No matter if they go dressed as a witch, a character from Harry Potter or an inanimate object, for all children a good Halloween is defined by the amount of sugary treats they collect on October 31st. Traditional Halloween celebrators won’t think twice about shoveling handfuls of sticky caramel, gooey chocolate and servings of candy corn into your child’s goody bag.

But that doesn’t mean you should follow suit. This year, dare to ditch the fun size chocolate bars and nests of cotton candy and opt for just as tasty, healthy treats that promote a healthier, happier Halloween for your child or for the neighborhood kids. Other parents will thank you for not piling in the sugar and you’ll be doing your part to reinforce the importance of healthy eating.

Let’s look at 5 ideal sugar-free Halloween treats that you can hand out to trick or treaters this year. And, no, candy apples don’t count as a Halloween treat alternative.

1. Sugar Free Gum

Gum is a great alternative to other candy that sits on the teeth, creating cavities. It helps to rid the mouth of leftover bits of food and freshens breath, just remember to buy kid-friendly flavors.

2. String Cheese

Kids love cheese and kids love playing with their food! Combine both possibilities this Halloween and fill their goody bags with healthy snacks of string cheese. Opt for reduced fat versions to boost the healthiness of the snack and remember to check with each child for dairy and lactose intolerance’s before offering it.

3. Juice boxes

All of the walking during trick or treating is certain to build up a thirst. Help your child or the neighborhood children choose healthy drinks by passing out juice boxes instead of traditional candy. Buy organic juice made from natural ingredients without any artificial colors or sweeteners for a real treat.

4. Gently spiced apple fries

This idea is perfect if you’re hosting a Halloween party or if you and the kids want something to nibble while you wait for the trick or treaters to come to your door. All you have to do is peel and slice apples of any variety you choose. Slice them to resemble French fries and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon and nutmeg for a tasty, healthy snack with a bit of crunch.

5. Dried Fruits

Packets of dried fruits are always a treat with kids. They contain natural sweetness found in fruits and can be nibbled anywhere. Look for super sweet dried fruit such as pineapple discs, cranberries, apricots and apples.

Although it has been earmarked as a holiday created for engorging on candy and other sugary treats, it’s time for our opinion of Halloween to change. This year, make a difference in the lives of children and don’t give in to the notion that candy equals Halloween. Instead, consider these five alternative Halloween treats or come up with some of your own and celebrate this spooky, ghoulish holiday the health conscious way.

If you do opt for the sugar treats, you naughty people, then visit http://www.dentalimplant.co.uk to learn how you can get your families’ oral health back to its best.

The Sugar Bear Pimp Costume for men is neon green and comes with all three pieces; including the large hat, pants and jacket.

This cute costume is great for a 70′s theme party, a pimp party or just any fun Halloween bash. It comes in one size fits all.

To see more hot costumes for men, see our men costumes category.

If so, take a look below at the pirate wench costume we just found.

We love that this super deluxe high seas pirate costume comes with the following:

• dress
• hat
• sleeves
• belt
• pouch
• Not Included though is the: sword, petticoat and boots

Price: $54.99

The pirate wench costume pictured above is great for all your Halloween parties this year. Grab it while you can. It’s available online at Totally Costumes and can be shipped fast – when you order today.

Who’s going to be a pirate wench this year? Tell us below.

The Pandalicious Adult Costume for women is made up of a cute hood, dress and skirt – which makes for a nice versatile piece you can wear almost anywhere.

We found it online at Buy Costumes and is still in stock as of this writing. One thing we notice about hot and popular costumes during Halloween, is that they sell out FAST. This one am sure will be gone quite soon.

Price: $49.99

A simple and easy DIY project that can bring a touch of Halloween decor into any home is to adorn traditional fall leave garland with small decorations such as pumpkins, bats and ghosts. These decorations can be paper cutouts or painted wood and can be created in such a manner so that they are not tacky but tasteful and not scary but whimsical. The bonus with fastening such items to leaf garland is that once the holiday has passed, they can be removed while leaves remain until it is time to replace them with decorations for the next big holiday.

For a more noticeable DIY Halloween decoration, furniture can be dressed up with the addition of orange and black tablecloths, real or artificial pumpkins, sticks adorned with bats and black cats and flickering LED candles. Bookshelves will become spooky alcoves filled with the glow of candles inside festive luminaries depicting bats and ghosts. A simple hallway table will be a showcase for a carved pumpkin lit from within or decorated on the outside with witches and cats. Halloween decorations do not have to be scary and intimidating for small children; they can be fun and pleasing for young and old alike.

