Blog Posts by Good Housekeeping

Trick or treat! These ghoulish guises are some of the top-selling children's Halloween costumes.





















1. Princess

2. Spider-Man

Related: The Most Popular Halloween Costumes - for Pets!




















3. Pirate (Hint: Save Time and Money with This Easy DIY Pirate Costume!)

4. Witch

Related: Spooky Halloween Crafts and Decor



















5. Pumpkin

6 Vampire

Related: Which Halloween Candy Is Healthier? Take This Surprising Quiz




















7. Star Wars

8. Tinker Bell

Related: No-Carve Pumpkin Decorating Tips




















9. Batman

10. Athlete

Related: Homemade Halloween Treats (They're Easy!)




















11. Cat

12. Ghost

Related: Is Your Child's Costume Dangerous?

What are your kids planning to dress up as this Halloween?

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Beyond its fabulous flavor and perfect portability, apples pack major health benefits. Here, the lowdown on why you should be getting a daily dose.

1. They're Slow Food
Firm and packed with fiber (5 grams, or 20 percent of your daily value), they demand a chewing commitment, giving your body time to register itself "full" before you scarf down too many calories. And the natural sweeteners in apples enter the bloodstream gradually, helping keep your blood sugar and insulin levels steady so you feel full longer - the opposite of many sugary snacks, which produce a quick rush followed by a hunger-inducing crash.

Related: 10 Weight-Loss Myths

2. They Help You Breathe Easy
Kids of women who ate the most apples while pregnant were less likely to wheeze or develop asthma by age 5, researchers from the United Kingdom found recently. The fruit may also protect the lungs of adults, lowering the risk of asthma, lung cancer, and other diseases.

Related: Learning to Live with Asthma

3. They Zap

Thanks to federal apparel flammability standards, parents shouldn't have to worry about a costume quickly going up in flames if a child gets too close to a candlelit jack-o'-lantern. But do all costumes comply?

The Good Housekeeping Research Institute tested 11 children's Halloween costumes for flammability. The GHRI Textiles Lab focused on styles made with iridescent fabric or glued-on sparkles, because in previous investigations those had proved riskiest.

Product That Failed Our Tests:
Sparkle Pixie from the Velvet Collection by Easter Unlimited Inc. ($40, pictured)

Products That Performed Poorly on Our Tests:

• Disney Princess Cinderella by Disguise Inc. ($50)
• Elegant Witch by Rubies ($25)

• Barbie My Wedding Day by Disguise Inc. ($44)
• Fairytale Princess by Rubies ($25)
• Fairy Witch Velvet Collection by Easter Unlimited Inc. ($45)
• Renaissance Damsel by Foreign Novelties Inc. ($35)
• Disney Cinderella Ballerina by Disguise Inc.

Fall's latest looks are real-woman wearable, plus they do double duty: Every style can swing from day to night.


1. Trend to Try: Animal Prints

Go ahead, flaunt the full-on flirtiness of animal prints: Pair with polished black peep-toes and a belted white sweater for a crisp, always-classic combo.

Sweater, $78, Ann Taylor. Earrings and ring, Monet. Bangles, Ben-Amun by Isaac Manevitz. Belt, Forever 21. Pumps, Lauren by Ralph Lauren.

Related: Inexpensive, Stylish Fall Shoes









2. Trend to Try: Leather in Hot Hues

So long, subdued shades: This bright blue fall jacket energizes everything in your wardrobe, transforming work basics, like a gray shift, from simple to showstopping.

Jacket, $150, Bradley by Bradley Bayou. Dress, $50, Marshalls. Necklace, ShoptheLook.net. Belt, Suzi Roher. Clutch, Inge Christopher.

Related: Must-Have Fall Accessories








3. Trend to Try: Fur Trim

Layer the charcoal cardigan over a punch-packing purple shell for desk-to-dinner drama.

Sweater, $88, Cupio. Shell,

Cast a sparkly Halloween spell with these quick crafts glimmering with bewitching baubles and ghoulish glitter. A little shimmer (or a lot!) adds notice-me pop to any eerie creation.




1. The Shining

Studded with self-adhesive crafts store jewels, these blinged-out pumpkins prove that diamonds are a ghoul's best friend.

Related: No-Carve Pumpkin Decorating













2. Witch Craft

A dramatic vinyl witch rides through twinkling Styrofoam stars to delight trick-or-treaters. Get the downloadable templates and all of the haunted how-tos.

Related: Haunting Halloween Decorations












3. Charmed Potion

Help guests identify their goblets with shimmery spiders. Spray crafts store arachnids with adhesive, sprinkle each spider with a different shade of glitter, and hot-glue to black pipe cleaners.

Related: Trick-or-Treat Desserts











4. Scaredy Cats

Creating a trio of crystal-accented cats is so simple, it's frightening. Pick large pumpkins for the bodies, smaller ones for the heads (snap off stems; turn upside

Over the decades, Good Housekeeping has shared tips on everything from teething to taming the teen spirit. We dug into our archives to uncover some of our best tips and learned that good parenting advice never goes out of style.

1. GH wisdom from 1900: "Among the pleasantest memories of many a childhood are the recollections of those rare and eventful days when work was suspended for the time and Father and Mother went with the children for an outing."
Related: Great Trips to Take as a Family

2. Talk during chores. Prepping dinner, shoveling snow, or painting the basement are perfect times to get your teen to open up.
Related: How to Raise Respectful Children (Hint: Chores Are Important!)

3. Chat in the car. Sitting shoulder-to-shoulder rather than eye-to-eye makes kids feel less defensive; perfect for getting into a real conversation.
Related: Talking Sex, Drugs, and Money with Your Teen

4. Share your passions. Introducing him to your hobbies offers him a new perspective on you as

If your cold has been lasting for weeks (and you've tried these remedies that really work), it may not be a cold after all. It's that time of year again when it seems everyone is suffering from some level of allergies. If you've been fighting that annoying sneezing and drippy nose, and even had trouble sleeping, don't despair. If you reduce your exposure to offending allergens and find the right allergy medication. you should be able to get your symptoms in check. How to do that? We're glad you asked!

Find the Right Fix
Allergy products can take up whole aisles in the drugstore. This Q&A will help you find ones that target your symptoms.

Are You Sneezing? Do You Have a Runny Nose?
Don't dawdle: Take an over-the-counter nonsedating oral antihistamine, such as Claritin, Alavert, or Zyrtec. These work best if they're in your bloodstream before symptoms are up and running. Find out what makes you sneeze.

Is Your Nose Stuffy, Too?
If your clogging is only occasional, try a nasal

None of us likes being sick, so it's no wonder we cling to age-old advice on how to fight the sniffles. But are those cure-all myths true? Find out.

True or false? Zinc shortens the duration of colds and alleviates cold symptoms.
True. Zinc seems to be effective when given within 24 hours of the onset of cold symptoms; zinc in the form of a nasal gel is particularly promising in reducing the duration and severity of cold symptoms.

Related: Stop a Cold in Just 12 Hours

True or false? Echinacea prevents colds or shortens their duration.
False. Though some studies show that echinacea alleviates cold symptoms and prevents cold viruses, many studies show no benefit. If you are allergic to ragweed, use caution when taking echinacea.

Related: Should You Call in Sick or Go to Work?

True or false? You shouldn't drink anything while you have the stomach flu - it will prolong your illness.
False. If you don't drink anything, you can easily become dehydrated. Ignore this advice, and ignore these