European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 30, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Halloween safety tips keeping tricks out of treats a Turki m til la if Start a a costume tips y a or a sae halloween by Anita Gosch staff writer kids love halloween. It gives them a Chance to dress up and be somebody they re not if Only for a Day. They can prowl the neighbourhood after dark going door to door with trick or treat bags in hand collecting mountains of goodies. But beware a danger can Lurk on halloween night and we re not talking about ghosts and goblins coming to take you away hey hey. Most potential problems can be avoided by simple common sense precautions before you dress up your children and Send them on their merry Way. Military Community safety officers in Europe and other sources provide the following tips to make this halloween a Safe one for your Little ones. All drafted up e when shopping for costumes and wigs look for ones labelled flame proof or fire resistant. This does no to mean that they won t Burn but at least they la be hard to ignite. Quot they re pretty Good. It would take a lot of heat to Start a fire a says staff sgt. Yvonne Luciano safety technician at Rhein main a Germany. If you make your own costumes avoid Flimsy materials and outfits with baggy sleeves and billowing skirts because of the danger of Contact with fire. Warn your children to stay away from open flames such As fireplaces stoves lighted matches candles and cigarette lighters. Choose Light or Bright colors for the costumes so your children will be visible to motorists Luciano says. If they insist on wearing Black or other dark colors trim the costumes with reflective tape. Make costumes Short enough to allow your children to walk easily without tripping. Youngsters should Wear comfortable walking shoes momus High heels can be hazardous. And Quot make sure they Wear warm clothes underneath the costume especially with this cold weather Quot Luciano warns. A encourage your children to Wear makeup instead of masks so that they can see and breathe better. If they absolutely won t go out without a mask make sure that the Eye Mouth and nose openings Are Large enough that neither vision nor breathing Are obstructed. You might have to snip at the holes with cuticle scissors to make them larger. Remind your children to remove or lift their masks before crossing streets and in Between trick or treat stops for better visibility. A use cardboard weapons and other accessories to avoid injury to your children and their friends. You might want to get some glow Sticks for your kids available at your local Exchange. Not Only do they make neat Quot swords Quot they la allow motorists to better see the trick or Treater. Quot All you do is break them and shake them and they glow in the dark Quot Luciano says. Almost ready to go a most military communities set certain hours for trick or treating. Check your base newspaper for times before you set your kids Loose. A make sure a responsible older child or an adult accompanies your children on their trick or treat rounds. Quot never let Small children go alone Quot Luciano says. A review traffic safety rules with your children before they leave the House. Remind them to walk on the sidewalk and not in the Street. If there is no sidewalk they should walk on the left Side of the Street facing traffic. Remind your children to obey traffic lights and to Cross Only at intersections and crosswalks. And above All says Luciano remind them not to Dart into a Street from Between parked cars. A Don t give your children Jack of lanterns with real candles inside. They could accidentally Start a fire if a child brushed up against them. A consider sending your kids off with a flashlight so that they can see and be seen says Luciano. A know the area where your children will be trick or treating so that you can locate them quickly if need be. Set a reasonable time for them to be Home and insist that they keep it. On the Road or sidewalk a children should trick or treat Only in familiar neighbourhoods. Ideally these should be american housing areas because Host nations done to observe halloween. Children should walk a not run a from House to House and they should Stop Only at houses or apartment buildings that Are Well lit or that display halloween decorations. Quot houses that have lights on usually mean that children Are Welcome to trick or treat Quot Luciano says. Quot ones that Don to the people probably Don t want to be a As during the rest of the year children should not enter the Homes of strangers or accept rides from strangers. Sweet Success a halloween May be the Only time of the year that children can accept Candy from strangers. That Means you should be particularly careful. Quot have an adult look it Over before the children eat it just to make sure