Pirates of Pinehurst, Sherwood, Oregon Halloween Light Display Yard Haunt

If you are looking for something fun tonight or tomorrow night, check out the Pirates of Pinehurst.

The whole neighborhood gets involved and it looks so fun!

I'm sure it's much better with lights and sounds and fog machines!

Great to view from the car on a rainy night too!

Halloween Movies - Crimson Peak and Hotel Transylvania 2

Crimson Peak

"In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds...and remembers."

This movie felt extremely long and confusing.  The story line is choppy.  Most of the devices used to develop story go absolutely nowhere and some make absolutely no sense. I am all about suspending disbelief to enjoy a story, but there is just TOO MUCH.  Other story points are crammed down your throat in several unnecessary ways. The characters aren't developed well, which is sad because they are good actors who were obviously doing their best to act the crap out of bad dialog.  And it's not scary. 

You know how people sometimes write posts on all the things wrong with the movie?  That post would be longer than the movie itself.

Verdict: Waste of Time and Money


Hotel Transylvania 2



This one was actually pretty good.  I enjoyed it more than I did the first one.  There are lots of jokes and gags that the kids will love and plenty of subtle  jokes for adults, that will go over kids heads.  There's a good little story and lots of fun action.

Verdict:  The Kids will love it and you will enjoy it too.

Halloween Activities Guide Updated for 2014!

 

Check it out! There is a lot of fun in store for the Halloween season!

Halloween Movies for the Family

Even though this is a holiday of the scary, it's not that difficult to find fun and laughter at Halloween.  Here are some movies that everyone in your family can enjoy.  There might still be some sort of scary scenes in a few of these.  It is Halloween afterall.

• Nightmare Before Christmas
• Corpse Bride
• Frankenweenie
• Hocus Pocus
• Halloween Town
• Scooby Doo on Zombie Island
• Any Scooby Doo cartoons
• Harry Potter
• Any of the movies from the 7 book franchise.
• A Series of Unfortunate Events
• Laurel and Hardy Meet Frankenstein, or the Mummy.
• Hotel Transylvania
• Monsters Inc.
• Monster House
• ParaNorman
• The Ghost and Mr. Chicken
• Gotta love Don Knotts
• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
• Animated Disney version of course.
• Disney's Monster Mash
• It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

A few for older kids.  Some of these have stronger language and scare factor.

• ET
• The Simpsons Tree House of Terror episodes.
• Monster Squad
• Gremlins or Gremlins 2
• Ghostbusters
• Ghosts on the Loose
• Vintage 50's Monster Movies
• These aren't so scary by today's standards.
• I Was a Teenage Werewolf
• Creature From the Black Lagoon
• LOTS of others.
• Twilight Zone episodes
• Young Frankenstein

If your children get scared this time of year, talk to them before watching any of these films.  A little reassuring from a trusted adult BEFORE they get scared is a lot more helpful then after!  If in doubt, watch the movie yourself first.

Happy Halloween!

MORE Halloween Fun!!

There are so many fun activities happening for Halloween this year.  Don't forget to check out the Halloween Activities Guide for SO MANY fun things to do, as well as the events calendar.  In addition to that, there is a FREE comic book giveaway and costume contest (some locations) happening at nearby Comic Book Shops all over the Portland area.


Halloween Comic Fest is this weekend!  Click here to locate a participating shop.

Free Halloween Party at the Portland Aquarium Oct. 26 and Oct. 31

From their email update list....

 

Happy Halloween Portland Aquarium Fans!

Celebrate Halloween at the Aquarium

Mark your calendars! Saturday, October 26th, we will be having a

P-A-R-T-Y!

Join us for all sorts of fun. The aquarium will be decorated with Halloween in mind.

* Free admission for all costume-wearers.
* $5 admission for everyone not wearing a costume.

• Free face painting will be offered.
• The Oregon Mermaids will be on location (12-2pm) offering Mermaid Tales and crafts. Decorate paper bags to trick or treat with!
• Food will be provided for purchase by Lew’s Drive-In.
• Kaylee Hampton, Miss Clackamas Teen USA will be there to sign autographs from 10-1pm. (See photo of Kaylee at the aquarium, right.)
• Last but certainly not least, free “Behind the Scenes” tours will be available to all guests that would like to take a closer look at the excellent care we are taking with all our animals. Just ask a staff member.

All revelers uploading a photo of themselves to our Facebook page in their Halloween Costume between October 26 and October 31 will have a chance to win an annual family pass. Photo with the most likes wins. We look forward to all your fun costumes!

If you can’t make October 26, we will be allowing costume-wearers into the aquarium again for free on October 31. On this day you can trick or treat and enjoy the aquarium animals to your hearts content! We welcome you either day.

Halloween Time 2013!

Happy Halloween!! I've updated the Halloween Activities page, which includes Pumpkin Patches, Corn Mazes, Haunted Attractions, and Holiday Specials.  I'm most excited about the new "Toy Story of Terror" which airs Wednesday, October 16 at 8pm on ABC.

