Turn your otherwise chillingly typical Halloween Celebration into a warm SOULful occasion!

Everything we celebrate nowadays has gotten so manufactured and mainstream. We buy everything off the shelves and tend to just go with the motions just to get the proceedings done.

Heartfelt celebrations are now replaced with by-the-book steps on how an occasion should be celebrated. And since Halloween is fast approaching, I would like to share some tips on how to make your halloween an out-of-the-ordinary occasion by giving it the warmth of home-grown flair!

1. Jack-O-Lantern palayoks. Check out the nearest plant nursery for some terracotta Jack-O-Lanterns. But if you are the creative type, you can carve 'em out from a plain, old palayok. Turn it upside down, carve the face, and use this as an ornament on your front door to set the mood, place candles underneath it for full horror effect!

2. Scare the night away with horror stories from the barrios. A surefire winner! Gather your kids around a dimly-lit room and share stories of our local horror myth characters such as the aswang, kapre, the Tikbalang, and the ever-popular manananggal. Take a trip down memory lane and recall how your Lolo, Lola or Uncle got you running for the blankets. Forget Freddy Kreuger, Pinoy horror is much more bloodcurdling, and who knows? They might be real!

3. Haunt for the White Lady. If horror stories are not enough, pack the kids in the car when darkness falls and haunt for the White lady! Whenever my husband and I head for the Magnolia House in Q.C. to pick up some some dried ice for a Halloween graveyard-fog effect, the kids come along and we detour to Balete Drive, the fabled street popularized by White lady sightings!

4. Pinoy treats. With the recent economic dilemma, I'm sure I'm not the only one feeling the belt-tightening thing. If you are so used to giving away imported chocolates and candies to your little Trick or Treat guests, why not try grabbing the local versions instead? Check out the favorite Nips, Curly tops, Jelly Ace and Rabbit candies. For more Pinoy treats, giveaway pastillas de leche, pulvoron or sampalok sweets. These are sure to give your little ghouls a sweet tooth fix!

5. Trick, treat, and teeth! At 13, my eldest son recently came home from a dental check-up and reported he was cavity-free! Even if Halloween comes once a year, I find it a great opportunity to spread dental care resposibility to the neighborhood kids. To do your share, toss some toothpaste sachets into the kids’ loot bags. It’s a gentle reminder for them to brush their teeth after they feast of sweets!

6. Costume time is creative time! Enough of those mass-produced masks and costumes that everyone on the block owns. Encourage your kids to improvise and look around the house for their costumes. Organize a small contest for your kids, the general rule being “no manufactured costumes” you will be surprised how creative kids can be!

7. Dont forget, little ghosts get hungry too! When the scare-o-meter goes down and hunger pangs haunt your kids after a long journey of “Trick or Treat”, get a hot extra special dinner ready, cap it all off with the highlight for the night…Chocolate Covered Nightmare with Worms! (See recipe in the next article.)

So there, Halloween need not be that Westernized or lifted off the cookie-cutter mold. When your celebration has heart behind it, it is bound to be a memorable Halloween event that your kids will fondly look back to... Enjoy!

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