it has t been tampered with Quot Luciano says. Watch out for pins Needles razor Blades or other items stuck into Candy bars or fruit and examine the products carefully to make sure they Haven t been coated with Poison. Wash fruit thoroughly and Cut into Small sections before allowing your children to eat it and discard unpack aged treats such As Popcorn or Candy with Loose or torn wrappers. If you have any suspicions of tampering done to let your child have the treat or first take it to your local clinic or military Hospital if it is offering halloween a Ray service. Inform military or Security police if there is a problem. How not to get tricked you can also help make halloween Safe for children who come trick or treating at your House. A Greet children at the door but done to encourage them to come inside. A make sure doorsteps and stairwells Are Well lit so the Little monsters can see where they re going. Families in apartment buildings May want to consolidate their treats and hand them out at the main Entrance. Remove obstacles from Steps sidewalks and lawns so the kids won t trip. And Don t set pumpkins with real candles anywhere that children could accidentally Brush up against them. Quot the costumes could catch on fire especially the homemade kind made out of sheets Quot Luciano says. If you use pumpkins with candles indoors keep them away from curtains decorations or other furnishings that could catch fire. A provide treats that Are sealed or makeup is much safer than masks which can obscure vision and breathing. Flashlights help make children visible and let them see where they re going. A reflective stripes patches or paint increase visibility after dark wigs if used and costumes should be non flammable. Bags should be Small enough so that they won t Block vision or cause tripping. Handles make them More manageable and convenient. Everyday shoes Are safer and More comfortable than High heels or poorly fitting a costume Quot shoes. Costumes should be Short enough to allow easy walking with no danger of tripping. Sas Susan Harris wrapped. If your goodies Are Loose or handmade wrap them in cellophane. Add your name and address to the packages to make things easier for other parents. A Drivers should be especially careful on halloween. Even in the Days before oct. 31, youngsters will be out in Force since Many communities have haunted houses and other halloween activities advises Luciano. Many military communities will increase police patrols during trick or treat hours. Of wimp can Provoda your Moat Grua Aoma Catuma Nada. Sas Dov Camy costumes for All seasons by Anita Gosch staff writer if halloween is Here thanksgiving can t be far behind. It might already be too late to be worrying about ghost and Goblin costumes but it s not too soon to Start thinking pilgrims and indians. Theatris costume shop in Frankfurt Germany can help. The shop which opened its doors earlier this month has All sorts of costumes available for rent to party goers Community theater groups music centers and anyone else who just wants to dress up for that special occasion. At theatris you la find seasonal costumes from Santa clauses to easter bunnies period costumes from the earliest times to the swinging 60s, military uniforms from the revolutionary War to desert storm theatrical costumes for a Host of plays and musicals and even menus formal Wear including tails morning Coats and tuxedos. You want to be Al Capone at your unit s next mobster party theatris has the gangster garb you la need. How about a Southern Belle they be got the hoop skirts feathered its and parasols. There s also a Large assortment of rubber masks cobras and Frankenstein incredible hulks and evil emperors and Quot probably the most disgusting Zombie you be Ever seen Quot says Diana Ryan the shop s costume specialist. Theatris can Supply period furniture stage props scripts lighting and Sou a instruments special effects machines scenery paint and even stage makeup. A you want to make a show we got it Quot says theatris manager Art Conn. And if they done to have it design it sew it build it or otherwise get it a provided its Worth the Effort it s marketable and they have the time adds Conn. But theatris employees have Little time right now for major projects they re still getting settled into their new quarters in Frankfurt s Hausen area after moving boxes and boxes of equipment from the old costume shop in Aschaffenbur Germany. When that shop closed last May military communities in Europe had the Chance to bid on it says Jim Sohre chief of Frankfurt s entertainment Branch. The centrally located Frankfurt military Community got the Deal. A the real thrust of this operation is to keep the integrity of sets of costumes that Are required for mar programs Quot says Sohre. Sas Dove Cotay Diana Ryan Laft and Jill Parkina modal Parlord coat