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There's no doubt about it; kids love Halloween. They love dressing up in costumes and collecting loads of candy. But did you know that kids also enjoy participating in other fun, creative activities as well? There are tons of interesting ways to entertain a child's imagination, including simple craft projects and games. Why not take advantage of this amazing holiday by spending some extra time with the children and doing these activities together?

Craft projects are a great way to get your child involved with Halloween traditions. Children love the chance to use and show off their imagination. Why not allow them to help out with the Halloween decorations? Sure, you could go out and spend lots of money on decorations that are already assembled, but wouldn't it be nice to save some cash by making your own? And as a bonus, you get to share the moment with your children.

Here's a nifty idea for adding Halloween charm to your porch or patio. Thoroughly clean and remove the labels from empty 2-liter pop bottles and pour a little bit of orange paint inside, replacing lid afterward. Let the kids shake the bottles around until the inside is covered with orange paint. Once dry, allow them to decorate faces onto the outside of the bottles with black paint. Add a green ribbon or bow to the top of the bottle and set on the porch. To lessen the chance of your pop-bottle pumpkins from blowing over, you can add a handful of sand using a funnel.

Another fun project for the kids involves making pumpkin pouches from ordinary paper plates. These creative little pouches will look great hung on the wall or door. Use them for holding candy or other items. In fact, use them all year long. They can easily be created to change as the seasons do. Take two plates and cut one in half. Secure the half plate onto the whole one using either staples or weaving ribbon through punched-out holes. Paint the plate pouch orange and allow it to dry. Decorate the pumpkin with funny or spooky faces and hang (pouch out). You could also have the kids create a festive Halloween handprint wreath for hanging on the front door. Choose autumn-colored pieces of construction paper and trace around your child's hand. Cut the little hands out and glue them together in the shape of a wreath. These can be further decorated or left as is. The size of the wreath is up to you.

Planning a party? Get the kids to help out with the invitations. Create adorable ghost print cards using their own footprints. Your children will not only enjoy making them, but your guests will love the cute designs as well. Simply grab some black and orange-colored construction paper (amount will vary depending on how many people), white tempera or other washable paint, and some gold gel markers. Lay down some newspaper and fill a shallow container with paint. Fold each piece of construction paper in half and place, one at a time, onto the newspaper. Have each child dip his/her foot into the paint and stamp' the card with a footprint. Allow the cards to dry; afterward, let the kids add a face onto the ghost and print a small message inside using markers. You could use glue for this instead and decorate with glitter.

You could attach some lively little ghost pops onto each card. Just have the children cover a tootsie pop with tissue and secure it in place with a piece of orange or black yarn. Use a marker to add a face to the ghost. These also make fun treats to give out to the trick-or-treaters.

Other interesting ideas for the kids to make and give out to party guests as well as trick-or-treaters include bat bags and candy cups. Use an ordinary brown paper lunch bag and some brown construction paper. Have the kids draw a bat's head onto the piece of construction paper and cut it out. Let them decorate it with markers, glitter, etc. Fill the bag with treats, fold the top over, and staple (parent/adult should do this). Of course, you don't need to feel limited to bats; allow them to choose whatever Halloween design they want or one that goes with a party theme.

Candy cups are good for party guests. Simply allow kids to decorate Styrofoam cups with markers relating to Halloween theme. Meanwhile, fill some plastic baggies with individually wrapped candy and tie the tops with decorative yarn or ribbon. Let the kids drop one baggie into each of the cups; these can also contain the names of guests or allow the guests to become involved as well and include the activity as a party event.

While children are always fascinated with creative craft projects, they simply love the opportunity to play. Games are another fun way for them to enjoy the Halloween festivities. Traditional games such as Snap Apple are always a hit. Hang an apple from the doorway with a string and have the children take turns trying to bite the apple, with their hands behind their back. This game was thought to bring good fortunes to those accomplishing the task. Of course, you could give a prize instead.

An interesting alternative to the more traditional Halloween games might include a good old-fashioned game of Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin. This game is played in the same way as Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Create a pumpkin from a piece of orange poster board and draw a mouth and eyes onto it with black marker. Create the nose from a piece of black poster board or construction paper and attach some double-sided tape to the back of it. Blindfold the players, having them turn around a couple of times, then allow them to 'pin' the nose onto the pumpkin. Winner gets a small prize.

