Author: plusroi

With Halloween just around the corner, it can be tough for busy parents to find the time to brainstorm a creative costume. Often, it’s tempting to just head to a big box store and purchase a ready-made getup from off the shelf.

However, Halloween expenses can add up, and store-bought costumes also can be kind of boring and forgettable.

So, here are five fun and easy costume ideas for Halloween.

To make some of these costumes, you may need:

• Glue gun
• Double-sided tape
• Electrical or black tape
• Elastic

1) Gumball Machine

A fun, unusual and unforgettable costume, a gumball machine is a great way to make memories when as you spend an evening trooping around the neighborhood in search of Halloween treats.

It takes about 2 hours to create.

1. Paint a plastic soda bottle cap with silver paint. With a hot-glue gun, glue to red hat.
2. Cut a 5 out of black craft foam and glue to pants leg.
3. Cut hood and sleeves off a clear raincoat; put on backward (snaps in back). Use a 30-inch piece of elastic as a belt; blouse coat over it.
4. Blow up 20 multicolored balloons halfway. Put in through back of coat. Snap up coat.
5. Cut off excess, if any.

2) Bubble Bath

This costume also makes use of light, vibrant colors to create a cheery atmosphere on Halloween night. It takes about an hour to make.

1. Cut a hole in the bottom of an inflatable baby rubber ducky bathtub. Leave at least 2 inches for the rim.
2. On the remaining bottom rim, punch two holes near the front and back. To make the suspenders from wide ribbon, measure your child from shoulder to waist and multiply by 2; cut two lengths of ribbon to that size.
3. Thread through the holes, knotting the ends underneath to secure.
4. Blow up 15 white balloons and attach them with double-stick tape inside the tub and to the sides to make it look like bubbles are overflowing.

Accessorize with bath poufs as hair accessories, and you’re ready to go out trick-or-treating!

3) Raining Cats and Dogs

This costume is fun, and takes about an hour to make.

1. Find a child-size transparent umbrella.
2. Use stencils to trace cats and dogs (about 15 of each) onto black felt.
3. Cut out the cats and dogs, and, keeping about 8 in reserve, glue to the outside of the umbrella.
4. Use a needle and white thread to dangle the remaining cutouts to the edge of the umbrella, as though they were drops of rain.

Wear with a raincoat and boots, and spend the night knocking on doors in search of candy.

4) Spaghetti and Meatballs

An offbeat and memorable costume, this takes about 3 hours to make. You’ll need a lightweight aluminum pot for this costume.

1. Cut a hole for the head in the center of a red-checkered tablecloth (or 1.25 yards of 45-inch-wide red-checkered fabric) so that it can be worn like a poncho.
2. Cut 1/2 skein f off-white yarn into spaghetti-length pieces. With a hot-glue gun, glue them in swirls and bunches to a large, sturdy paper plate.
3. Paint 8 small styrofoam balls with brown acrylic paint to resemble meatballs. Let dry, then glue 4 or 5 balls to top of spaghetti.
4. Mix brown and red acrylic paint to make a tomato-sauce color; drip that over meatballs and spaghetti. Smear a little on the side of a small pot.
5. Glue the plate to the front of the tablecloth.
6. Glue remaining meatballs to tablecloth where you like.
7. Glue some strands of yarn to the pot “hat.”

Tie under chin if needed to keep pot on head.

5) Rubik’s Cube

An offbeat and somewhat complicated Halloween costume, this takes about 2 hours to make.

1. Cut holes for the head and arms in a square box (we used a 16 by 16-inch). Cut the flaps off the open end so that child can pull the finished cube over head.
2. With craft glue, glue four 8 1/2 by 11-inch sheets of green paper to one side. Repeat with blue, orange, yellow and red paper on other sides. (You may need more if you use a larger box than we did.)
3. Create the squares with black electrical tape.

Wear some dark clothes (be sure to bring a flashlight so motorists can see you!), and you’re set!

Is Halloween Celebrated in Turks and Caicos?

“Is Halloween celebrated in the Caribbean?” is one of the questions our concierge gets asked a lot at this time of year. The answer? “It’s complicated.”

