Halloween Tips & Treats!

By Elisa DiStefano

Happy Halloween everyone!

We've been celebrating at News 12 Long Island all week!

On Monday we featured the hottest costumes! Fetch Doggie Boutiquebrought in the cutest dogs in costumes! Walmart gave us some low priced costume ideas. And  Ronjoin Port Jeff brought some really great costumes for kids and adults! They also gave us these safety tips. Go over them with your kids!

1. Make sure you can see out of the mask or costume you wear.

2. Make sure you have plenty of ventilation in the mask and costume.

3. Bring along a water bottle so you won't dehydrate.

4. Make sure the length of your costume is not too long, as it can become a tripping hazard.

5. Always trick or treat in groups and never alone.

6. Bring a flash light with you.

7. Wear some sort of light that flashes as part of your costume. reflective tape works well.

8. Do not eat candy until you go home and your family inspects it first.

9. Before eating candy, make sure it is sealed and marked with a good expiration date.

10. Do not cross streets while collecting your treats. Collect from one side at a time.

11. Respect everyone's property; walk on walk ways.

12. Do not walk near cars that are parked and those that are running with people in them.

13. Stay away from animals.

14. Look and obey all traffic signals.

15. Make sure someone has a cell phone charged.

16. Eat a snack before heading out.

17. Make sure your costume is flame retardant.

18. Easy on he treats; don't over do it!

The Suffolk SPCAsent us these tips for your pets!

1. Keep your pet away from the front door. Your pet may become frightened from all the bell ringing and may dart out through the open door. Your dog may feel the need to protect its home and owner and bite the bizarre looking visitors.

2. Don't leave your pet outside on Halloween. They may be injured, stolen or killed by pranksters. Black cats are particularly at risk.

3. Do not allow your pets to eat trick-or-treat candies which may be poisonous or harm them.

4. Do not use candles to illuminate Halloween pumpkins: Pets may tip them over and cause a fire.

5. Halloween decorations should be kept out of pets reach. Items like spider webbing and balloons can be deadly if swallowed.

6. Don't dress your pet in a costume unless you know he loves it. This may put added stress on the animal. If you do, make sure the costume isn't constricting or unsafe. Do not obstruct vision and be sure there is no risk of strangulation by novelty headdresses placed on your pet. Remove costume from pet when unattended.

7. Be sure your pet has proper identification on at all times.

8.  Know your veterinarian's number and keep it listed with your other emergency numbers! Being able to react quickly in an emergency could save your pets life!

9. Please report any acts of cruelty or neglect to the Suffolk County SPCA at 631 382-7722. All calls will be kept confidential. 

10.  Remember - Halloween can be fun - but can be very scary and dangerous for our animal friends.  Your dog or cat can count on you to keep them safe and secure.

 

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 If you plan are trick or treating, please visit a special Haunted House in Massapequa. They have it all decked out with decorations. They even have scary characters. The address is 

98 Boston Ave, Massapequa

(between Jerusalem Ave & Sunrise Hwy)

Please bring non perishable foods (they need soups and canned meats like tuna) and hygiene products (like toothpaste) for Long Island families in need. They give all of the items they collect to Long Island Cares.As I'm sure you know, many people are out of work and the demand for food this year is tremendous. Any little bit you can donate is appreciated. 

Or, raise funds for a charity benefitting NYC Firefighter burn victims by visiting another fantastic Haunted House. Visit 89 Western Ave in Deer Park!

If you are having a party at your house, Andrea Correale of Elegant Affairs gave us the party suggestions:

1. Use iTunes and search for the Halloween Mix to create your own custom music menu, which can be stored, saved, and tweaked for next year.

2. Take the burden of coming up with costume ideas off your guests by stating the attire as black only - this will create an air of sleek sophistication.

3.Choose a focal point for your event, which can be built upon in subtler ways throughout your home. For example, host an intimate sit down dinner at one long gothic-inspired table. Cover the table with a black velvet cloth with a centerpiece of low cut dark red roses with thorns and/or twigs so that cobwebs can be easily wrapped around the sharper points. Incorporate a few candelabras with black tapers.

4. Visit your local gift store for some place cards, which fit the mood of darkness and death - miniature skulls or tombstones usually do the trick. Grab some extra spiders to affix to the napkin rings too. Large red or black goblets are a great addition as well. Placemats can be adorned with autumn leaves which traditionally symbolized the end of the harvest - let's not forget the origins and symbology of this ancient holiday. You could gather your own assorted fall leaves a few weeks prior and press them for a few days inside a large phonebook -- your children or your neighbors children might enjoy gathering an assortment of leaves for you.

5.Autumnal foods and spices will delight the senses of your guests. Start with a warm butternut squash soup garnished with toasted pumpkin seeds or a warm potato leek soup topped with fried leek crisps. The entrée could easily be prepared ahead of time so that you can enjoy your party. Consider filet mignon with a truffle & asparagus risotto served in a carved out pumpkin. Fill the pumpkin with the risotto then lay the sliced peppercorn filet atop. This dish serves up quickly in the kitchen and is a great contrast to a darkly decorated table. Another Halloween dish and serving idea is sweet potato hash topped with oven roasted Cornish game hen with an apple honey sage glaze. Try serving this in individual black iron skillets - a close relative to the witches' cauldron perhaps.

6. As your guests approach your home on this dark and scary eve, line their path with luminary bags or some hand carved jack o lanterns. Bury a boom box in the bushes which plays ghostly moans and banshee screams. Before the sit down dinner, provide some holiday-inspired diversions for sheer entertainment. A Tarot card reader seated at a small table in a smaller private room is titillating. Another consideration is a magician or an illusionist - the kind that can bridge the world of the visible with the invisible.

Andrea also suggested serving your butternut squash soup in carved (and dried out) pumpkins. She made awesome eyeballs out of mozzarella balls. She put them in marinara sauce and used an olive cut in half for the pupil. She made witch fingers by shaping cookie dough into a finger shape and using colored almonds as the finger nail. Get Halloween shaped cookie cutters and make a grilled cheese sandwich more fun!  She made macaroni and cheese in a cupcake shape by adding a little egg and breadcrumbs and baking it in muffin pans. The spider on top is dried black spaghetti. She suggested playing on Halloween colors! She cut up red peppers for a touch of red, bought black and white striped lobster raviolis, and used food coloring in her risotto!

Hope you have a Happy Halloween!

 

 

 

Comments

[Pat]

Hope you have a great Halloween too Elisa! Great blog on a great holiday. Halloween is my Christmas!!! i hope you have something fun planned. hope to read more from you soon. keep up the good work!!

[Tim]

Hey Elisa,

You out did yourself on this blog. You do a good job on your bloging at News12LI. Keep up the working there. Hope you make a good blog about next month on Thanksgiving. Hope you had a good Halloween.