We wrapped up our extensive Halloween coverage this week with a few funny slide shows: creatively creepy Halloween displays around NYC (I really dig those skeletons lounging in lawn chairs), and some hilariously awkward pics of costumes from our '70s childhoods. If you're still trying to figure out what to do on October 31, we also rounded up the top 21 celebrations on Halloween night. And if you've had it with Halloween, don't worry: November kicks off this weekend and we've already got roundups of the best things to do throughout the month in NYC and New Jersey, and there's not an All Hallows' Eve event in sight.

I admit I don't leave NYC much (husband's a homebody, I can't drive and the kid is overscheduled), but after reading about Providence, Rhode Island's awesome WaterFire outdoor art installation, indoor carnival rides at West Nyack's Palisades Center and the audible geological structures in Pennsylvania's Ringing Rocks Park, I clearly need to get out of town more often. And clicking through the pics of Negril, Jamaica's all-inclusive resort Hotel Riu Palace Tropical Bay and the isle's luxury private villa rentals on our Travel site made me flirt with the idea of cashing out my 401K to take one heck of a family vacation.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

You scream, I scream, we all scream for Halloween! In a week, our little ghosts, goblins and ghouls will be parading around in their costumes and trick-or-treating all over NYC. Since Halloween falls on a Friday this year, there are a slew of celebrations this weekend and next, as well as the days in between.

It's no shocker that Halloween-themed posts dominated all of our sites this week, from a must-see jack-o-lantern installation on Long Island to Westchester cemetery tours to haunted houses in Philly. If you're suffering from Halloweenitis, don't be scared: Come next week you'll be able to console yourself with your kids' candy.

Speaking of all that high-calorie loot, there are lots of charities that accept donations of Halloween candy if your kids get too much (and you know they will). And while you're in a generous mood, please also consider giving to Mommy Poppins' virtual food drive through Feeding America. Our goal is $1,500 and if we reach it, we'll double the amount.

With the temperatures dropping, we all seem to be fantasizing about warmer climes. Our Travel site's new series of posts about visiting the Condado Plaza Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico and hanging at the isle's largest family resort, El Conquistador are sure to inspire beautiful daydreams.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

Want to hear something scary? For the next two weeks, you're going to hear a lot about Halloween—and I don't mean from us. The kids are talking about it nonstop! My daughter has already changed her costume idea three times. That's her in the pic at New York Comic Con last weekend, doing a dry run dressed up as a Beanie Boo, but who knows what she'll actually be on October 31.

All of our sites, including our brand-new Philly outpost, have jam-packed Halloween Guides, so you can find fearsome family-friendly fun in Westchester, New Jersey, on Long Island and beyond. This week in NYC, we updated a bunch of our popular annual Halloween posts including costume parades for kids and dogs.

Of course right after Halloween, the holiday season kicks off, and that's a time when we here at Mommy Poppins like to find ways to give back to our community. This year, we decided to start a little early by hosting a virtual food drive through Feeding America. Currently, one in five children in the U.S. doesn't get enough to eat on a regular basis, an upsetting statistic, especially when $1 can help feed eight people! Please consider donating to our drive.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

It's beginning to look a lot like Halloween! This is truly my favorite time of year (old Goth habits die hard). In many ways, I think it's even more magical for families than the holidays. That gloriously ghoulish pic is from Red Hook, Brooklyn, which just happens to be our neighborhood of the month. Looks like a great trick-or-treating destination!

Of course, Halloween was a major theme across all our sites including the brand-new Mommy Poppins Philadelphia. With the long Columbus Day weekend coming up, it's worth browsing all of our regional sites for seasonal day trip inspiration like Halloween trains in New Jersey, corn mazes near Philly, haunted houses in Westchester and pumpkin picking throughout the tri-state area.

In addition to having lots of family fun this three-day weekend, don't forget to enter the lottery for FREE fall swimming lessons courtesy of the NYC Parks Department. And speaking of water, our Los Angeles site has a wonderful list of ten easy ways to save water inspired, sadly, by California's ongoing drought. Even though we're not suffering from one here in the northeast, these ideas help parents teach kids about the importance of conservation, no matter where you live.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

While my friends who still find time to read grown-up books argue over the merits of the film version of Gone Girl, I've been worried about a completely different page-to-screen adaptation: Disney's live-action take on Judith Viorst's 1972 kids' classic Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (PG). I know from experience that sweet and slim picture books often become stale and bloated family movies. Yet my nine-year-old still insists on seeing pretty much every one of them, especially when they're based on a beloved book like Alexander, which she read so many times its spine finally gave out.

But though the title is tailor-made for bad reviews, Alexander is far from terrible, horrible and all those other negative adjectives. The film cleverly expands on the premise and moral of the book—that we all have bad days—by making every member of Alexander's family suffer the same kind of rotten luck and humiliation he usually does. My daughter and I laughed out loud several times during the brisk 80-minute movie, though often at different things. And looking around the New York International Children's Film Festival preview screening we attended, most families seemed to have a similar experience. The kids were particularly enthusiastic about the movie—afterward, a bunch of them shared their hilarious reactions on video.

I've had David Bowie's "Changes" playing on a loop inside my head all week. No, my kid's not an angsty teen (not quite yet, anyway). It's because we upgraded the server for our sites, which caused some things to be a bit wonky. Everything seems stable now but if you see something weird, let us know by leaving a comment on our site or Facebook page. We'd really appreciate that.

Of course the changeover didn't stop us from kicking off Halloween month with posts about kid-friendly haunted houses and the top 10 Halloween happenings for NYC families. We also published October Go Lists highlighting the absolute best things to do throughout the month in NYC, New Jersey, on Long Island and beyond. With the long Columbus Day weekend coming up, some of these special out-of-town events may inspire a day trip, or you could always go pumpkin picking. (You can try for apples, too, though we hear most of the orchards are out already.)

Over on our Travel site, we've got a roundup of fall travel deals. Plus our founder, Anna, launched a series of posts chronicling her weekend getaway to the Bay Area, including the best things to do in San Francisco with kids and family-friendly wineries in Napa Valley.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

My daughter is looking forward to celebrating Rosh Hashanah by eating lots of apples dipped in honey, a Jewish New Year tradition that gets us off to a sweet start. Of course you don't need to be Jewish to enjoy this treat, especially since apple-picking season is in full swing. This four-day holiday weekend is a great time to hit a nearby orchard for fresh fruit, or pick a pumpkin for Halloween.

Speaking of, October 31 is just five weeks away and we're furiously updating our Halloween posts on all our sites. This week, New Jersey rounded up haunted houses and creative pumpkin carving events, while Westchester highlighted cool corn mazes, hayrides and pumpkin fests. Fall is a wonderful season for these kinds of fun-filled day trips, and it's worth browsing all of our tri-state area sites for even more destination ideas.

But if you're in need of a real vacation, check out our review of the luxurious Grand Lucayan Beach & Golf Resort on Grand Bahama Island on our Travel site—even though you can't get there this weekend there's always winter break!

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

Fall is here which means the kids are back into the swing of school and it's time to sign them up for enriching extracurricular classes. Today's deals post features five fabulous offers from high-quality after-school programs, including fencing, animation, art, theater and improv. Don't wait to take advantage of these great bargains—discounts this good will be gone long before the first snow falls.