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Each decade contains unique fashion and style trends that can easily be transformed into a fun outfit for a party. An eighties ensemble might include leggings, electric colors and big hair. A fifties costume could be made from an iconic poodle skirt and carefully constructed curls. After choosing a decade for inspiration, head to second hand stores to find an affordable and one of a kind outfit that fits the style you have chosen. Be sure to add kooky hair styling and makeup as appropriate for the costume and the age of the child.

The Wild Side

There are few things kids like more than pretending to be their favorite animal. Expand this imaginative play by creating an animal costume for your child. These can be quite simple to put together. Simply choose an outfit in the color of the animal and include socks on the child’s hands for paws. Create ears out of construction paper and a headband. Use face paint to complete the look. Face Painting Fun offers a variety of face painting ideas that range from complex artistry to simple designs that even inexperienced face painters can complete.

Word Plays

Use the quirky flexibility of language to create creative and clever costumes for your children. For example, create a sand-witch costume for your child. Start with a traditional witch costume which can be made using simple black articles of clothing, face paint and a construction paper or cloth hat. Create giant slices of bread out of large sheets of poster board and attach them to either side of your child. Another idea is to have your child dress in all pink and attach a shoe to the top of her head to be gum on the bottom of a shoe.

**This article was provided as a guest post! Hope you picked up some useful tips!**

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THE MUPPETS opens in theaters everywhere on November 23rd!

* The above image was preprinted with permission.

Life+Gear® 200-Hour Waterproof Glow Flashlight

Halloween is in three days and the kiddos are getting ready to don their costumes and hit the neighborhood streets in search of a few tricks and lots of treats. As you send your kids out into the Halloween night, you may worry about the safety and location of your children – no matter how old they are. As an FYI, your local (and online) RadioShack carries a variety of reliable tech products that can be used to give you peace of mind while your children are trick-or-treating this Halloween.

• This week, the Life+Gear® 200-Hour Waterproof Glow Flashlight will be on sale for only $3.99 (Sale ends tomorrow, 10/29). With its compact size, glowing handle and great price, this is the perfect flashlight to light the way on Halloween or at your next fall family campout.

• The LifeGear GlowStick is another great way to light your little trick-or-treaters’ way on All Hallows Eve. With three festive colors and a price that can’t be beat ($5.49), the LifeGear GlowStick is the perfect way to add a flash of light and a bit of safety to your kids’ costumes. It gets 5 out of 5 stars on the RadioShack website from reviewers.

• 

  Halloween Hexbug Nano

  The Zoombak™ Universal A-GPS Locator is a small, lightweight GPS locator that can be placed inside a child’s trick-or-treat bag. Parents can keep tabs by letting them set up a personalized virtual boundary and when activated, be promptly notified via text message or email if the locator is out of the zone. You can also use it after Halloween to keep track of valuables, like your car. You will have a monthly service fee with this item. But, it’s on sale right now for $74.99. It normally retails for $99.99. Sale ends 10/29/11.

•  And, for a little Halloween fun, the new Halloween Zombie Nano is the perfect gift for your little ghouls and goblins. This robotic bug will rise from coffin-shaped packaging and a glow-in-the-dark exoskeleton is sure to have your kids happily trick-or-shrieking. This is especially a great addition if you do a small gift a day from a Halloween Countdown Calendar.

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was not compensated for this buzz. This buzz was provided and theMomBuzz thought it was fun and useful to share with readers.

It’s a Zombie Apocalypse! Even Hex Bugs are infected!

Okay, maybe it’s not so scary – but it is pretty cool! Remember the Easter Bunny Hex Bugs that were available last year, with little bunny ears and available in Easter Eggs? Well, these Zombie Hex Bugs are adorned with a glow-in-the-dark exoskeleton and come in a little cracked coffin. (Cracked so you can see the Hex Bug inside!) Coffins are either Orange or Black. I think all the Hex Bugs in this packaging are black with the glow-in-the-dark exoskeleton. If you’ve seen a different colored Hex Bug WITHIN the coffin, let me know.

This is the perfect, affordable gift for your little ghouls and goblins. They are available for just $5.99 right now (sale ends 10/29/11) from your local Radio Shack or online at RadioShack.com. This is especially a great addition if you do a small gift a day from a Halloween Countdown Calendar.

If you don’t know about Hex Bugs, they are small robot-bugs that when turned on run around like a real bug. They have a cockroach-like quality about them, without the ick factor. They take two button cell batteries, which are included.

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was not compensated for this buzz. This buzz was provided and theMomBuzz thought it was fun and useful to share with readers.

Life+Gear has this awesome little product that is meant for roadside assistance and “recreation”. But I definitely suggest picking one up for each of your Trick or Treaters this year before they go out at night. It is the Life+Gear “Glow Stick”.

