Written by Anita Davison

Last October I wrote a well received post about ‘Dressing Kids for Winter‘, and although it feels like I wrote the piece just yesterday, it seems we have come around full circle. The funny thing is, I wrote it based on my experience in the winters of 2013/2014 & 2014/2015 which hit New Yorkers hard, fast and quite frankly a little too brutal for my warm climate accustomed derrière. Of course I thought I was being so very clever in giving you that information, preparing you all for the winter of 2015/2016, which was neither hard, fast or brutal compared to its predecessor. Well this year we seem to be back to ‘normal’. I can hear the collective groans amongst you, but alas, you can find yourself well prepared for what’s to come by clicking back into last years piece and giving it another look – all the info is still as relevant as it was then. And for those of you that are here for your first NYC winter; you are welcome! Click here to be enlightened…

October 31 brings us the, oh so American, tradition of All Hallows Eve: better know as Halloween! Trick or treaters can delight with a list of some of the best streets in New York to get your Trick or Treat on, as well as some great places to pick up costumes for the kids, pets and adults too. Just a note though, like every person has their favorite brunch spot/coffee shop/neighborhood, you too may know of other great places to take the kids in your ‘hood. If so, please share your wisdom in the comments section or on our Mums & Dads Facebook page!

Trick or Treat in New York by Neighborhood

Harlem (my ‘hood!)

• Hamilton Terrace, between West 141st & 144th Streets
• Astor Row, West 130th Street between 5th & Lenox
• Strivers’ Row, West 138th & 139th Streets between Frederick Douglas & Adam Clayton Powell Jnr. Blvds

Upper West Side

• West 95th Street between Columbus & Amsterdam
• West 90th Street between Columbus & Amsterdam
• West 87th Street between Broadway & West End
• West 79th Street between Columbus & Amsterdam Ave
• West 69th Street between Columbus Ave & Central Park West

Upper East Side

• East 95th & 94th Streets between Park & Lexington
• East 92nd Street between Park & Lexington (closed to traffic from 5-6:30pm)
• East 78th Street between Park & Lexington

Chelsea

• Clement Clarke Moore Park (Seal Park), 10th Ave at 22nd Street and surrounding streets

Greenwich Village

• Greenwich Village Children’s Halloween Parade & Party, Washington Square Park

Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx & Staten Island all have wonderful halloween festivities and trick or treating too. For the comprehensive list of Halloween events and more specifics on the streets listed above, head over to the ever informative Mommy Poppins website. If you live in a big building, you may well have the option to trick or treat without even going outside, check in with your front desk or look for flyers being handed out. Also note that because Halloween falls on a Monday this year, schools and daycare centers may handle the fun on your behalf – but some won’t even let you wear a costume on the premises *gasp* – ‘naughty’ costumes I’m sure are to blame, or maybe the Pagan history of the day means that some parochial schools just won’t get involved.

Candy Buy Back Programs

Lastly, look into candy buy back programs for the troops protecting the US of A, if your kids managed to score big. Some dentists take candy for toothbrushes or jump online (it’s a thing – Google it). Not only is it a cool idea, but this could save you having to hit the gym to burn off the calories you consumed, eating all the chocolate you hid from your kids – let the troops do the calorie burning instead!

Where to find Kids Halloween Costumes in NYC

Halloween costumes are big business and can be purchased all over this city, as well as your usual online go to stores like Amazon & eBay. Your more obvious stores like Party City & Spirit Halloween (the latter sprout like weeds in random empty storefronts across the city come September), are great places to go for a huge selection of halloween costumes & decor – fair warning though, if you think you can ‘pop in’ and buy a costume or last minute accesory in the day or two leading up to halloween, FORGET ABOUT IT, I have never in my life seen such chaos in a store, it’s worse than trying to buy groceries the day before the apocalypse is coming.

For super cute costumes, especially for the really little ones, Pottery Barn Kids & Chasing Fireflies have great costumes to choose from. They can be pricey but check for sales, they happen often!

If you haven’t discovered Target in the US, do yourself a favor and head into a store or hit them up online. It’s a far cry from the Target we all know from home (spoiler alert, it’s WAY better) – there’s one Target store in Manhattan on East 117th St; more stores can be found in the other boroughs and New Jersey.

TJ Maxx, Burlington & Home Goods are great places to pick up reasonably priced costumes for the kids (& for your pets too!). Most of the costumes come in under the $30 mark which isn’t too bad, but don’t expect to find much on their websites, these stores are ones you must actually visit. Stock changes daily and if you see something you like? Buy it immediately! Return it for a full discount if you change your mind or find something better – just be sure to keep your receipt!

Lastly, if you are the creative type and have the time, you can create a Pinterest win (or fail?!). Michaels is the go to  place for all your crafting needs. Make sure you download their app, or hit up their website, for discount coupons. 20% off coupons are standard and the very minimum discount you will receive, often they have better deals with 25 or 30% off coupons. And they FINALLY have a rewards program, which would have been handy the past couple of years for me. I’m pretty sure I’ve single handedly kept the company afloat with my regular ‘quick’ visits to the store.

Columbus weekend is a big sale weekend so a great time to get shopping – for Halloween and the chilly months beyond!

Until next month.

Anita xo

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Event Invitation

Support an Aussie business in NYC!

A NEW KIDS CLASS HAS ARRIVED ON THE UPPER WEST SIDE

Sensational Play
150 W 83rd St (UWS)

Sensational Play offers unique, creative and messy play classes for children 2.5 to 8 years on the Upper West Side. Parents/carers accompany their child to the class, providing 45 minutes of uninterrupted ‘child-parent’ bonding time. You can book in for the block (from now until Mid December) or register for drop in sessions to suit your schedule.

Sensational Play’s weekly classes are a multi-age class. Each child can play at their own level, and their parent/carer is present to help facilitate this. This makes it an ideal class for siblings to attend – a rare offering on the Upper West Side.

Sensational Play also offers birthday party entertainment. Classes are developed and presented by Tina Wheldon, a mother of two girls, who practiced as a pediatric Occupational Therapist in Australia. Given Tina’s background, classes have a fine motor focus embedded in them. But your kids won’t notice – they’ll be too busy making a beautiful, creative mess! Come make a mess with us. Because childhood is meant for play.

Visit sensationaplaynyc.com to register today