Trends for October 29, 2001

Lisa Ferguson

Monday, Oct. 29, 2001 | 8:26 a.m.

Safety first

It's almost Halloween, and you know what that means: more safety tips than you can shake one of those glow-in-the-dark sticks at.

This year's installment comes courtesy of BirthdayExpress.com, a website out of Kirkland, Wash., which hawks supplies and services for children's birthday parities.

Surprise there's nothing new to report. Among the company's suggestions:

Meanwhile we at Trends appreciated the precautions offered by Progressive auto insurance company, for drivers tooling around on Halloween night:

Sweet teeth

We also got a kick out of the hygienic hints presented this year by the folks in Illinois at Delta Dental, who are simply looking out for Junior's chocolate-stained whites.

Encourage "good dental-care habits" this Halloween by serving a healthy pre-trick-or-treating supper, which will leave less room in tummies for sugary treats.

Skip the candy altogether and instead offer pint-sized revelers travel-size tubes of toothpaste and dental floss. (Then try to smile as your front yard is redecorated with toilet paper.)

After the holiday open a "candy bank." Allow your youngsters just a few pieces of candy, store the remainder in a sealed container and establish a schedule of times in the coming months months? when the "bank" will be open for withdrawls.

And next Halloween, Junior likely will have no qualms about letting you borrow his Grinch costume.

Don't get mad, get even

OK, so you don't have kids to take trick-or-treating and have decided to eat candy instead of hand it out. Don't worry there's still plenty of Halloween fun to be had.

Especially if you can get your hands on "The Little Voodoo Kit" by Jean-Paul Poupette (St. Martin's Press, $12.95), a professor of stress research.

The kit comes with a nondescript white-cotton doll, a half-dozen pins and an instruction book with details for exacting all sorts of tongue-in-cheek curses.

Poke the doll in the head to relieve stress caused by those who have spoken against you. A jab to the stomach is for those who have made you look bad in front of others. Give a prick to the leg for those "who have held up your progress whether in your career or your car."

Now pass the Butterfinger bars and get to work.