Help keep Halloween safe and fun for youth

Halloween is a time for young people to dress up as their favorite cartoon character, music artist or superhero. It’s also a holiday that The American Legion believes children and parents should know how to observe safely.

The American Legion’s brochure, “Make Halloween a Fun and Safe Night,” provides trick-or-treating safety tips to keep in mind on Halloween. The brochure can be downloaded on the Legion’s publication’s web page at  www.legion.org/publications under Children and Youth.

The American Legion also encourages posts to promote Halloween safety and to make it a fun event for youth in the community. Last Halloween, the Lenox-Hotard Post 31 American Legion Family in Houma, La., hosted a “ghoulish weekend” with Boy Scouts and Kids In Motion Playhouse. Everyone “teamed together to have a safe and enjoyable Halloween event,” said Post Commander Milhado Lee Shaffer III.

Several Scout troops from the area built a haunted house, there was a magic show, costume contest, and Kid’s In Motion Playhouse had several crafts for the nearly 200 children in attendance. The Legion Family supplied hot dogs, chips, drinks, candy and the Legion’s guide to have a safe Halloween. “It was a great deal of fun for all,” Shaffer said. If your post conducts a Halloween event for youth in the community, please share on The American Legion’s website, www.legiontown.org.