Trick or Treat!

We ran a poll last week asking what time you think kids should start trick or treating. The results had 4 pm as the winner. There were 14 votes for starting at noon and one of those families must have just visited Barista Annette’s house who just had her first trick or treater at 1:57 pm.

Tell us in comments when you went trick or treating today or when the first ghosts and goblins rang your bell.

Looking for a fright tonight? Go Trick or Treating at the Whipple House:

Come on by any time after dark if you dare and we’ll try to make it worth your while: 182 Alexander between Park and Valley, Montclair, NJ, 07043.

The owner, John Whipple, takes pleasure in making his home as scary as possible, so don’t take little kids here unless you want to be up all night with a screaming, crying child.

(Photo: Alison J. Bermack)

Vampire and Cat!

Send them in today!

We want to see Baristaville’s costumed kids (and grown-ups too). Don’t forget to capture a picture of your Trick or Treater and send it to us for a fun slideshow we will put together.

Just email your photos (jpgs please!) to us here and check out Baristaville’s witches, ghosts, goblins, princesses and more in our Halloween slideshow next week.

Today’s the last day to enter our ticket giveaway to see Strega Nona at NJPAC. Enter here.

Did you go to Gardens Aglow? It was great. Students from all over Baristaville (and beyond) contributed carved and painted pumpkins for the Presby Iris Gardens event last night. Irvington High School, Millburn High School, Bloomfield High School, Columbia High School, MKA, Livingston High School, Cedar Grove High School, West Orange High School, and Orange High School were some of  the carvers.  Each school got its own iris bed to display the students’ pumpkins.

There was music, crafts for the kids, cider and cookies, and a hay maze. Writer Stacey Gill’s kids had lots of fun.

Check out photographer Chanda Hall’s slideshow on the next page….

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Maplewood’s streets were filled with costumed characters yesterday for its annual Halloween parade. The town enjoyed fun, festivities and a rock concert by local kid band StarFish!

One sleepy little caterpillar was pooped out after all the fun. Check him out on the next page…..

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This close to Halloween, costumes have been picked, candy has been bought and pumpkins have been carved (well, mostly.) The best streets in town–i.e. those known for candy booty–get crowded. Even the lesser-known roads see a lot of trick-or-treat action.

Where to troll for sweets is one issue. Other concerns are staying safe and being on time for the big night and Mischief Night, or whatever you call it. Finally, on Sunday, the glorious, much-anticipated tradition of trick or treating begins.

But there can be a dark side to this holiday–mostly when manners turn into paranormal activities. Dare we ask if you’ve ever experienced any of the following Halloween pet peeves?

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It’s all about Halloween this weekend. There are fun activities, spooky events, parties and more, so you’ll need to check our Calendar for all the details. You can also check your town’s sidebar for a link to town specific Halloween happenings.

Here are this weekend’s highlights:

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My husband won’t go near Facebook (except when he goes on my account), doesn’t Tweet, won’t let me use his name or mention him in my Facebook status, and doesn’t feel comfortable with me using my kids’ names on this website. He hates oversharing. In fact, he will probably get mad that I’m even writing about him now. I may have to make a sign for him.

Being an editor of a parenting website, I obviously share more than the average person. Well, that’s not true. I’ve seen some pretty personal things on blogs and social media.

Online I found out a mom I know is getting divorced, read an argument between a friend and her boyfriend and read things that parents write about their kids that I know will make the kid cringe when they’re older.

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