Every time you push the button, the Life+Glow Glow Stick performs a new action. It can be a:

• Flash Light – hold the skinny “handle” and light your way using the small flashlight.
• Glowing Flashlight – the skinny handle glows and the flashlight is on.
• Glow Stick – just the skinny handle glows brightly.
• Flasher – the handle glows and flashes to attract attention.

The Life+Gear glow stick also has a little loop so you can attach it to a wrist or costume. And it has a built in whistle with cap, so children can whistle if they feel scared or need to attract an adult’s attention.

The Life+Gear Glow Stick is available from Radio Shack for $5.49. It has 200 hours of use. And you can get free replacement batteries when they die out. (Shipping and Handling not included. See package for details.)

Colors include pink, blue, red and green. And once Halloween is over it is still fabulous for other uses. My son will keep him for our nightly walks. But adults can use it for concerts, car troubles and more.

To purchase visit your local Radio Shack or go online here: Life+Gear Glow Stick.

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was not compensated for this buzz. The Mom Buzz did receive a sample to review.

Busch Gardens recently posted on their site how to make Brains Cupcakes, a Zombie-Inspired Recipe from the Dark Side of the Gardens! Click on the picture to be sent to their page and their recipe!

PBS KIDS gears up for Halloween with a bevy of Halloween-themed episodes, including brand new episodes of science-focused series DINOSAUR TRAIN, SID THE SCIENCE KID, THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT!, and WILD KRATTS.

SID THE SCIENCE KID
“Halloween Spooky Science Special”
It’s Halloween time and Sid and his friends have dressed up in the spookiest and scariest costumes possible.  Sid is a bat with big fangs.  May is a spooky black cat.  Gabriela is a furry, yucky spider.  And Gerald is a super spooky skeleton that goes boo!  Susie (dressed as a silly mad scientist) loves their costumes, and helps the kids discover that Halloween can be spooky and scientific!  The kids investigate how bats are helpful creatures that catch mosquitoes, spiders are expert engineer web builders, cats are leaping aerial acrobats, and skeletons help hold up our body frames!  At the Halloween party, the kids also investigate how to make icky, gooey green slime.  Susie then ends the day with a special “Halloween Parade” song so the kids can march around and show off their spooky and scientific costumes!

DINOSAUR TRAIN
“Haunted Roundhouse/Big Pond Pumpkin Patch”
“Haunted Roundhouse”
Dad takes the kids on a special Night Train to Troodon Town, where the Troodons have decorated their Roundhouse into a “haunted house” for a spooky party. The kids end up meeting a strange new nocturnal creature – a mammal named Vlad Volaticotherium, who was hiding in the roundhouse trying to get some sleep.

“Big Pond Pumpkin Patch”
The Pteranodon family learns more about the customs of their neighbors, the Lambeosaurus family, when they are invited for the first time to accompany them to the Big Pond to celebrate “Gourd Day” – a kind of Mesozoic Halloween. The kids see their first pumpkins, and Larry Lambeosaurus even shows our family how to hollow them out and carve faces into them.

THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT!
Two Halloween stories, “Aye Aye!” and “Trick or Treat,” premiere in October, first as parts of two separate episodes and then in encore presentations as one episode.
“Sniff and Seek/Aye Aye!”
“Trick or Treat/King Cecil the Seahorse”
“Aye Aye!/Trick or Treat”
“Aye Aye!”
Nick and Sally are making Halloween masks, but they want to make them really scary. Cat takes them to meet Aiya, the Aye Aye, in the forest of Spookywoowoo. Aiya shows them, that even though he may look scary – his big ears, huge eyes and long fingers help him to find food. And now Nick and Sally know just how to make their masks scary!

“Trick or Treat”
It’s Halloween! The Cat in the Hat takes Sally and Nick trick or treating – his way! Around the world they go, meeting three new friends who teach them each of the tricks they do and share the treats that they like to eat. Back at home Nick and Sally are ready to go trick or treating, with plenty of new tricks to share!

WILD KRATTS
“A Bat in the Brownies”
When a little brown bat crash-lands into a plate of Jimmy Z’s famous brownies, Martin and Chris out set out to convince Aviva, Jimmy Z and Koki that bats are nothing to be afraid of.  With bat activated Creature Power Suits, the bros follow join their new friend on a nocturnal fly about, and the entire crew must come to the rescue when the bat colony’s roost is destroyed by a lightning bolt. In the end the Wild Kratts crew “goes batty,” as they gain a new appreciation for bat ecology, predators and insects and echolocation, and learn to love bats.

