Let’s go through the Halloween checklist.
Costume? Check
Costume for your furbabies? Check
Several five pound bags of candy? Check
Is your home ready for trick-or-treaters? No? Now is the perfect time to get ready for the big night. You might think buying your costume and your body weight in chocolate is all you need to get ready for Halloween, but think about how many people will come to your door, walk across your lawn, and potentially make your furbaby nervous. The last thing you want is for anyone to have an accident and ruin their Halloween fun.
With these five tips, you can get yourself and your home ready for Halloween. The only worry you’ll have is whether you have enough (or too much) candy for the big night.
- Clean up your yard and walkways.
Kids are notorious for not looking where they’re going. Now, add a sugar high, crazy costumes (with masks), and a dark night – if you’ve got debris, tools, or anything else lying around your yard, that’s an accident waiting to happen. Keep your decorations off to the side of where people will walk to get to your door. You can even rope off (or use caution tape) to keep kids away from any decorations you have on your lawn.
- Think about safety when you put up decorations.
Candles in jack-o-lanterns are nice, until someone knocks it over. Draping fabric over a light gives off a spooky vibe until the material catches on fire. And yes, you should plug your decorations into a power strip that handle all the extra plugs instead overloading an outlet. Decorating for Halloween is nearly as fun – and for some people, more fun – than decorating for Christmas. You know what’s not fun? A fire in the middle of the night.
- Consider non-candy treats for Halloween night.
Raisins, toothbrushes, or whatever you find in your junk drawer isn’t a good idea for Halloween night unless you really don’t want anyone at your door next year. Instead of candy – or in addition to it – consider treats like small toys, crayons, or stickers. A lot of kids have allergies, and Halloween isn’t always as fun for them. Offering a toy lets parents breathe a sigh of relief and cuts down on the sugar-high kids running through the neighborhood.
- Keep your pets in mind.
Some pets are so easygoing that you can dress them up in a costume, and they’ll stay by your side whenever the doorbell rings. The rest of us have dogs that lose their minds when the doorbell rings, will grab for candy they shouldn’t eat, and get very anxious or even aggressive with too much activity. Halloween is a common time for pets to run away or get lost. If you know your pet can’t handle all the fun, keep them put away or, at least, on a leash until the trick-or-treaters are gone. Make sure they have an ID on them or are microchipped in case they run off, too.
- Light up the night
If you’re planning on handing out candy for Halloween, you need more than your porchlight. To save your flowerbeds and ceramic pumpkins, and to prevent any unnecessary spills on your driveway, make sure you have plenty of lighting outside your home. Pathway lights or a motion sensor light on your driveway or near your front door are good ways to make sure everyone can see where they’re going.
Halloween is supposed to be a night of fun. Between adorable little kids dressed as their favorite superhero or princess and all the excitement over candy and spooky decorations, it’s a time for everyone to make good memories. Don’t let the holiday turn into a nightmare. Make sure you and your home are ready for trick-or-treaters this year.
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