Fall

Halloween last year I was astonished at the amount of candy my kids got, especially when i counted up the total calorie count. It really made me think twice and we ended up taking 5 pounds of candy and selling it to the dentist the week after Halloween. This year we found a healthier alternative to giving away candy for Halloween and it seems like there are lots of people feeling the same way because I keep reading about all kinds of things to do with your left over Halloween candy besides eat it, from donating it to soldiers in Afghanistan to using it to make a gingerbread house. Read on for some of the best ideas of what to do with all that left over Halloween candy.

This year we're looking for ways to cut the sugar intake of our kids on Halloween a little bit, like with this idea we had to give away toys rather than candy. But if you're going to do candy, you might as well do it right, right? Here are a couple of tips on some places that are giving away the good stuff. Skip the bite-sized Snickers and read on to find out how to score fancy chocolates, cookies, and even some candy gelato.

Can you imagine telling your kids to throw on their fairy costumes and run around the neighborhood, in the dark, without you, ringing strangers’ doorbells and asking for candy?  Ahhh...the good old days. But while door-to-door trick-or-treating seems to be quickly becoming a tradition of the past, Halloween remains a children’s holiday to be enjoyed with great gusto–so grab those costumes, get out there and celebrate the ghoulish fest with a slew of October 31st events sure to raise everyone’s spirits!

For those who like a good fright before Halloween night, check out some of these haunted houses.  There are plenty of night-time haunts to please the older kids, as well as scaredy cat tours and scare-free zones where kids can also trick or treat.  So pick your poison ...

When I was a kid, my fondest memories of Halloween were those I spent trick or treating, where our neighborhood was chock full of kids filling the sidewalks of tree-lined streets that were blocked off from auto-traffic. We’d come home with garbage bags full of candy, open it up and have our parents inspect it, select a few, and put the rest away (my mom told us it was going into the freezer to stay “fresh, and that we could eat a piece of candy a day until next Halloween”- a statement I recently confirmed was a falsehood after years of wondering why we needed more candy in our Easter baskets).

Last week I wrote about some not too spooky haunted houses to take the kids to. I'm adding Chelsea Market as another great Halloween destination for spooky and fun decorations, treats and a big Halloween event this Friday.

With Halloween just around the corner, every child-friendly venue is bringing out their best in Halloween and Fall fun.  There are haunted gardens and forests; family Fall events at museums and movie theaters; pirate-packed aquariums; and of course, more pumpkin picking!

Last year I took the time to count how many calories were in my daughter's Halloween candy haul. It was eye opening and mind-blowing. So this year I'm looking for alternatives to candy that don't suck. That is something to give away for trick or treaters besides apples or pencils and other things that kids don't want and don't make them want to toilet paper your face.

Since I've been doing some Spring cleaning around the house (yeah I'm a little behind) I had a symbiotic dilemma of what to do with all the little plastic goodie bag toys we seem to collect all year long. Bingo.

The Jersey Devil, ghosts, ghouls and other creepy creatures are out to get you on these haunted hayrides. Face your fears as you bump through the darkness… and if you make it out alive, take on the haunted houses and trails, too   (NOTE: Leave the little kids behind – although many hayrides recommend ages 8 and older, personal experience has led us to believe these are NOT for children under 10.)

When it comes to Halloween, there are two kinds of people: you either enjoy scary things, or you don’t. Halloween offers plenty of kid friendly activities having nothing to do with being scared, like trick or treating and pumpkin picking. There is, though, one activity that is synanomous with Halloween: a trip to a Haunted House, and it can be hard to find a haunted house that isn’t scary. One tip we’ve learned is to check the schedules at your favorite Haunted Venue because many offer special showings or tours for the younger kids. With that in mind, we set out to find some of the best Haunted Houses on Long Island, keeping everyone in the family in mind.

Bayville Scream Park, 8 Bayville Avenue, Bayville: They don’t call it a scream park for nothing. This place is more than a Haunted House; Bayville is a Halloween theme park complete with 5 haunted venues, adventure park attractions and miniature golf. Voted Long Island’s #1 Scariest Haunted House, Bayville also offers Kids “not so scary days” on weekends when they clear out the monsters and ghouls from the Haunted Houses and tone down the fright factor. Visit their website for more information. 

Queens County Farm Museum , 73-50 Little Neck Parkway, Floral Park: If you want to keep the scare factor rated “G,” then this is the place for you. With a Haunted house designed for kids ages 4-12, The Queens County Farm also offers a Children’s Fall Festival complete with country music and dancing, farm field games like potatoe sack races and hay rides. Mark your calendars: The Haunted House is open October 24, 25, and 31 and the Children's Fall Festival is one day only, October 25. For more information, click here. 

Wicks Farm and Garden, 445 North Country Road (Rt 25A) St. James: Designed with younger children in mind, Wicks offers a Haunted House that offers eye-catching goblins, witches, and turkeys (yeah, turkeys). All day long, you’ll find the Haunted House at Wicks filled with minimized scare factors and the real bonus is because it is usually not too crowded, you can control the level of fright by simply telling a crew member to tone it down. Plus, Wicks has pumpkins, a feeding farm, pony rides and a bounce house to keep your little ones entertained all day long. Open only on Saturdays and Sundays now-October 31. 

The Haunted Hangars at the Cradle of Aviation Museum, Charles Lindberg Blvd, Garden City: Labeled as "historically haunted" the hangers are decorated and displayed to spook and scare. However, kids can also enjoy the Spooky Carousel, which is decorated for Halloween but isn't scary at all and when they're finished there are Halloween crafts and activities for them to enjoy as well. If you think your kids are up for it, you can receive discounted admission to both the Carousel and the Hangers for $15, while admission to a single attraction is $10. Hours for the Carousel are from 6pm-9pm while the Hangers stay open until 11:00pm. Visit the website for more detailed information.