail cell for 5 minutes at a time. Allow enough time for other recreation as well. Be sure there are some basketballs and misc. sports equipment available in case you run out of Halloween games. Depending on the age group, you can also organize some games like "Duck, duck, goose" and other physical activities that will keep the children occupied. Also do some research and come prepared to tell some scary and some funny ghost stories in case there are moments when the children become bored.

Buy all food supplies and drinks just before the event. Be sure to make some treat bags to send home the next morning with each child. If the building has a sound system, prepare a recording with some scary sounds to play randomly throughout the evening. Be sure to set a time for everyone to be present for the lock-in and also have a time when the doors will lock. Arrange a time for everyone to go to sleep and a time when the doors will open the next day for parents to pick up their children. Develop a complete set of rules for the event and post them on a sign for all to see as they enter the building.

The night of the event, be sure that, as the event coordinator, you are constantly monitoring the activities in all areas of the building. Delegate this task among the adult volunteers as well. Have fun, but be mindful that the responsibility of the safety of each guest is in your hands. If anyone becomes too disruptive, use the contact information for that individual and contact the parents, regardless of the time of night.

Host a Spooky Halloween Karaoke Party

This year, make your Halloween party more exciting than ever by hosting a "Spooky Halloween Karaoke Party."

Decide where to have the party and create invitations. It is a good idea to co-host the party with other people, which takes some of the stress and expense out of planning the party. If nobody owns a karaoke machine, find a party rental store that carries them and pick out a selection of spooky classics. If all else fails and you can't find a karaoke machine, you can just have music playing and your guests can sing along and perform.

When designing the invitations, specify that all attendees should wear costumes. Decorate the party area the night of the party and prepare some refreshments. Another good idea is to collect a "pizza fund" and order delivery at some point in the night when your guests are hungry.

 In addition to a costume contest, also have a karaoke singing contest and award the most entertaining singer with a prize. Don't start the party immediately with karaoke singing, though. Let your guests enjoy some non-karaoke music first. For the adult crowd, music by Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Alice Cooper, My Chemical Romance, and Megadeth are good for getting the party cranked up. Don't waste your money on the "scary sounds" CDs. Most adults find them to be annoying after five minutes and would rather hear music.

Be mindful of your neighbors as your party goes late into the night. It is a good idea to invite them to the party so there will be nobody nearby to disturb!

Diffusing a Family Argument

It’s not uncommon for family members to eventually get on each others nerves.  Something as simple as a misunderstanding can erupt into a major fight.  How can you calm everyone down and get things back to normal?

The first thing to do is separate the people who are fighting.  If things escalate too far, you may not be able to stop the fight and people could be hurt emotionally or worse, physically.

Talk to both people separately and find out exactly why they are angry.  If a misunderstanding has occurred, this will bring things to light.  If both parties have a legitimate gripe, then it’s going to take more work to find a solution.

Try to remain objective and don’t take sides.  If other people try to intervene, decide whether they are helping or hurting the situation and if they are making things worse, encourage them to stand down.

Speak to each person and remind them that you love them and that they are family.  Get everyone calmed down enough to talk.  If it looks like that will not happen, encourage everyone to separate and spend some time cooling down.

If everyone goes their separate ways for the time being, ask that they immediately write down as many of the details about the situation as they possibly can.  They should also write down as many ideas as they can for resolving the situation.

Sometimes, it just takes time to heal the wounds caused by a major argument.  If this is the only option, then just wait it out.  Remind everyone how important family is and stay in touch with both sides.