The countdown to trick-or-treat is on! If you’re not ready to send your little goblins door-to-door, bring them store-to-store at one of New Jersey’s thrilling downtown trick-or-treat events. Collecting goodies from your favorite local retailers is a safe, organized alternative to traditional trick-or-treating and a great way to support local businesses. Take a stroll downtown for these free, family-friendly Halloween festivities. Maybe you can sneak in a little shopping while you’re there. And if you’re heading to the shore, pile on the treats at a boardwalk Halloween event. For more Halloween fun, visit Mommy Poppins New Jersey Halloween Guide.

Doh! This is the month to celebrate all things Homer at a myriad of Odyssey themed events sponsored by the Los Angeles Public Library. And while our picks primarily focus on things to do with kids, this week also offers a few worthwhile opportunities for parents.

If you live in Pasadena and have a little one headed for school soon, Kindergarten Elementary Nights is not to be missed. On the Westside, Digital Domain in Santa Monica is hosting a Minecraft Workshop for parents who want to connect with their children’s latest obsession. Meanwhile, we've got our five picks for fun things to do with the offspring this Monday through Friday:

Sometimes the drive to school and after-school can feel like an Odyssey - that is until you remember that the The Odyssey journey actually took ten years and that we should therefore be grateful that the Sepulveda Pass can be traversed in under an hour. The Los Angeles Public Library offers an homage to Homer’s heroic poem The Odyssey throughout the month of October, honoring the original epic journey at several events sponsored by The Library Foundation of Los Angeles. This month-long literary quest to determine the significance of the ancient epic to present day Angelenos goes deeper than commuting time, of course, and finds fun ways to introduce the classic to another generation.

There's no reason Halloween only has to be celebrated on October 31st. In fact, there are plenty of free or low cost Halloween events across Long Island this month--the perfect way to get your money's worth on those kids' costumes. We've rounded up the Top 10 Halloween Events on Long Island that won't break the bank.

And for more seasonal fun, check out our Long Island Halloween Guide, as well as sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Welcome to the brand new Mommy Poppins Philadelphia! Mommy Poppins and Playground Buzz have teamed up to bring you the best of Philadelphia for families. We have just made the site live today, and we are so excited to share all the fun stuff going on this fall. October means our calendar is bursting with fun things to do! There is never a lack of Fall activities in the Philly area, from apple picking and harvest festivals to corn mazes and Halloween parades. 

Take a look around the site at all the great features Mommy Poppins Philadelphia has to offer:

• A robust activity directory with advanced search features.
• A event calendar with helpful details such as age recommendations, costs and location filters.
• Frequent editorial posts describing activity ideas, reviews, places to play, local news for families, plus crafts, recipes and more.
• Classes, party, camp and seasonal guides to come soon. Visitors can check out our Halloween and Consignment Sale guides now.
• An easy to use submission form where family-friendly businesses can upload events to our calendar.
• A weekly activity newsletter delivered to your inbox every Thursday with top picks for the weekend. If you are not on our email list, be sure to subscribe here.

Make sure to check out some of this weekend's event highlights below. You can see all the events listed in our event calendar. And if you aren't already signed up, click to subscribe to get our weekly activities recommendations right in your in-box. 

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:

Fall is here with gorgeous, crisp weather and changing leaves. It's the perfect time of year to take your family on a hike. Hiking is a great weekend activity, especially if you've already picked your pumpkins and want to do something else before it gets too chilly outside. Fairfield County has something for everyone, including countless miles of hiking trails. Whether you're looking for an easy, flat loop or a challenging hike to the top of a ridge, you'll find it here. No matter what, enjoy the fall, unplug the kids, get outside and take a hike!