6 Halloween Costume Safety Tips

It's crunch time to find Halloween costumes for the kiddos, so here are a few tips to remember during your mad rush through the costume aisles. 

Even as a kid I LOVED dressing up for Halloween, and it really had nothing to do with the candy. Getting to pretend to be something awesome for one night is so much fun to me, and I have always thought homemade costumes are the best. (Says the mom who bought her 3-year-old's costume this year, because Mom couldn't figure out how to make what she wanted to be.) Anywho, with so many cute costume options to choose from, here's a few things you will want to remember when picking an outfit for your little one:

1. Buy a costume that fits right. We may all be tempted to buy it a little big to allow for extra layers of clothing under it, or for extended dress-up time use, but too big costumes can cause tripping and falling and that's no good.
2. Try to get a mask free costume. I know it's impossible to be Darth Vader without a face mask, but face covering masks make walking and seeing in the dark even harder and less safe.
3. Make sure the costume is flame retardent, especially if it has flowing fabric parts. There's a lot of candle lit jack-o-lanterns out there, so it's better to be safe than sorry.
4. Light colored costumes are best. Again, you can't be a white Darth Vader, so if your kid's costume is dark put something light-reflective on it and the trick-or-treat bag.
5. Always try face paint on small part of skin before the big night. Kids' skin is sensitive, you never know when they'll break out, and that is for sure a trick-or-treat nightmare!
6. Make sure any costume props like swords or  wands are soft and bendable. Safety first, kids!