“Masked Bandits”
As they prepare for a creature costume party, the Wild Kratts team begins to notice all sorts of strange things happening in the Tortuga HQ.  Jimmy is sure there is a ghost or monster living with them, but the Kratt brothers are convinced it’s some kind of creature.  When the gang sets out to discover who is causing all the trouble, they discover that certain animals gravitate towards human habitation because it provides food and protection from predators.

Visit PBS KIDS for Show Times!

You can read my post here: Target’s Halloween Spooktacular

Well, they loved my post so much they are giving me a $50 gift card to give away to one reader! Fun right?

Read below to see how you can win!

One winner will receive a $50 Target Gift Card

FIRST: MANDATORY ENTRY:

• Visit Target’s Halloween Page and tell me something spooktacular that you learned or loved from the site!

SECOND: EXTRA ENTRIES:

To receive these extra opportunities for entries, you must fulfill the first REQUIRED/MANDATORY entry. But for extra entries, you can do the following – leave a comment for each:

• Add theMomBuzz to your Twitter
• Share this contest on your Facebook page – Link it to @theMomBuzz – Here is the text:

Win a $50 target Gift Card @theMomBuzz – Give-away ends 10.28.11 http://themombuzz.com/?p=18761

• Tweet the contest. Here is an example – can be done daily:

#win a $50 Target Gift Card – #theMomBuzz - Visit http://themombuzz.com/?p=18761

• Stumble my Target Spooktacular post  (2 entries for “stumbling” – leave 2 comments)
• Read my Spooktacular Post and leave me a comment THERE. (and let me know you did by leaving a comment here too. )

Contest ends 10/28/11. This is open to the USA. Please refer to complete contest rules. The entries listed above are the ONLY entries for this contest. Winners will be notified by e-mail (if supplied in the entry or on profile page), as well as on the Winner’s Wall.

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz won a $50 Gift Card to give to one reader! I decided the type of contest and rules and will be responsible for picking the winner using Random.org.

My sister bought annual passes to SeaWorld over the summer. I told her how fab it was, since I’ve been a few times throughout the year. One of my favorite parts about the annual pass is that you get discounts off food and items you purchase at the park when you show it, you get free parking and it gives you access to the park whenever it is open. In other words, you don’t have to pay extra to see special events or decorations during SeaWorld’s Halloween Spooktacular or Christmas Celebration.

I was going to SeaWorld to see what’s fab and new for the 2011 Spooktacular, so I told my sister she MUST come along. SeaWorld’s Halloween Spooktacular takes place every weekend in October: 1-2, 8-9, 15-16, 22-23, and 28-30. So at the time of this buzz, you can still attend for October 22 – 23 and October 28 – 30.

My sis has two kids, ages 6 and 8. So I thought her kids and my kids (ages almost 4 and 5) could hit up the usual no-so-spooky kid’s events that take place through the park.What you usually can expect during a typical visit to SeaWorld’s Halloween Spooktacular are:

• Trick or Treat Spots on a special pathway
• Employees dressed in fun and unique costumes will mingle with the crowd
• Photo ops with beautifully costumed employees
• Kids can play small games to win prizes
• Stations where the kids can make goodies to take home with them. This time it should have been sand art.

Unfortunately, Florida weather can be INSANE. And it was a torrential downpour the 8th and 9th. We decided to forge ahead to Orlando, since you never know how the weather might change. We got to the park at 12:30 and by the time we were settled inside with our strollers, ponchos, raincoats and a clear bathroom shower curtain (for the double stroller to keep the kids dry) – it was mostly misty. But due to concerns about the weather, the spooky trick or treating and photo ops just weren’t going on.

I was concerned, since I talked this up to my sister. My sister was concerned, because her kids wanted to do some trick-or-treating. And we just forged ahead through the path. We took some photos at the empty photo op stations and then we saw a sign. Seriously. It said “Penelope’s Party Zone”. I wasn’t sure if it was a private party, so I asked an employee who was standing nearby. He described it as,”There is music, dancing, games, food and trick or treating.”

Well, there you go! Exactly the kind of fun we were looking for. So we went in. The room was huge with lots of lights and music. Characters were encouraging all guests to mix, mingle and boogie. My niece grabbed a hula hoop and joined the crowd. My nephew loved this zany television that was catching the movements of the crowd. And my boys were a little overwhelmed by the lights and music. Ha. So I took them to the side of the room where people were taking pictures with Halloween Shamu. Unfortunately, when we stood in line there was a character change. Fortunately, it was a vampire and witch penguin. I remember meeting up with them 2 years ago in 2009 with my boys! So I had a picture taken of the boys with them. Then some trick or treating barrels opened up, so the kids hit three of those.

After that, we decided to check out the outside area around the party. My nephew flirted with some of the “sea witches”, I harassed the kids to take pictures with all the cool characters. And we got to meet a parrot that imitated other birds (like a turkey) and a cool albino milk snake. The kids loved petting that one. My husband made a candied apple – loved it. And we bought hot dogs and chicken fingers for the kids and ourselves. I would say the chicken fingers tasted better than the hot dogs this time around.

