Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Trends, October 30, 2000

Lisa Ferguson

Monday, Oct. 30, 2000 | 9:17 a.m.

Down to the wire

So, we assume you've got plans for Halloween by now. Maybe you'll attend a party? No?

How about hosting one? Not enough time to round up all of the decorations, you say? Guess again.

The British Party Popper, introduced earlier this year by Las Vegas company Festivities Manufacturing Co., has debuted a Halloween Party Popper. It's a virtual party in a 12-inch can.

When its short, flameless ignitor is lit (don't fret, it's safe for indoor use) it spews a mix of colorful holiday knickknacks -- plastic skeletons, spiders and bugs, vampire teeth, suction eyes, noisemakers, balloons, slide whistles and such -- and oodles of black-and-orange confetti more than 10 feet into the air.

The Halloween popper is available locally at Glee's Party Shops. For more information visit britishpartypopper.com.

Neat treat

Remember, if you want to have your house trashed by the neighborhood kids Tuesday night, be sure to give trick-or-treaters raisins this year instead of candy.

Maybe you enjoy spending Halloween night pulling soggy toilet-paper streamers from the front-yard trees, or scraping rotten eggs off the porch. In that case, dump piles of pennies into those whippersnappers' treat bags -- they just love that. Better yet, give them a big fat apple ... to play target practice with your windows.

But if you'd rather leave the kids thinking yours is the coolest house on the block, enforce that thought by presenting them with an icy treat -- a Slurpee.

This year 7-Eleven is selling booklets featuring 10 coupons that tear out, which are redeemable for a free 12-ounce Slurpee of any flavor. The booklets, available at 7-Eleven stores, are $3.99.

Holiday safety

So you've made sure Junior's Halloween costume can be seen at night. That he can see out of the eyeholes in his mask. That he has one of those neon-green glowing sticks to light his way while begging for junk food.

Good job.

Now what about Fido and Fluffy? Have you taken precautions to ensure that your four-legged family members have a safe Halloween? The Mohave County, Ariz., sheriff's office has a few pet-friendly tips to pass along this holiday: