A few weeks ago we co-hosted a mall scavenger hunt birthday party for our 11-year-old daughter and her friend who was also celebrating her 11th birthday. Since the girls were on the younger side, we divided them into teams and assigned a parent to travel around the mall with each group. I believe this was one of their favorite birthday parties and it would have been one of the least expensive ones too, except that we took the group to see a movie at the end. But truly, that was unnecessary. Their favorite part was the mall scavenger hunt.

_{Photo © Donna Pilato}

Last week was a very busy week for me. I was in charge of my daughter's Halloween party at school on Friday, it was my husband's birthday on Saturday, we went trick-or-treating on Saturday evening, and ended the night with a Halloween party back at our house. On top of all that, my dishwasher was broken all week, so I was washing pots and dishes by hand. That's why I decided to make an exception to my usual style of entertaining, and purchased a pre-cut veggie tray at the supermarket and, even worse, I served it in the plastic tray from the store. I'm still feeling guilty about this. So I'd love to know how you feel about what I did.


_{Photo © Donna Pilato}

Thanksgiving is all about tradition. Mom's traditional stuffing, cousin's traditional pumpkin pie, the traditional carving of the turkey by the family gnome - oh, wait, that only happened one year. But a tradition is something that we look forward to every year. What are some of your favorite family traditions relating to Thanksgiving? We'd love to hear about them in our Reader Responses for Holiday Traditions. Maybe we'll learn something new to pass on to our own families, even if the gnomes don't visit this year.

_{Photo © Donna Pilato}

With a small break for my daughter's Halloween classroom party today, I'll be spending much of today preparing for our after trick-or-treating Halloween party tomorrow. Since I'll be out with my daughters before everyone comes back to our home, I'll need to have some snacks to fill sugar-loaded kids before dinner is ready. I could prepare some of the ghoulish goodies found in the Halloween Planning Guide. Or, maybe I'll go with standard favorites like spinach dip, buffalo wings, and layered dips. I'll just give them a Halloween-y name such as "monster brains", "bat wings", and "swamp surprise," and I'll be all set.

I know, Halloween is on Saturday, so you figure there will be plenty of time to put together a costume for your Halloween party. But, you know what happens? By the time you prep your home, shop for the food and drinks, and decorate, you still won't have a costume. That's why you might want to consider a simple costume, such as Julia Child with an apron, rolling pin and chef's toque; static cling, with socks pinned all over yourself; or, the classic ancient Roman or Greek. Of course, before you can do that, you'll need to know how to make a toga from a sheet.

Part of the fun of Halloween is serving snacks and treats that either look like pumpkins or like something somewhat spooky or gross. This gallery of Halloween Party Treats and Snacks
shows some of the treats I've prepared and served at parties, as well as a few cakes that have been made by readers. If you are making any fun Halloween treats this week, share your photos and I will add it to the gallery so that other readers can be impressed and inspired by your creations.

_{Photo © Donna Pilato}

Right about now, most of us Halloween happy families have a few bags of candy corn just sitting around our homes waiting for next weekend's party. Well, if you can bear to break into them, you might want to turn those little bits of sugary goodness into a decorative centerpiece for this pre-Hallowen week and your party. Follow this simple step-by-step and feel free to substitute pumpkins if you don't have a beautiful gourd. Of course, that's only if you can resist the temptation to eat your centerpiece before the holiday arrives.

_{Photo © Donna Pilato}

Baseball fans now know that the National League champions are the Philadelphia Phillies, and they're just waiting to see whether the American League champs will be the New York Yankees or the Los Angeles Angels. The winners move on to the World Series beginning next Wednesday night. It's going to be interesting, with one of the World Series games falling on Halloween, to see whether there are a lot of combo Halloween/World Series parties. I guess it wouldn't be too difficult. Just ask your guests to dress in their team's colors for your World Series Party. Just remember to play some spooky music after the seventh inning stretch.

_{Photo © Donna Pilato}

Halloween is just a little over a week away. If you haven't started planning your party yet, don't worry, there's still time. The formula is pretty simple for a great Halloween party: creepy music; creepy food; creepy decorations; creepy costumes. Okay, if you need a little more guidance than that, you can always turn to the Halloween Planning Guide.

_{Photo © Donna Pilato}

Over the weekend I saw the movie "Zombieland", which was a good way to forget about the awful weather. The movie was hilarious and entertaining, but one of the high points of the evening was one of the trailers. The new "Twilight" saga movie, "New Moon" is opening next month, and it looks to be even better than the first. Now, if you're not a fan of this genre, you probably aren't getting this post. But my teen caught me up in the series last year, and my affection for the vampire romance continues to grow to the point where I'm almost excited as she is for the upcoming movie. That's why I had to plan a "Twilight" Vampire Theme Party. I figure this one will work for either Halloween, a movie opening party, or even a book club. It doesn't matter as long as Edward and Bella pursue their forbidden love, right?

_{Photo © Getty Images}