I’m a font-aholic. I’ve tried going through the Font-acholic 12 step program to overcome my addiction.  But, I struggle with it still.

My hand trembles over my mouse when I come across a site where I can download free fonts.

And, what can be more fun than free Halloween fonts (like the one pictured above)?

If you see a font that you like, it is easy to install on your computer. You merely click on the Download button.  On a Windows based machine, the font will be saved in the My Documents/Download folder.  Right-click on the zipped file and drag down to Extract All.

Follow the directions for unzipping the file.  Click on the unzipped file and drag it to your font folder in your system files.

On a Mac, click on the Download button.  The zipped file will be saved to your Download folder.  Double click on the file.  That will unzip the file.  Double click on the name of the file.  This will open up the Font Book program. Click on Install.

It’s that easy.

Now, you can create fun signs, posters, or write letters with your Halloween font.

Enjoy!

Halloween.  I love the holiday.  Is it because this is also my birthday month?

Could be.

Is it because my favorite colors are orange and yellow?

Possibly.

Is it because I’m so witchy all the time?

Now you’re talking!

I don’t care for the dark, creepy, ghoulish, Texas Chainsaw massacre kind of Halloween.  I like the jolly pumpkins, the lanky scarecrows, the sweet cartoon ghosts, and black cats wearing pointy black hats.

Hershey’s has some fun Halloween activities that you could do with your grandchildren.  Activities that are on the fun side and not the ‘dark’ side of Halloween.  Fun like:

• Small Halloween bags (pictured above)
• Large Halloween bags
• Halloween luminaries
• Trick or Treating flashlights
• Halloween pins
• Ghost T-shirt
• Halloween danglers

They also have coloring pages that you can print off, or an interactive coloring book (that only has three pictures to color), clip art, and directions and patters for a neighborhood Halloween Booing (leaving secret bags of goodies on your neighbor’s porch).

Hope you find something fun that you can do with your grandchildren!

(NOTE: This is a guest post by Julee Russo.  A big thanks goes out to her! I’ve never thought about having a costume party at Christmas . . .)

Cherished Memories: They Grow up Too Fast

by Julee Russo

Tell me this is not ADORABLE! I dare you!

One of the most important things to remember when you have grandchildren is to cherish every moment — and to make an extra effort to insure many opportunities for creating long-lasting memories for them in the future. So you know what that means, Pictures, Pictures, Pictures! One of the ways to make wonderful memories that they look back on once they are older, is to make sure they have beautiful and creative kids costumes for birthday parties, school holiday parties and public holidays. Let’s take 4 holidays as examples: All-Saints Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

All Saints Day
Whether you celebrate Halloween or choose to celebrate All Saints day, these two holidays have one thing in common; costumes are involved. If you’re going to a church party for Halloween, dressing your child as an angel is always popular. Some churches have parties that ask attendees to dress as one of God’s creations, which includes animals and other fun things like flowers or butterflies. There’s also the option to dress in clergy clothing from different time periods as well such as dressing as a friar or even a monk.

Halloween
At non-religious Halloween and school parties children typically wear costumes based on popular TV and cartoon shows that the child may like. There are always a certain number of the evergreen costume ideas such as witches, devils, angels, Princesses and Princes. A child can also dress up in a costume that reflects what they want to be when they grow up, whether it be a doctor, lawyer or firefighter. Halloween is all about a day of fantasy.

Thanksgiving
This holiday is about having a great meal and giving thanks for the great year that you’ve had. Is your grandchild going to be a Native American or a Pilgrim? There are also Pilgrim and Colonial Era costumes that let you dress to fit the same time period as when the first Thanksgiving took place. Another idea is to dress them like a turkey or food that is served during the traditional Thanksgiving feast.

Christmas
Lastly, it’s great to have a costume party for Christmas. Although, children will probably focus more on the gifts under the tree rather than Christmas dinner. Your child may also want to play a role in a presentation at Church or even at school that will require a costume. Some roles that children often play are angels, a Sheppard boy and one of the three wise men. If it’s a school holiday party, think about dressing your child as a baby Santa, a cuddly reindeer, a snow flake, an elf or a ginger bread man — or even a candy cane or sugar plum fairy.

ALWAYS focus on getting great photographs. Create these unique memories before they grow up, youth is fleeting and it is up to us, as their grandparent, to make sure they have great pictures to look back at when they are older (not to mention we will be sharing them with everyone we know!). Whether you’re celebrating Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas, each of these holidays provide great opportunities to create memorable events that you and your grandchild will treasure for the rest of your lives.

Tomorrow starts the first giveaway so make sure you come back then!

I heart all things caramel.  You can have your chocolate as long as I get my caramels.

So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that I love caramel apples.  Especially if a Jonathon apple is used.  Mmmm-mmm good!

I made caramel apples.  Once.  Back in the Mesozoic Era in my younger days.  It was so time consuming.

I’ve gotten lazy in my old age.  As a grandma, I’m going to use a much simpler way of ‘making’ caramel apples with my grandchildren.  Here’s how.  I’m going to have a caramel apple bar (like a potato bar but much yummier!).

I’m going to slice apples and have the grandchildren dip the slices in caramel flavored ice cream topping.  I’m going to have bowls of various toppings for my grandchildren to dip their caramel covered apples in –  mini chocolate chips, chopped nuts, chopped M&Ms, coconut, crushed cookies or graham crackers, and maybe even some candy corn cut up into small chunks.

Another option would be to make a ‘caramel bowl.’  This is where you pour a little caramel sauce in a bowl, add apples cut into chunky pieces, and toss in a few candies or nuts (depending on the grandchild’s preference).  This can be eaten with a spoon.

If you’d rather do things the hard way, you can make your own caramel sauce.  Get a 14 ounce package of individually wrapped caramels.  Unwrap them and put them in a microwave safe bowl.  Add 2 tablespoons of milk. Microwave the caramels and milk for 2 minutes.  Stir and allow to cool briefly before dipping your apple slices in your sauce.

This is an easy to fix treat for a Halloween activity with your grandchildren.