We relaxed, regrouped, and watched nearby ducks and swans swim – then headed back out to the park. We turned right and saw some trick-or-treat spots were now open. They even passed out mini bananas and nuts as an alternative to candy.

Since I still wanted more “Halloween”, we decided to watch Sesame’s Street Countdown to Halloween. It is a musical show, featuring Telly, the Count, Elmo and Abby Cadabby. They “read” a story about how the Count was alone on Halloween and how Elmo and friends helped him have a fabulous night with friends. My sister told me the songs they sing are from the movie Sesame Street – Elmo Says Boo. It was a fun show and as you sit and wait before the show, the one “human” on stage keeps the crowd and kids entertained with singing and dance moves they can join in with. During the show, our favorite part was the dancing skeletons. They were so cool!

We also visited Happy Harbor. Now, there was nothing spookified about the rides – but they were playing fun Halloween music in the area, which helped keep the Halloween spirit alive.

Finally, we hit other rides since the whole park is still open throughout their Spooktacular. We saw Shamu in One Ocean. My son was “dieing” to go, doing a dance throughout the park and singing, “Shamu-Shamu.” This One Ocean show is relatively new and it was ACTION-PACKED, really showing off what the whales can do. My oldest son, my nephew and my neice all sat in the splash zone. My son and my niece wore their raincoats to help keep their clothes somewhat dry. My brother-in-law would go between them and sitting by my sister. My sister, husband, my youngest son and I were still in the splash zone – but higher up. My husband and I had ponchos on and my youngest had his raincoat on. This show is the “splashiest” I’ve seen in a while – it was spectacular! Loved it! My 5 year old told me at the end of the night that Shamu was his favorite part. So no matter what, don’t miss it.

We also did the Penguin Encounter, Shark exhibit and fed the seals. My sister’s family did the Arctic ride, where it’s a 3-D simulation ride where you feel like you are on a helicopter ride over the arctic. My boys were too short to go with them, so we simply skipped the ride and did the walk-through to see the animals. I love the Walrus. You also see a Polar Bear and porpoises. The porpoises and walruses were so ACTIVE, swimming and doing flips. The polar bear was sleeping.

That was our family-fun, spooktacular day. My sister is still going to go back to ride the coasters. There is so much to do every time she goes, she still hasn’t had the opportunity to ride them all. SeaWorld is that full of activities for the whole family, for a whole day.

MORE ABOUT THE SEAWORLD SPOOKTACULAR:
This is a kid-centric event. Trick or Treat Bags are provided, but you can bring your own. Costumes are welcome, but you don’t have to wear them to receive treats. Games and activities do cost a small fee for participation, but the trick or treating is free for all SeaWorld guests. You do not need to pay extra for the SeaWorld Spooktacular. Learn more and get pricing at SeaWorld’s Spooktacular page: SeaWorld Spooktacular

PAST SPOOKTACULARS:

SeaWorld Spooktacular 2010 and SeaWorld Spooktacular 2009

YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN:

• Hall-o-Scream at Busch Gardens Tips for 2011

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz attended the park as media.

I’ve been sharing costumes for Women, Men and Children. But what about the teens? There is a great selection of teen Halloween Costumes at PBTeen right now – all with discounted prices for last minute decision makers! Here are my top picks and a list of other cool costumes still available.

OUR TOP PICK FOR A TEEN BOY: Werewolf Costume

Description: What I like about the costume is how simple it is. It comes with the faux fur hood and gloves. They can pair it with anything from their closet. And the hood allows for easy eating, drinking, laughing and conversation for any Halloween Parties they might be headed for.

Cost: On sale now for $24.99 (Prices subject to change!)

Other cool teen boy costumes include:

• Moose
• Gorilla
• Skeleton

OUR TOP PICK FOR A TEEN GIRL: Black Cat

Description: This is a classic, simple choice. The hoodie is made of sleek black fur with pink lining in the ears, white whiskers, pink nose and huge cat-eyes. It comes with open finger gloves, so they can easily pick up objects, drinks and food. They can pair it with anything from their closet, from a cute skirt with leggings or shorts with a black tee. The open-face hood allows for easy eating, drinking, laughing and conversation for any Halloween Parties they might be headed for.

Cost: On sale now for $24.99 (Prices subject to change!)

Other cool teen girl costumes include:

• Bride of Frankenstein
• Skeleton
• Soft-Serve Ice Cream Costume

You may also be interested in:

Pottery Barn Kids Costumes

Pottery Barn Kids Halloween Countdown Calendar

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was not compensated for this buzz.