THE ULTIMATE lloween Ha Guide By NYMetroParents Halloween Guide 2019 1 nymetroparents.com Table of Contents Halloween Advice & Tips 2019’s Top 10 Halloween Costumes for Kids 2 Halloween Problems: Solved 8 Preparing Kids with Special Needs for Halloween 13 Trick-or-Treaters with Allergies 17 Safety Tricks (and Treats) for Halloween 19 How to Carve a Jack-O’-Lantern 21 Halloween Fun Haunted houses, Halloween festivals, kids’ events, pumpkin picking, costume stores, and more Westchester County 25 Rockland County 34 Manhattan 42 Brooklyn 51 Queens 58 Staten Island 69 Long Island 75 Halloween Guide 2019 1 nymetroparents.comnymetroparents com 2019’s Top 10 Halloween Costumes for Kids Here’s the 411 from a costume expert. By Jacqui Neber For some kids, being a ghost or a pumpkin just doesn’t cut it—but it’s hard to know which out-of-the-box Halloween costume ideas will be on-trend Luckily, we have an expert to help you sort through the thousands of costumes available to your kids Rubin Beige of Rubie’s Costume Company in Westbury breaks down his top 10 most popular picks for Halloween 2019 1. Spider-Man What kid doesn’t love Spidey? Thanks to recent installments in the Spider-Man franchise like Spider-Man: Into the Spider- Verse, the beloved red-and-blue hero comes out on top this year Halloween Guide 2019 2 nymetroparents.comnymetroparents com 2. Pennywise It might seem contradictory, but this kid-luring clown comes in at number two—just like IT Chapter Two, which was released in September to rave reviews Just don’t watch if your kids are scared of clowns! 3. Fortnite character Kids love Fortnite, and they’ll love dressing up as a character from this uber-popular videogame 4. Alien A classic is a classic Try incorporating unique colors, metallics, and textures into your little one’s alien costume to make him the coolest extraterrestrial in the galaxy Halloween Guide 2019 3 nymetroparents com 5. Witch costume for girls Another classic! You can complete your child’s witch costume with a broomstick and big floppy hat Halloween Guide 2019 4 nymetroparents.comnymetroparents com 6. Dinosaur Here’s where you can really get creative Costume shops have dinosaur ensembles that are similar to costumes of many other animals But there are also suits that completely disguise your kid as a blow-up dinosaur Be cautious when sending them out to trick or treat like this (safety first!)—and they’ll get plenty of laughs! Halloween Guide 2019 5 nymetroparents com 7. Renaissance costume for girls You know what they say: Everything old becomes new again In this case, these fashions will be really old, but your child can rock them just the same She can be a fairy, townsperson, queen, and more Maybe send her out with a turkey leg a la Medieval Times to complete the look 8. Baby Shark Doo doo doo doo da-do! Your child can be the most popular—and cutest—fish of the year in this costume You can complete the look by being Mommy Shark, too Halloween Guide 2019 6 nymetroparents com 9. Unicorn Little girls and boys will love transforming in magical, cuddly unicorns on Halloween night Unicorn costumes are plush, colorful, and on trend, making this the perfect costume for a creative kid 10. Harley Quinn costume for girls Margot Robbie made Harley Quinn the most beloved character in Suicide Squad, and Quinn’s look will be a go- to for girls who aren’t afraid to be bold You can use safe, temporary hair dye to create her red and blue pigtails, and let your child sample your makeup for Quinn’s bright red lips and captivating eyes Halloween Guide 2019 7 nymetroparents com Halloween Problems: Solved Local parents share smart solutions to the trick-or-treat troubles that seem to haunt us all in October. By Christina Vercelletto Scary Situation: It’s downpouring. Solution: Sing in the rain And strut and dance and eat Nobody ever plans on a soggy Halloween, but, hey, we don’t live in Arizona So it pays to have a Plan B “We live on a close-knit block, and I always made sure we had a back-up plan by volunteering my house just in case,” says Camille Iorio, a mom of two in Queens “One year I was put to the test But somehow that’s the year everyone remembers ” Iorio recalls ordering pizza, setting up an impromptu ice cream sundae bar, hiding candy around her home scavenger- hunt style, and putting on a costume fashion show set to popular dance tunes Even if you didn’t plan ahead, you can still make the best of a puddle muddle Put on your HalloweenHalloween GuideGuide 