Being Savvy: Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers and kids in Columbus, OH

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Halloween

Safety Tips for Halloween

October 30, 2008

I know, you're probably wishing Halloween was over with so I would move on to a different topic. I can't help it - this really is my favorite time of year. But while tomorrow is trick-or-treat for much of the Columbus metro area (some of you lucky ones got to go out tonight), I wanted to take a moment to review some of the safety tips before monsters and princesses roam the streets. -  Read more...

Halloween For Children With Special Needs

October 29, 2008

While most children love nearly every aspect of Halloween, some of the activities can be difficult or downright impossible for children with special needs. My own daughter has sensory issues that require me to take extra considerations into everything we plan. Other children I know have difficult food allergies that make nearly any treat they collect door-to-door a possible poison to them.  Read more...

Community Trick or Treat Locations

October 28, 2008

I remember our very first Halloween in our new house four years ago. We lived in a new development, and our house was surrounded by empty lots and lots with partially complete houses. We had a big bowl of candy, but no kids were coming back to our section of the neighborhood. I can't blame them - there were only two inhabited houses at the time. So we bundled up our newborn daughter, put  Read more...

Best Princess & Knight Costumes

October 22, 2008

Last week we covered the best firefighter costumes out there, and today I want to look at some of the best princess and knight costumes for Halloween. My older daughter has never been that interested in "girly" costumes, although we nearly convinced her to dress as a pretty witch this year. (No luck, she decided on superhero instead.) But our younger daughter is already showing an interest  Read more...

Local Halloween Events in Columbus

October 21, 2008

Some people hate the idea of getting a costume only to see it worn once for trick-or-treat and then discarded. So why not take advantage of many of the Halloween events going on between now and October 31, and maybe get a few more chances to use that costume. A quick sampling of Halloween events: Boo at the Zoo - We went to this last weekend and my daughters had so much fun.  Read more...

Having a Green Halloween

October 20, 2008

Green is the new black, it seems. In my own home, we've taken several steps to be more eco-friendly so that we can reduce the load we're placing on the planet, and it can also save us some money, too. When it comes to Halloween, there's no reason you can't look around for ways to make your ghoulish celebration not so scary for the environment. One of the easiest ways to go green is to  Read more...

Step Back In Time For All Hallows Eve

October 17, 2008

In the 21st century, Halloween is a large commercial holiday, filled with plastic pumpkin buckets, lots of candy, and kids dressed as Disney characters. We decorate our yards with foam tombstones, fake cobwebs, and pumpkins carved into fanciful designs with the help of stencils. But what was an All Hallows Eve celebration like in mid-19th century Ohio? I think the closest thing we have in  Read more...

Visiting the Pumpkin Patch: Circle S Farms

October 16, 2008

Last week I posted about a farm to the north of Columbus, so it's only fair to bring you a pumpkin patch for the southern part of the county, too. One of my favorites in southern Franklin County has to be Circle S Farms . I visited Circle S Farms for the first time last year, when my daughter's preschool class traveled to the farm to pick pumpkins. I remember it was a wet, dreary day, but  Read more...

Guest Post: Best Firefighter Costumes

October 15, 2008

Please welcome Firemom to Being Savvy Columbus! As the wife of a firefighter, she's quite the expert on the best and worst firefighter costumes for kids, and today she's sharing some of her favorites with us. Here in the Fire Family, we know a thing or two about firefighter costumes. We've had play fire helmets since before BigBrother was born. We have one full costume, five different  Read more...

It's Time for the Circleville Pumpkin Show!

October 13, 2008

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons This Wednesday marks the start of the 102nd Circleville Pumpkin Show . I went to this festival several times when I was younger, and I'm still stunned and amazed that you can hold a four day event dedicated to the orange gourd. Yet those four days are packed full of parades, competitions, demonstrations, entertainment, games, food, and of course, lots and  Read more...

Visiting The Pumpkin Patch: Honey Haven Farm

October 10, 2008

With so many local farms hosting fall harvest celebrations and pumpkin patches, you could spend each weekend visiting a different one and still not visit all of the farms in the greater Columbus area. My family has been to several over the past few years, but there are a few we really enjoy and visit over and over again. One of our favorites is Honey Haven Farm . It's a slightly longer  Read more...

Celebrating Halloween With The Animals

October 08, 2008

By now your child may have his Halloween costume, and it's possible you are now enduring daily requests to wear that costume. Around my house, we're going through daily questioning about what is trick-or-treat and how does it work. Even though Cordy went out collecting candy last year, she seems to have completely forgotten how to do it and wants a refresher from me. And each time I  Read more...

Finding the Perfect Halloween Costume

October 07, 2008

Long before I had children, I still knew all of the costume stores in Columbus. Dressing up has been something I've loved doing all my life, and I married a man who loves to dress up in costumes, too. Now we have two beautiful daughters who are slowly being introduced to the fun of playing dress-up, especially during the month of October. There are a few different types of costume  Read more...

Avoiding the Traps When Costume Shopping

October 06, 2008

This weekend we took both girls with us to a costume store to begin looking for Halloween costumes. Cordy has been insisting for weeks that she wants to be a witch, so we thought (foolishly) that we'd let her pick out her own witch costume. Once we got there, it was information overload. There must have been about 25 different types of witch costumes alone, along with all sorts of  Read more...

More of Our Favorite Activities and Things to Do in columbus

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Creatures & Critters:
Our Urban Jungle

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Do, Re, Mi! Places to Hear, Sing & Play a Tune

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Artistic Endeavors:
Our Favorite Art Venues

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Room to Run:
Run, Jump & Wiggle Outdoors

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Rainy & Quiet Days:
Cozy & Crazy Indoor Fun

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A Sense of History:
Our City's Stories

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Tot's Science Fair:
Science & Nature Sites

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Splash, Spray, Play! Local Spots to Get Wet

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The Most Fun in Life Is Free!

The Voice of Being Savvy columbus:
Christina McMenemy

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