In the past few weeks, the news has reported that various Halloween novelties have been recalled due to high levels of lead. This is nothing new to us these days. It seems like all you have to do today is open a newspaper or go on line and you'll see another toy being recalled because of high lead levels.

This recent article from Yahoo! news (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071027/ts_afp/lifestyleushalloweenchildren...) states that in the past week, Frankenstein cups, skull shaped candy-filled plastic buckets and plastic buckets with a green silhouette of a witch against a moon were all recalled.

The article also warns parents of costumes as fire hazards. Last year, 120,000 "Creepy Capes" were recalled as they were deemed a fire hazard. Parents should be sure their child's costumes are made of "flame-resistant fabrics such as nylon or polyester and avoid billowy costumes that could easily catch fire when the child passes over a lit pumpkin."

Another warning this year involves the fact that Halloween is becoming more of a celebration for adults, which really means increased alcohol consumption. Mixing this with all of those kids out in the streets and you're just asking for trouble.

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