When decorating with pumpkins, it’s far less mess and maintenance to use artificial pumpkins. Artificial pumpkins come in all shapes and sizes and many of them are made of a material intended to be carved. A fake pumpkin or jack-o-lantern is lighter than a real gourd, will not mold, rot or attract insects and can be used yearly for each Halloween. Small children or adults who do not like dealing with the task of carving into and scooping out the insides of pumpkins will find artificial pumpkins a much more pleasing alternative. Artificial pumpkins can be bejeweled and decorated until they are elegant decor that coordinates with a more sophisticated style of Halloween gathering.

A great outside DIY Halloween decoration is the placement of homemade luminaries along a walkway or lining a driveway. Printable candle wrappers can be found online for free and then placed neatly around an LED candle to create a safe flickering light outside that won’t cause a fire or be snuffed out by an unexpected rain storm. If they’re placed in an area prone to wind they should be securely staked or fastened to prevent them from becoming a neighbor’s unwanted lawn adornment.

Halloween decor no longer has to be tacky or scary to celebrate the season and with so many DIY possibilities, each spooky interior design can be truly uniqueand creative.

Guest author: Allison Cooper is an editor and writer for the Beyond Stores blog.  When not writing or researching DIY possibilities like the ones in this article, Allison likes to relax by reading a good book to her two children or enjoying a nice glass of dry red wine.

It’s about that time when kids change into witches and ghoulish goblins. Yes, the tricks and treats of Halloween are fast approaching. If you’re planning on throwing a party with friends and family members, you need to think of a few games that would help keep your party interesting for all guests. Remember, what suits an audience of kids may not be right for teenagers and adults – so see our top picks for party game ideas below.

image via (Flickr)

Halloween Party Games for Adults:

If your Halloween party includes only adults, you can always pick one of the following games to make it a memorable Halloween for all.

• Share a Ghost Story: Though it sounds like a simple Halloween party game for adults, it can make your party a little more interesting for your guests.  Make your guests sit in a circle and ask them to share a spooky Halloween tale. Depending on how creative your audience is, your party can become extremely funny or scary.
• Enjoy a Horror Flick: Go to a movie store and rent a few good scary videos. You’ll have a great time watching these videos with friends if you create a right atmosphere. Get a big LCD, turn down the lights and pass the popcorn. It’s quite easy, but it works amazingly well. Just make sure you get age appropriate movies to keep everyone interested.
• Halloween Killing Instincts: It’s originally a ‘hide and seek game, but you can add a twist to make it a perfect Halloween game for adults. Turn off the lights and give your guests 5-6 minutes to put on a ghoulish costume and hide wherever they want. You should have selected the ‘murderer’ as well who would search for everyone hiding. Every time the murderer hunts out their ‘victims’, the victims should let out a blood-curdling scream. They should then go to the ‘cemetery’ – a room already designated for this purpose. To make it more fun, use some scary music.
• Bobbin for Apples: Though this is a classic Halloween party game for adults, it’s still as popular as it was in the past. It’s one of those Halloween games that shouldn’t need any explanation.

Halloween Party Games for Teens:

It’s usually quite difficult to keep teenagers engaged in a party. You can find several games for Halloween, but you should avoid anything corny or childish.  The following Halloween games will definitely help you keep your audience entertained all night long.

• Pick the Best Costume: Let your guests know in advance that you’ll be arranging the contest for the best costumes. To make it more interesting, give prizes for the scariest and funniest costume – give special prize for the best homemade costume.
• Arrange a Dancing Competition: This is a real fun-filled way to spend time with friends. You can introduce several wacky categories, including break dance, tango, ballroom, and so on. Make sure you pick some nice songs and have them on the CD. Some suggestions are “The Time Warp”, “The Electric slide”, “The Hokey Pokey”, “Thriller”, The Monster Mash”, etc. Don’t forget to give away some prizes like gift vouchers or CDs.
• Dart Toss: This is a great Halloween party game, but make sure your guests can play it safely.
• Haunted House: This is another exciting game, but you need to put in some effort to prepare the venue before the day of the party. Your basement is probably the best place for the game.

Halloween Party Games for Kids:

Here are a few nice games if you’re arranging a Halloween party for kids.

• Ghostly Waiter: Divide children into different teams. In each team, pick one child who will hold a paper plate and balloon. The task is to balance the balloon while walking as fast as possible.
• Musical Chairs: This is another classic game, but it’s suitable for all ages. Get a CD of your favorite Halloween songs and create the right atmosphere.
• Halloween Candy Dash: If you have played the old “Easter Egg” hunt, you’ll like this one too. It’s quite the same except you hide small pumpkins or Halloween candies all over your party area.
• Pass the Pumpkin: The task is to pass the pumpkin without using your hands. Make sure the pumpkin is small and have its stem removed.

