Not so scary Halloween

As a giant sissy, Halloween is a holiday of mixed emotions for me. Adorable costumes? Love. Plethora of scary movies? Not so much. Candy? Love. Teens with scary masks knocking on my door demanding food? Eek! I recently saw a poster for Chuckie during a midnight baby feeding; needless to say, my night was not restful. Here are 10 fun Halloween activities that won't give you nightmares!

10. Happy costumes: dress up just to have a dance party at home! No fake blood or scream masks allowed!

9. Dance party music: Pandora has a fun Halloween party station. The free streaming radio lets you thumbs up or down songs, then plays others that you'll like. Monster Mash, Thriller, Ghostbusters, Devil Went Down to Georgia and Mickey's Monster Mash are ones I've been giving the thumbs up to.

8. Trunk or treating: Church and school run events are well-lit, and there tend to be more young kids, meaning a smaller chance of scarier older-kid costumes.

7. Make a yummy snack: Pinterest is set to implode with the ridiculous amounts of adorable, kid friendly Halloween themed treats. Bumps on a log, anyone? My favorite is to pop some popcorn, then toss some candy corn in. Savory and sweet!

6. Throw a  sweet party: the best way to control the scariness level at a Halloween party is to throw one. Provide provisos outlawing anything too scary-- and make sure everyone knows what's too scary.

5. Hand out candy to cute kids! But beware: you have no filter to keep the scary ones away.

4. Watch a not so scary Halloween movie, such as Hocus Pocus; Ghostbusters; It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown or Casper.

3. Watch the Halloween episodes of your favorite TV shows. You're familiar enough with the characters and plot arches that you'll know whether or not they'll veer too far towards frightful.

2. Carve a pumpkin. Nothing says Halloween like slimy pumpkin innards drying under your finger nails. But pumpkin carving is super fun, despite (or because of) the mess.

1. Read aloud a poem or story. For kids, this can be anything Halloween themed. For adults, the Raven or, really, anything by Edgar Allen Poe will do.

Halloween can be fun, even if you're a scaredy-cat like me. Have a happy and safe Halloween tomorrow!