My parents were definitely the over protective type. Now as an adult I completely understand their worries and concerns, but of course as a kid I thought they were so annoying. Hash tag: Typical kid.
Anyways, their worries didn’t exclude special events or holidays. In fact, I have vivid memories of one year all of us kids dressing up in black and white skeleton sweat suits and my Mom putting industrial reflective tape all over the back of our black sweat suits so we wouldn’t get hit by a car in the dark. To say I was mortified is an understatement, but now as an adult I get it. I would wrap my kid in that tape if it would prevent an accident.
While Halloween can be lots of fun, there are many things that can pose an accident. To keep us all (big and little kids alike) safe this Halloween season, check out these top safety tips I’ve put together with the help of :
1. Go as a group: All children must be accompanied by an adult. Plan your night of fun with several other families, and tell children to stick together. Teach children to never walk off alone and to only knock on doors with porch lights on and never go into a stranger’s home.
2. Plan the safest route: Whether trick-or-treating or a taking the dog for a brisk morning walk, plan your walking route in advance and stick to neighborhoods you are familiar with. Choose a well lit route, one with sidewalks, and little traffic. Let your entire group know your route plan and pick a designated meeting place if you get separated. If no sidewalks are available, walk as far left as possible, walking facing traffic.
3. Look both ways and obey traffic laws: Whether it’s Halloween or not, it’s important to teach kids to look left and right before crossing the street and to cross at designated crosswalks. When crossing, make eye contact with drivers. Children under 10 need to cross the street with an adult. It’s also important to remind people of all ages, that drivers and cyclists can be distracted, and they won’t always be paying attention to pedestrians.
4. Put distractions away: Put away phones, headphones and other devices when crossing the street or walking around cars.
5. Choose your costume wisely: Avoid masks or hats that can hinder children’s vision. Choose costumes that are brightly colored and that children can easily walk and move around in.
6. Pick your times: Designate a time to go trick-or-treating and let others not in your group know when to expect you back. Common trick-or-treating hours are from 5-9pm.
7. Drivers use caution: If you are a driver taking to the roads on Halloween, use extra caution. Put away distractions, focus on the road, obey traffic laws and drive slowly through neighborhoods.
8. Be seen: Adhere reflective tape to dark colored costumes. Each child should carry a flashlight (for more information on how you can get a free flashlight visit ) and other lighting such as glow sticks or glow in the dark costume accessories or trick-or-treat bags like I am sharing below!
In addition to covering us in reflective tape every year when we went trick-or-treating, my Mom got us these cute glow in the dark trick-or-treating bags to use to help us stand out in the dark even more. I have no idea where she got these bags, and you would think that it would be easy to find pre-mead glow in the dark treat bags, but honestly they are not that readily available in stores. So I decided to make my own.
In addition to carrying a flashlight and using glow sticks, glow in the dark treat bags and other accessories are a must when trick-or-treating. These ghost and bat bags are super simple to make and can easily be changed to whatever design you would like.
Easy DIY Glow in the Dark Trick-or-Treat Bags Tutorial
by Heather H. of Kitchen Concoctions: www.kitchen-concoctions.com
Printable Version
Supplies:
Canvas tote bags
Fabric paint in desired colors
Glow in the dark fabric paint (make sure it says “Glow in the Dark” not black light)
Paint brushes, in assorted sizes
Sponge brushes
Halloween and letter stencils
Halloween felt cut outs
Fabric or hot glue
Paper plates
Paper towels
Pencil
Directions:
1. Lightly trace your design (freehand or using stencils) on to canvas totes.
2. Place a paper plate or piece of cardboard inside the tote bag so that the paint does not transfer through.
3. Using fabric paint, paint over desired design. Once paint is dry paint another coat of paint, and trace around design.
4. Allow paint to dry completely and then paint on several thick layers of glow in the dark paint (it drys clear).
5. Allow glow in the dark paint to dry completely then add additional décor or embellishments.
Bat Bag Details: Traced a small plastic bowl into a white canvas tote with a pencil to create moon, Used yellow fabric paint to paint moon. Once yellow paint was dry, painted over moon with glow in the dark paint. Dry completely. Hot glued foam (or felt) bat over dry paint,
Ghost Bag Details: Traced a foam ghost onto a purple canvas tote with a pencil. Painted ghost with white fabric paint to paint ghost. Once white paint was dry, painted over ghost with glow in the dark paint. Used fabric stamps and white fabric paint to paint “BOO”. Painted over “BOO” with glow in the dark paint. Dry completely.
Unintentional pedestrian injuries are the fifth leading cause of injury-related death in the United States for children ages 5 to 19. Methodist Richardson is vowing to help keep kids safe this fall with their free flashlight program. To grab your free flashlight and to check out more pedestrian safety tips, visit for additional details.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of .
Leave a Reply