It seems that all of the local deal sites have half price admission tickets for many of the area Haunted Attractions.  I will be adding more info about that later this weekend.  Look for discounts before you head out!  Many of their sites also have coupon links, so check those too. 

Happy Haunting!
Jody

Happy Halloween!

So now that you have way more candy then you know what to do with, the Blog Candy Experiments has some great ideas to get kids involved in science with their candy, instead of eating it all!  Let the fun begin!!! 

Oh, and send some of your kids candy to their teacher tomorrow!  They are going to need it!  ;-)

 

Halloween Stencils for Pumpkin Carving

Woo Jr.  Has some neat Pumpkin Carving Stencils.

FREE Building Clinics for Kids at Lowe's and Home Depot

Both Lowe's and Home Depot have free clinics for kids on building things.  They usually include a little kit that they build in store.  They have some pretty cute projects coming up.

Lowe's has a class on October 27 and one on November 17.



Home Depot has a class coming up on November 3.  They have a class every first Saturday!

Visit the websites for more information and locations.

Halloween Coupons!

I'm so excited that it's Halloween time!  My favorite holiday!  There are so many extra fun things to do this time of year that it's hard to choose which ones.  The biggest problem is that many of them are super expensive.

In the last few years, these half price sites have become pretty popular.  Check out my post earlier this year on them, Half Price Deal Sites. Should You or Shouldn't You...

These can be great deals, but be sure to check out www.yelp.com or some other ratings sites to find out if this will be a good fit for you and your family.

Deals I have found so far...

• Half off Admission to Four Horseman Haunted Attractions
• Portland Perks - PG 13 - Portland Meadows
• Various Deals at Airlie Farms in Monmouth
• Portland Perks - Family Oriented and a nice fall drive.
• $5 Entry into the Milwaukie Elks Fear Asylum
• Portland Perks, PG 13

• Pumpkin Farm Fun Day for Two - Living Social - Great for Kids

  Liepold Farms -$18 for Corn Maze, Hay Maze, Farm Tour, Hay Ride and 2 Drinks

Happy Halloween! - Halloween Guide updated!

You probably know that one of my favorite halloween activities is visiting the Davis Graveyard.  They do a fantastic halloween yard haunt!  And since most halloween activities cost over $10 per person, it's even better that it's FREE!

A few years ago the Davis's started having classes to teach us how to make our own yard haunts.  Their wish is to Halloweenify the entire town!  If you happen to be in downtown Milwaukie you can see some of their tombstones in front of City Hall.  Look for "J. Ferguson"  that's the mayor!

We went to their very first Tombstone making class.  We are starting to get quite the little graveyard going.  We've been adding a few tombstones each year. 

This summer I woke up one morning with a great idea for a Pac Man tombstone! I think it came out pretty cool!

 

Our little graveyard is all set up and you can see it right across the street from La Salle High School.

 

The Halloween page has been fully updated and is ready to direct you to lots of Halloween Family Fun.

 

 

 

 

Halloween 2011 Boredom Busters

10 Halloween-Themed Boredom Busters

Provided by Sarah Morris on behalf of Primrose Schools- choose the best in preschools!

 

The air outside has turned crisp and the tableau of fall colors is coming alive in the trees. The new season brings so many things to be enjoyed as a family- like Halloween. In lieu of going straight to TV and video games when the weather gets chilly, get their attention with themed activities and banish the Ghost of Halloween Boredom before he makes an appearance. Try a few of the following activities to keep your young ones entertained, and have fun together!

1.) Pumpkin Carving

In the fall, pumpkin carving is a time honored tradition for many families. If your kids are old enough to safely use a cutting tool, it can be great fun for them. Don't go for the same old grinning face you've seen on a thousand other pumpkins. Do a quick online search for "pumpkin carving templates", and find a unique one that your kids can easily follow. Supervise them as they complete the task, and voila, you have a beautiful outdoor decoration that's perfectly in season. As a bonus, you can salt and roast the seeds for a healthy, kid friendly snack.

2.)"Flying" Bats

This quick, easy craft will make a great addition to your Halloween decor. First, find a template of a bat online( BHG.com and kid's educational sites are a good place to start your search). You're looking for a silhouette, not a full color photo. Once you've got the template, you and your kids can cut out several bats from black card stock. Once that's done, punch a small hole in each bat. Using fishing line or filament, hang the bats from the ceiling. The nearly invisible strings will make it look as if a flock of bats have descended on your home. It's a creepy good look!

3.)Pasta Skeleton

This is a good craft for the younger children, who aren't quite as adept as you'd like with scissors. All you'll need is black construction paper, white glue, a white crayon, and a cup or so of pasta in a variety of shapes. Using these supplies, help your child build a skeleton, and glue it to the paper. For example, macaroni is good for the ribs, and a wagon wheel makes a perfect head. When it dries, your child can sign it with the crayon, and you can proudly display it. (It's also a good opportunity to help your child learn about the skeletal system.) This idea came from the good folks at enchantedlearning.com.