Halloween itself is generally not observed in Caribbean culture, which can be quite religious. More than 90 per cent of people in the Turks and Caicos identify as Christian, compared to the more secular United States.

For this reason, and also because Turks and Caicos is a British Overseas Territory, with many British rather than American traditions, Halloween is not as much a part of the culture as on the mainland.

Celebrating Halloween in Turks and Caicos

Still, Halloween starting to be observed in Turks and Caicos each year, making a late-October or early-November holiday in Turks and Caicos great for families.

Different resorts host Halloween celebrations each year, and events for families are typically held in and around the Bight neighborhood, just off central Grace Bay Beach.

In past years a Halloween party was held at Provo Elementary School, but each year it often depends on the resort to organized events, so be sure to check TripAdvisor for up-to-date information.

Summer’s winding down, and it’s back-to-school season. If you have school-aged children, this can be the toughest time of the year for them. As school starts, it’s hard to get up in the morning and get used to a new schedule. We all have an inner scheduler called the circadian clock that helps you fall asleep each night and wake up the next morning.

There are ways to shake off the back-to-school blues by getting into a schedule that resets your clock. Here are some tips.

Start Thinking About School

Going back to school is also a state of mind. It can be quite a shock to the system to head back to the classroom after a couple months of summer vacation.

• Refresh your rules about screen time for the school year. What’s allowed and when?
• Encourage your kids to read at least one book before the school year begins.
• Create a “device-free” zone where your kids will be able to read and study (if they have homework).

Get Ready… To Get Back on Schedule

It’s always a good idea to establish regular bedtime routines for elementary school kids and preschoolers. There are various ways to do this, including:

• Reacquaint your kids with the calendar schedule they’ll use to manage their activities.
• Set your kids’ sleep schedules to “School Time” two weeks before the first day.
• Set — and enforce — regular weekday and weekend bedtimes.
• Set — and enforce — regular weekday and weekend wake-up calls.

If being on time is really a problem, try setting your clocks forward 10 minutes. This makes it easier for the whole family to be on time.

Get Prepared

It’s not fun to battle the crowds and shop for school supplies the week before school starts. It doesn’t have to be that way if you follow these tips!

• Keep a running list of supplies, clothing, and food that you need to buy before school starts.
• Create a list and budget for back-to-school shopping.
• Let your child choose their clothes, shoes and other personal items they’ll need.

Finally, to make things easy when things get busy in September, set up a hanging organizer with five boxes for clothes, one for each day of the week.

Make Time for Family

Spending time with family is important, and we often forget that when our lives are busier. As the school year kicks off and people’s schedules get busy, establish a set “Family Time,” — whether it’s during dinner or before bed.

• Give kids a specific day when they can choose the activities you do together.
• Have a family discussion about what your kids can expect on the first day so they feel more prepared.

Remember to Have Fun

Plan something fun to diffuse this stressful time of year for all of you… consider spending your winter vacation someplace warm, like the Turks and Caicos.

Tips For Taking A Vacation During The School Year

When it comes to planning trips, we can often feel paralyzed by the school calendar. But, if you plan and execute in advance, there is plenty of opportunity to take a vacation without missing school.

With a little creativity and planning, families can travel during school holidays.

Plan Travel Well In Advance

• Book travel that overlaps school holidays as soon as possible—even a year in advance—to avoid accommodations selling out and inflated airfare.

Outline Your Trip

• Your vacation will go much more smoothly if you take the time beforehand to outline your plan, including which cities and attractions you’ll be visiting, which accommodations you’ll be using, what you’ll be seeing, etc.
• Book hotels and restaurants in advance, and buy tickets to any events and attractions if possible.

Make Arrangements for Work and School

To avoid any last-minute conflict with work or school commitments, be sure to make all the necessary arrangements well in advance of your winter vacation.

And, as a parent, do your own homework! Make sure you finish all of your work beforehand, and make arrangements for co-workers to take care of any necessary tasks in your absence.

What Do You Think?

Do you have any back-to-school tips? Let us know in the comments below!