Happy Halloween

Do you know what you’re going to be for Halloween? If you haven’t started planning yet, don’t worry. You can still scare up some great ideas for Halloween at the eleventh hour. Here are a few tips for spooky costumes, sweet treats, and devilish tricks.

• Thrift stores are a smart and inexpensive place to shop for costume components, but how can you be sure to find just the right items? Hit the racks with more than one idea by brainstorming a few fun getups before you go. As you browse the merchandise, you can decide which costume is best served by your thrifty finds. Then it’s no big deal if you don’t find the right gear to be an alien cowboy because now you’re going to be a crime fighting ninja princess.

• For parental peace of mind, hand out the usual individually wrapped fun size candies at the door. Inside with family and friends, dig into some frighteningly tasty goodies. Here’s a fun and easy idea for Halloween cupcakes. Bake chocolate cupcakes. It’s okay to use a boxed mix. Frost generously with chocolate frosting; then cover the frosting with crumbled Oreo cookies. Finally, insert two M&M candies of the same color on their sides deep into the frosting to make it look like eyes peering through the darkness.

• A little bit of Halloween mischief can be lots of fun. With a good vantage point and an old baby monitor, you can surprise approaching trick-or-treaters at your front door. Set up the parental unit of the baby monitor near the door where it can be heard. Find a place where you can see, but cannot be seen. You can whisper spooky greetings or howl unearthly screeches at your visitors through the baby unit. This is a fun way to occupy an older child who might not be interested in going door-to-door.

Don’t lose your head over Halloween. This year, you’ll knock ‘em dead with costumes, treats, and tricks that are scary good.