This summer my family moved from the county to the city. At our old house (with a mile long driveway) we never had trick-or-treaters. This year, that will not be the case. Apparently our neighborhood can get up to 1,200 kids per house on Halloween! So I can only imagine the kind of stash my kids will get this year. Too much—considering my 3 year old has never really even had candy.

Read More: Turn Piles of Halloween Candy into a Treat for Deployed Soldiers

One packet of Peanut M &M's Fun Size has 90 calories and 5 grams of fat. Just multiply this times the amount of candy your child receives on Halloween and the results are not pretty. This kind of calorie and fat consumption puts your kids at risk for childhood obesity, heart disease, and Type 2 diabetes. So, is it possible to keep this candy consumption to a minimum without causing major tantrums or fights from the kids? I think it is, especially with a plan.

Read More: 50 Quick and Simple Do-It-Yourself Halloween Costu

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Give your home-sweet-home a decidedly devilish air with these easy do-it-yourself Halloween decorating crafts.

See more from CountryLiving.com:

16 Homemade Halloween Costumes for Kids »

40 Spooky Halloween Decorating Ideas »

20 Delicious Halloween Sweets and Treats »

Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc.

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Babies are high maintenance in some ways, but they make up for it at Halloween, when you can dress them like pumpkins, flowers, rabbits, superheros, or anything you can dream up. Not only won't they complain-or even know what you've done-everyone who sees them will be amazed at their cuteness.

We love baby costumes, and we want you to share yours with us. Take a pic of your baby in costume now (you are doing a trial run, aren't you?) or on the day of Halloween ('cause who has time for trial runs!?) and submit it to us. On the morning after Halloween (Nov 1), we'll post our favorite entries in Shine's "Halloween Is For Babies" slideshow and use the top pics as the "cover" on our Facebook page. The entire album of entries so far is available on Facebook, here.

Entries can be made in two ways:

Uploading the photo on Yahoo! Shine's Facebook page
1) Like Yahoo! Shine.
2) Click the "Photo/Video" option in the box for new wall posts on the top left of the

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Source: 8 Spooktacular Halloween Apps Perfect For Tots

Even the littlest ghouls will love playing these Halloween apps that are age-appropriate without being too spooky. These fun games sneak in the learning long after the excitement of All Hallows' Eve has waned. From coloring apps that allow your child to use her finger to create a Halloween scene to fun games that encourage your tyke to use shapes to form a silly jack-o'-lantern, we've found the best budget-friendly - or free! - Halloween games to get your kids ready for the big day! Click through to find the perfect one to play today.

• Coloroodle: Halloween: This coloring Halloween app ($1) will keep your little ghoul busy creating fun, spooky scenes using her fingers as crayons. The finished spook-tacular drawings can be saved to your camera roll or posted on Facebook.
• Carve-a-Pumpkin: Here's a safe and easy (no knives involved!) way to carve a pumpkin with your tot. The Carve-a-Pumpkin app from Parents magazi

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Halloween Italian Style Butter Cookie Cut Out Recipe with Nutella Filling or Ganache Frosting

2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons milk
assorted cookie cutters
parchment paper
cookie sheet

Mix all together in a heavy duty mixer until this forms a ball, add more milk by drops if too dry.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1/2 hour.


For Instructions and How to make these festive cookies CLICK HERE You can decorate the tops with candy corn, sprinkles or other creative ideas you may have.

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