Search Results for: blog spooktacular fun for the entire family

Ways to Save on Spooktacular Halloween Fun

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 →

More Fun Pumpkin Seed Projects for Kids

We bought our big pumpkins weeks ago, but have put off carving them until today because the weather has been so fickle (one day we’re in the 70s, the next day the 40s). We now have three incredibly cute (not spooky) jack-o’-lanterns on our stoop and more seeds than I care to deal with. I plan to roast a bunch for snacks and use the rest for craft projects. Our favorites include the pumpkin seed mosaic I shared in a previous blog and the other kid-friendly ones I have listed below. Note: If you have never used pumpkin seeds in … Continue reading →

Fall Family Fun Under the Big Top

It’s a three-ring extravaganza for the entire clan this fall as the circus returns to New York. Okay, it’s a single ring, but the thrills, chills and big time FUN are infinitely more accessible. This is not just any circus; the world-famous Big Apple Circus–the one that offers incredible seats (no audience member sits more than 50 feet from the ring)—is back in the city that never sleeps for season number 31. Beginning October 23rd you can see the world’s most famous clowns in action and witness other gravity-defying acts completed by performers from Russia, Italy, Belgium, China, Germany and … Continue reading →

Fun Halloween Games for Kids

If you are hosting a Halloween party for kids this year you don’t want your young guests to be stuck playing musical chairs all afternoon. Instead, get creative and use the holiday theme to your advantage. The following are tried and true party games (courtesy of the folks at Hershey’s) that were a hit at a Halloween playgroup party my daughter attended last year. They are simple, fun, and you can tailor them to suit the age range of the party participants. MUMMY HANDS Object of the Game: Mummified players need to transport goodies out of a crypt (a decorated … Continue reading →

Fun Fall Activities for Families: A-maizing Fun Amongst the Corn Stalks

Never underestimate the power of a determined preschooler. It’s a lesson I learned last weekend when our family visited our local corn maze. Rather than get happily lost amongst the stalks in the Kiddie Corn Maze my daughter wanted to roam through the real deal-—more than 3 acres and 2 miles of trails. Did I say roam? I meant lead. The 4-year-old insisted on leading our group of friends (the most good natured friends who possess the patience of saints) through an Amazing Maize maze, carved out of corn stalks five times her height. It took us a while, but … Continue reading →

Leaf Peeping and Other Fun Fall Family Weekend Activities

Northern Michigan, parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont are exploding with vibrant fall colors right now making this Columbus Day holiday weekend the ideal time to gather up the clan and hit the highways to go leaf peeping. The colors are at peak in the areas I listed above, but in other parts of the country the leaves are just starting to turn or are nearing their brilliance, which means that sometime in the next couple of weeks you should seriously consider taking your family outdoors to enjoy all the season has to offer. Leaf peeping doesn’t … Continue reading →

A Week’s Worth of Halloween-themed Fun

Our local Target has already moved the Halloween items to the back corner of the store to make room for miles and miles of Christmas decorations. Yesterday I counted seven aisles that are dedicated to all things Christmas while the Halloween gear has been reduced to just three… and we’re not even a week into October yet! Despite Target’s push to get us thinking in terms of stockings, trees and ornaments, my family is still relishing the fall season and counting down to Halloween by participating in holiday-themed activities. If you are looking for a way to seize the season … Continue reading →

Spooktacular Fun for the Entire Family

Halloween-themed amusement parks are spirited places for the entire family to get their scream on, but with the economy in the dumpster not all clans have the funds to pay hefty admission prices. If you are looking for more affordable ways to spend a haunting weekend together consider the wide variety of Halloween-themed travel packages being offered by select visitors’ associations throughout the country. For example, the New England Inns and Resorts Association is currently offering its annual “Ghoulish Getaways,” which includes a slew of fall activities — apple-picking, hayrides, corn mazes, train rides, pumpkin-picking, and ghost stories — combined … Continue reading →

Fun Halloween Events for Families

October is only two days old yet some of these family-friendly Halloween events have been going on since just after Labor Day. Don’t get left out in the cold by sticking around the house all day raking leaves and arranging corn stalks. Grab the kids and head out for some family-friendly Halloween fun at these popular theme parks: CALIFORNIA Knott’s Berry Farm–Halloween Happenings From now until November 1st your clan can go crazy in the 160-acre Horror-fest. In celebration of the spooky holiday the park has been transformed into a scare-a-thon filled with 12 menacing mazes, six hair-raising shows, four … Continue reading →

Spooktacular Halloween Travel Destinations

How’s this for a freaky Halloween-related trip… this weekend my family traveled to a pumpkin patch and picked gourds, Indian corn and pumpkins in 87 degree heat… and we didn’t have to travel to Hawaii to do so. We went pumpkin picking in Wisconsin where the average temperature this time of year is 62. Wearing shorts in a pumpkin patch in the Upper Midwest during the month of October on day with temperatures 25 degrees above normal—-now that’s freaky. I plan to write about our pumpkin picking adventures in depth in a future blog, but for now I figured it … Continue reading →