20192019 8 nymetroparents.com nymetroparents com most colorful rain gear, grab a big umbrella, and take a couple photos to prove your family’s spirits can’t be dampened Then head to the nearest mall You’d be surprised how many stores give out candy on Halloween And many malls hold some type of holiday festivities, like a costume parade or contest Scary Situation: Bedtime bellyaches after a candy supper. Solution: In a word: soup Your regular sit- down dinner has about as much chance of happening on Oct 31 as your kids not eating any Laffy Taffy until they get home A few years back, Christine Rossetti, a mom of two in Nassau, took that problem and turned it into a new Halloween tradition “I make Halloween soup I only do it once a year, and now the kids look forward to it ” Rossetti says she asked her kids to decide on what kind, and they settled on chicken, but chock full of pastina and mini meatballs “It’s usually pretty chilly when we get back, so it’s an easy sell Even my picky son slurps it up ” And it’s something that can simmer in a slow cooker while you’re at work Scary Situation: The costume he’s been talking about all month is sold out. Everywhere. Solution: Take a picture of the character and ask your child what he likes about it: the metallic lightning bolt? The sword? The wand? The hair? The cape? The shade of red? “Accessories are your friend,” insists Jennifer Kelley, mom of two girls in Manhattan “Make a beeline for the nearest big craft or party store, Halloween Guide 2019 9 nymetroparents.comnymetroparents com and let your kid load up on extras to create something that keeps the spirit of the original ” Her daughter, Bella, had her heart set on Katniss when The Hunger Games first came out—but so did everyone else Kelley saved the day by adding a wig and a bow and arrow to a too- small black jumpsuit she had in her closet, and voila! Bella made a great huntress, if not Miss Everdeen, exactly Scary Situation: The costume your little darling is begging for is a bit…mature. Solution: Deep breaths and a dose of perspective This is a problem that seems to pop up only with female children And, perhaps unsurprisingly, it seems to stress out dads especially “What happened to a princess?” asked Michael Falcone, dad of two in Westchester, when his 10-year-daughter, Olivia, trotted out in a short, tight witch get up “I kind of overreacted But it was a shock Year after year, she was always something sweet and cute Then it was a miniskirt and purple eyeliner ” Falcone tried to make Olivia change, but tears—and the lack of an alternate—caused him to relent His advice to other dads of Halloween Guide 2019 10 nymetroparents.comnymetroparents com daughters? “Ask to see her costume before 3pm on October 31! Seriously, though, I worried she’d want to wear miniskirts and makeup all the time She didn’t I read way more into it that she did ” Indeed, what we see as sexy, a tween girl likely only thinks looks cool So try not to read too much into her choice If you can’t let her pick go, then consider allowing it with the addition of tights, a tank top, or other modest underpinnings Scary Situation: Your sister-in-law shows you her toddler’s costume. It’s the one you told her you had your heart set on for your baby. Solution: Feel the love Okay, at least try to This happened to me I know it sounds petty, but I was peeved A baby’s first Halloween costume is a sacred thing It makes grandmas swoon like nothing else, is in more photos than any costume to follow, and will be fodder years later for trivia questions by teens trying to prove you don’t know them at all I wanted to be able to answer, “You were a peapod! There never was a more adorable piece of produce!” without having to add “except for cousin Kenny ” Then a friend pointed out it was obvious she loved me and my baby a ton, and this seemed like an attempt to bond So I let it go, after briefly considering switching my bambino to a cuter vegetable, like a carrot or radish, for spite (This was not a proud moment ) Halloween Guide 2019 11 nymetroparents.comnymetroparents com So you have two choices in this scenario: either change your child’s costume to Piglet to complement the new Pooh, maintaining individuality Or smile and see it as adoration It also helps to imagine what you would do if you and a friend showed up at a party in the same dress You’d surely laugh, not sulk Then you could both get on with the business of having fun Scary Situation: Three’s a crowd.