Can you put me in touch with an on-line service or catalogue that sells children's Halloween costumes?

Thanks,

Maureen McLachlin

Jan's reply:

Hi Maureen,

There's a list of such sites here:

http://www.groupweb.com/entertainment/halloween/costumes.htm

However, have you considered making a costume? It can be a fun project that children can help with. It's less expensive, too, and can be easy if you keep it relatively simple. If you don't have time to sew, you can look for unusual items of clothing at thrift stores, which can be made into unique costumes.

One word of warning about store-bought costumes: many children have hidden allergies to the plastic that commercial Halloween costumes are made from, adding to the hyperactivity inevitable from the candy that's collected. My son couldn't even go trick-or-treating one year because he developed hives from a purchased costume! From then on, we made our own, and we all had fun with it. There's an inspiring book, Nifty, Thrifty, No-Sew Costumes and Props by Carol Ann Bloom that you might be able to find through an interlibrary loan.

Good luck!