Author Bio:
Nancy is an active blogger. Her real inspiration for interiors, parties and some home fun comes from Casa Rooms which is another name for your home decor needs. Apart from blogging she likes to have recreational activities, it being her most favorite time pass.

Invitations

You have several options for cheap invitations. You can always make them yourself by printing them out from your computer using Gothic looking font. You can also order your invitations online using coupon codes to try to save a buck or two. If you want them to be really simple you can write the party details on a black piece of paper with a white crayon. Don’t sweat how fancy they are, the party is the main attraction, not the invitation.

Decorations

DIY as many decorations as you can with free or cheap materials. For example, you can make a witches broom by spray painting an old broom black. For spooky lighting, hallow out gourds and place a candle in them and dim the lights. Make a mummy container to hold goodies by wrapping gauze around an empty oatmeal container and add an eyes, nose and mouth that you make out of construction paper. Decorate your house with fake cobwebs. These cobwebs are very inexpensive and you should be able to decorate a large area with just a few packages of it. For your front yard, make gravestones out of cardboard boxes by simply making a gravestone shape on one side of the box and cutting it out. You will then need to paint it grey and can write a person’s name, birth and death date on it.

Food

You don’t need any elaborate food to serve your guests as long as you have plenty of Halloween candy. For drinks make a simple blood punch out of raspberry drink mix. Serve a dish of worms (spaghetti noodles). Grapes look and feel similar to eye balls if you peel off the skin and they will make a great side dish. If you are really strapped for cash you can ask your guests to bring a Halloween inspired dish. You can help them get into it by telling them that you are going to vote on which dish is the best. This not only encourages everyone to bring something, but it will lessen the amount of money that you have to shell out of your pocket.

Concluding Thoughts

Don’t let the potential cost of a Halloween party keep you from throwing one. There are a lot of ways to throw a party that won’t cost a lot of money. The most important part is that you put thought in your party and make sure that your guests are having a good time. Do you have any other ideas or tips on how to save money when you are throwing a Halloween party?

Stormy Lee specializes in writing about education, crafts and saving money, she looks forward to the holidays and coming up with more ways to be creative.

Batman

With the release of the recent The Dark Knight Rises film, you better believe that Batman costumes are going to be huge this year – and I mean massive. People are going to be clamoring to wear Batman’s armor, and the last thing you want to be is the one Batman with the dinkiest, lamest outfit. (Pro tip: start shopping for Batman costumes now, while the best ones are still in stock.) Plus, with the sudden rise in Batman popularity, all of non-Nolan Batman characters are viable options, too. Basically, 2012 will be the year of the Batman universe.

Zombies

Sure, 2011 was the unrivaled year of the zombie, but 2012 is still holding firm to the zombie genre. People are still paying big bucks to be freaked out by the walking dead, which means these costumes are ideal for anyone looking for an affordable, easy-to-wear costume. Basically, you just put on normal clothes, cover yourself in make-up and grime, and then shuffle around while moaning. You can’t get a much simpler costume design.

Video Game Characters

As geeky hobbies become more mainstream with each passing day, video game characters are becoming commonplace. This makes almost any video game character ideal as a costume choice. You want to be Mario? Go ahead. Master Chief? You better believe he’s acceptable. To be honest, there isn’t a video game character in existence that wouldn’t be appropriate as a Halloween costume. This year is all about enjoying your inner geek and showing it off to the world. From Atari to Gameboy, you’re allowed to bring out your favorite game characters.

Medieval

The intense popularity surrounding the book and television series Game of Thrones has allowed for a resurgence of medieval costumes. And here’s the best part: you don’t even have to look like a character from the show to claim that you’re from the show. You could be an extra or a serf or a peon, it doesn’t matter. You can ride the show’s popularity just by dressing in medieval regalia. After all, who’s going to question a knight carrying a huge sword? No one – that’s who.

There are many more costume genres out there for you to explore, obviously, and you are in no way tied to wearing only the popular costumes. Halloween is all about self-expression and enjoying the wild side of life. If you want to be rebellious and go against the mainstream costume ideas, that’s more than okay. You’re the only one that can determine which costume works for your personality.

Fright Catalog has all of the costumes listed above and more! Take a look.

We found it online via Etsy seller (KarolinFelixDream) for less than $85. It features the hood and veil plus it’s made to order so no two are exactly alike and each one is handmade in the artist studio.

(click the photo for the Halloween costume page)

Do you like this one? Let us know in the comment area.

If you like this one, you might also like our Sexy Snow White Costume as well.

Other Little Red Riding Hood Costumes Below: (click on each image)

You can done the Playboy Bunny costume for women and bring Hefner to you.

This sweet get up comes with the one piece sexy body hugging top, the tail and the headband. Try this Playboy bunny costume on for size as it is sure to be a hit at any party.

via Buy Costumes