Halloween Grab Bag! -

Thanks so much to all who sent in photos of cute kids in costume! I’ve sprinkled the pictures throughout this post, and they are SO cute. I can’t wait to go trick-or-treating Saturday with the kids to check out more costumes. Hope you guys like the grab bag of Halloween trivia we’ve put together for you. Have a great weekend!

Fun songs to download for Halloween!

Monster Mash, by Bobby Pickett

Thriller, by Michael Jackson,

Ghost Busters, by Ray Parker Jr.

The Time Warp, by Richard O’Brien

I Want Candy, by The Strangeloves

This is Halloween, by Danny Elfman

Fun Fact:

Did you know that the Snickers bar is the most popular candy bar in the world? According to the website “The Most Popular Journal,” Snickers had more than 2 billion dollars in annual sales last year. And here’s an interesting little sidenote — “Snickers” was the name of a horse in the Mars family, which created the candy.

Most Popular Halloween Costumes in 2009

According to a report in the Hartford Courant, some of this year’s most popular costumes are:

For adults:

Kate Gosselin
Michael Jackson
Britney Spears
Lady Gaga
Sarah Palin
Bernie Madoff
Vampires

For kids:

GI Joe
Transformers
Star Wars
Yo Gabba Gabba
Light-up Fairies and Princesses

Fun fact:

Over 10 percent of pet owners dress their pets in Halloween costumes. (Source: Purple Trail Party Ideas website)

Kid-friendly Halloween Movies

We found a top 10 list of “not-so-scary” movies for kids on the FamilyEducation.com website. Here are a few that were listed:

Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie (Rated G)
The Haunted Mansion (Rated PG)
Wallace & Gromit Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Rated G)
Hocus Pocus (Rated PG)
The Worst Witch (Rated G)
It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (Rated G)

Click HERE to go to the Family Education website and see the others on the list.

The photo below was sent in by Motherlode reader Kathleen Villar, and it’s a shot from one of her Halloweens as a child. So cute!

Fun Fact:

The world’s largest pumpkin weighed 1,385 pounds!! (Source: Halloween101.com)

History of Jack-o-lanterns:

Some say jack-o-lanterns originated with the Irish, who used to carve turnips and put small pieces of coal or candles inside them. They’d place the carved turnips outside their doors to ward off evil spirits. Sometimes they also used potatoes or rutabagas.

When Irish immigrants came to America, they figured out that pumpkins were easier to carve, and the tradition caught on.

Show me the money:

Surprisingly, Halloween is second only to Christmas in terms of spending. Consumers will spend more than 2.5 billion dollars on Halloween!

(Source: holidayinsights.com)

Fun fact:

Did you know there are no words in the English language that rhyme with the word “orange“? (Okay, now you’re trying to think of one, right?) There are also no words that rhyme with “purple” or “silver.”

Halloween Cup Cake Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.