maa for rant at that Rex. That Means that if military Community theater groups music centers or other morale welfare and recreation organizations from Iceland to saudi Arabia want to stage a play or musical or if they want to sponsor Casino or wild West nights they can get All the stuff they need. There Are some ifs involved if you re planning a Large scale production such As South Pacific or the sound of music or if you need out of the Ordinary costume sizes or unusual stage props you la need to let theatris know in Advance a about four to six weeks advises Conn. And there s a priority system. If you re with an army entertainment program and you re planning a big production you get first dibs on costumes since theatris is part of the Frankfurt army Community. Air Force Navy and other defense department programs Are next followed by school programs and finally All other eligible groups even if you want just a single costume shop employees prefer you Call for an appointment especially if you la need alterations. That Way the shops tailors can do it for you. However walk ins for personal costumes Are possible. The Basic rental fee is $40 a costume for approximately one week. Tuxedos can be had for $50, and rubber masks go for $5. Theater groups and other mar organizations pay $25 a costume for the duration of the production. A valid . Card is needed and the shop accepts Cash checks or Money orders from individuals and Purchase orders from mar groups. Theatris does no to have children a costumes. A basically we done to do kids Quot says Conn. It would be too much to handle and it would t sell he adds. But if you still need a costume for that last minute halloween party you re in Luck Conn says Quot if you come in and you know what you want and the size a a theatris is open tuesdays through saturdays 10 . To 6 . Call ets 320-7945 or civilian 069-151 -7945 for appointments and directions. Taking the Devil out of halloween by David e. Anderson up religion writer halloween. Ghosts goblins witches. Even ninja turtles and Hulk Hogan wrestlers. Fearsome and fretful costumed and treats. And increasingly fearful parents anxious that the real bad Guys May not be costumed but hiding behind the Bland face of an unknown neighbor lacing the trick or treat Candy with razor Blades. More and More people Are looking for alternatives. And joining the search in the last couple of years has been the Fellowship of merry christians the group based in Kalamazoo mich., that likes to use a Little holy humor to prick the pretentious piety of christians who done to think Jesus Ever laughed. A the Devil h is written a says the Fellowship a cannot stand the sound of laughter and Good this year the Fellowship is joining hands with the 9,000 clowns of smiles unlimited to bring a new focus to halloween. A the two organizations Are planning to help churches give youngsters alternatives to the usual Parade of monsters vampires goblins devils and witches Quot the Fellowship said. The two groups Are encouraging churches to sponsor halloween parties on opt. 31 with clowns comedians and comics providing an antidote to horror and fear. From its list of 9,000 clowns smile unlimited will provide churches a upon request a the names and addresses of clowns in a Church s City or area. The idea of bringing clowns and comics into the usual Gro Quot Tes Querie of halloween was first suggested by Connie Soth a lutheran member of the Fellowship of merry christians a halloween should be rescued from its increasingly ugly and violent tone Quot she said. Halloween was t always the secular Celebration of dark magic and evil beings it has become in contemporary culture. It began As a religious Observance a Allhallows eve a the eve of All saints Day a which christians have celebrated for centuries on nov 1 the Day is to give Honor to All the saints in heaven and on Earth. Although a number of civic and other groups have started holding halloween parties As an Quot alternative to the door to door trick or treating that conventionally Marks halloween churches have Beer slower on the Uptake. The loosely organized Fellowship of merry christians Hopes that by combining forces with the clowns of smiles unlimited not Only will the idea of such alternative parties spread but a new focus on Celebration will emerge Cal Samra of Kalamazoo editor of the group s newsletter the Joyful noise letter noted that two churches in his Hometown tried a with Success a such alternative parties last year and John Boucher of Hicksville n said that last year his Church held an Allhallows eve party for the whole family a each of us dressed up like a favorite Saint instead of like a halloween character Quot he said. More St Francis and less Frankenstein s monsters can to be All bad Page 14 b the stars and stripes wednesday october 30, 1991 the stars and stripes b Page 15