4.) "Scary" Baking

Most folks love sweets, so you can't go wrong with this. Make a basic sugar cookie dough, and gather several colors of food coloring, an assortment of candies, and let your kids do the decorating. Or bake a few cupcakes and let your kids turn them into frightening creatures. You should be in charge of the baking part, of course, but they'll love making a mess and expressing their creativity. A clever hint from Better Homes and Gardens: to make an edible, three dimensional witches' hat, flatten 1/2 of a regular Tootsie Roll into a small circle, and top it with a Hershey's Kiss.

5.)Costume Making

If you've recently seen the price of a flimsy store bought costume, then you'll immediately appreciate the value of this craft. In most cases, you can use things you already have around the house to make the costume your kid wants. With a dose of creativity, and the addition of a few purchased supplies like face paint, you can whip up the perfect costume at a fraction of the cost. Let you child participate in making it, and they'll also get the satisfaction that comes with making something "cool".

6.)Dirt and Worms

As gross as this may sound, kids find it both fun and tasty. Help your child a small paper cup about halfway with chocolate pudding. On top of that, add a layer of crushed chocolate sandwich cookies, to resemble "dirt". Last, take a few gummy worms and insert them through the top layer, into the pudding core below. Leave a bit of each worm visible. After that, let your kids feast on their sweet, yet slimy creation.

7.)Visit a Local Pumpkin Patch

The orange gourds are in season this time of year, and depending on where you live, you may be able to take your kids to a pumpkin patch for a visit. In most cases, the cost of admission is low, or free, and some patches will let kids take a small pumpkin home as a souvenir. A quick internet search can help you discover if there are any pumpkin patches in your neck of the woods.

8.)Take a Nighttime Nature Walk

Your kids may not think this is scary enough at first, but if you take them out after dusk they may quickly change their minds. Explore your neighborhood, taking note of all the nocturnal critters scurrying around. Who knows what lurks in your neighbor's bushes after dark? After this walk, you will!

9.)Rent a Scary Movie

You can judge which movies are appropriate for your kids, based on their ages and personalities. Once you've agreed on a movie, zap some popcorn, turn down the lights, and enjoy a frighteningly good time. If you chose your film wisely, you won't have to worry about being on nightmare patrol later.

10.) Raking Leaves

Not everything surrounding Halloween has to be exciting, right? If you've got a yard full of fallen leaves, and a house full of kids whining about having nothing to do, this could be the perfect solution. Let them use up some of that boundless energy to rake up the leaves while you supervise. It's probably best to go into this expecting the kids to make a big pile of leaves and jump in in, though.

               
                   Visit the page for more fun ideas!
Thank you Sarah for your great ideas! 

From Halloween 2010

             

   

Halloween Season!

Oh how I love Halloween!  It's always so much fun!  I know a lot of
families don't do trick or treating anymore, but I think it's just sad.
I love trick or treating so much that I did it every Halloween until I
was 18 or 19.  I can't stand to hear parents say their kids are too
old for trick or treating at 11 or 12.  Why is a kid too old to dress
up, have fun, and get free candy?  Who is too old for that?   

I didn't trick or treat for the candy, I usually still had candy left from
Halloween at Easter.  This lead to a horrifying experience with
a rat when I was 11, but lets not go there!

The point is that dressing up and acting crazy and just having
fun is the best.  All of the candy is just a bonus.
Why not sort the candy by what they really like and  throw out the rest.  Then put one or two pieces in lunch each
day instead of a sugar drink or cookie. Or consider donating
the extra candy to a shelter or local food program.  Everyone
needs treats once in a while!

Keep Halloween Safe & Comfortable

• Use glow sticks or glow bracelets for visibility.
Get 8 Bracelets in a pack at Dollar Tree!
• Stay with the kids!
Even Middle School Kids should be accompanied
by adults.  Even if you just drop them off at one end
of a block and pick them up at the other end.
• Lecture Kids Before About Safety.
     Kids get so excited that they forget all common sense on
  Halloween.  Remind them about staying together, not going
  with strangers, and watching for traffic. Even if your kids
  know this, a little reminder won't hurt.
• Think About Costume Visibility.     Costumes with masks always look like a lot of fun, but on
  a dark night, you can't always see.  Check that the eye holes
  are large enough for good visibility. Maybe face paint is better.
• Be Comfortable.
     Keep the kids in comfortable shoes and dressed warmly
  enough for the weather.  It gets cold here.  Think about
  costumes that can be worn with thermals underneath, or coats.
• Be Healthy.
     Yeah, even on Halloween!  Bring along bottles of water and
  make sure the kids have full stomachs from a good healthy meal
  before they head out.  It will reduce the effects of sugar rush
  and upset stomachs later on.
• Be Considerate!
       Remind kids to say "Trick or Treat" and "Thank You".  Remind
  older kids that you won't tolerate destructive Halloween pranks.
• Afraid of poison in the candy? 
  There has never been a substantiated case of this happening!
  snopes.com: Poisoned Halloween Candy

Favorite Halloween Haunts

• All of our Favorite Haunts!


• The Davis Graveyard www.DavisGraveyard.com
       It's not only great and super creative, it's also FREE!
                     

• Wenzel Farm Fantasy Trail is great for families with
  young children because it is fun and not too scary.