Halloween isn't just about the candy or the costumes; nor is it about the ghosts, goblins, or witches. Halloween is an ideal occasion for spending and honoring time with family and friends. From small decorating projects to fun games, the Halloween season offers plenty of easy and interesting activities for the kids as well as the parents.

This article was written by Nikki Phipps and was sponsored by DareToScare.com. Reproductions of this article are encouraged but must include a live link back to http://www.DareToScare.com.

Lanolin softens and protects. It's harvested without harming animals. It's quickly absorbed by the skin without clogging pores. So why are people avoiding it?

What Is Lanolin?

A pure, natural product, lanolin is simply the wax taken from sheep's wool, after the sheep has been shorn. The sheep is not hurt. He probably does not enjoy having his fur cut off, but the people who do this are highly trained, they do it quickly, and the sheep joins his herd again in a matter of minutes.

The clipped wool is naturally covered with a pale-yellow, water repellent wax. Also known as wool fat, it's purpose is to keep the sheep healthy and dry. It's extracted from the wool by a boiling process. This is crude lanolin.

Refining - the Key to Safety

The next step is to refine this wax, and remove impurities. PBS recently made a documentary on lanolin, and they purified it by mixing it with olive oil and water. The impurities dissolved into the water and oil, leaving the lanolin as an off-white wax which could be gathered up.

In commercial lanolin processing, refining is done in sterile environments and through many stages. This refining process is the key to the safety of the lanolin. Depending on the needs of the manufacturer, the lanolin can be refined crudely, in which case it may still contain impurities. Or it can be refined to medical grade - safe enough for nursing mothers to use on cracked nipples.

So Why the Bad Press?

There are two potential problems with lanolin.

1. It can be refined to acceptable cosmetic grade and still contain impurities, some of which can be allergens. People who are allergic to lanolin are probably allergic to unrelated ingredients that were not removed in the refining process. Also, some manufacturers use a chemical bleach to whiten the color. And the finished product may have been mixed with vegetable oils or soft paraffin that comes from other sources. There could be impurities in these additives.

2. Some lanolin can be tainted with DDT, dieldrin, lindane, or other toxic pesticides. It's possible for these carcinogens to make their way into our skincare products. This is because the sheep may be eating food that has been treated with these or other insecticides.

How to Make Sure Your Lanolin Is Safe

Both problems are solved by buying your lanolin-based products from a reputable company; a company you know and trust; a company with visibility - a website with contact information; a detailed label on their product. Make sure the lanolin in your lotion is labeled as pure grade, fine grade, highly refined, or medical grade. If you're unsure about the grade, email the company through their website. The well-refined lanolins will be free of pesticides and impurities.

When purchasing a finished skincare product, make sure, too, that it has not been tested on animals. The website My Makeup Mirror has a list of companies that do not use animal testing, and this list is constantly being updated.

Lanolin itself is not likely to cause allergic reactions, although each individual must check with their doctor before using anything that is absorbed into the body.

Pure lanolin is obtained without harming the sheep - as opposed to emu oil, which is gathered by killing the bird. Lanolin is a near-perfect skin softener and emollient. Many lanolin-based products are non-animal tested. And by making sure the soap, lip balm, skin cream, moisturizer, or hair product you use contains only high grade or medically graded lanolin, you can breathe easy, and enjoy lanolin's benefits.

Suzann writes for the website My Makeup Mirror [http://www.MyMakeupMirror.com] - a potpourri of articles, product reviews, and how-to's on hair, cosmetics, and well-being.

As they say if you have built a great number of friends online, you are sure to reap a lot of benefits from it. Getting involved in forums will help you gain friends and you will also be able to establish a good reputation online. Do not try to underestimate the power of posting to forums. This offers a lot of traffic and money to your online business.

Here are some tips that you can check on.

1.Do not forget to post regularly. You need to build your credibility. Of course, this does not mean that you have to be online all day on these forums. But as much as possible post on these forums so that people will get to know you better.

2.You need to give valuable posts first before you promote. There are many forums that are turned off with hard sells from their members. So before you even advertise, try to become a good contributor to these forums. Selling will come along after you have proven yourself in these forums.

3.Put your URL on your signature. As mentioned, people would want to know more about you if you have been a reliable poster. If they want more information, they could just click on your signature to go to your site.

4.Double-check your spellings. This may be quite a simple tip but then if you want to look smart then you might as well pay more attention to your spellings. Remember that this is one way of building a good reputation online.

5.Do not be carried away with bad temper from other posters. You need to be professional when posting in forums.

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Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 1574 articles in print and 11 published ebooks.