Since launching full-scale into Halloween last year, this year Disneyland will not only bring back Halloween Time, but they are expanding it and adding an extra week for all the scary fun one could imagine. This year's festivities run from September 21st through October 31st.

New things this year will be Candy Corn Acres, located in the Sunshine Plaza in California Adventure, where Goofy will do his best to try and grow the biggest and least seen versions of candy corn; candy corn coconuts, candy corn carrots and candy corn pumpkins, among other delicacies. Also getting much more play this year will be Mickey's Halloween Treat, a separately ticketed event in which kids get to dress in their own costumes and trick-or-treat throughout California Adventure.

The entrance to the park and every main "land" in Disneyland will be decorated for Halloween, and there will be many meet and greet opportunities with the Disney family of characters throughout the park. For those wanting a less-scary visit to the Magic Kingdom this time of year, it would be advisable to make it during the day. Did any of you make it to Disneyland's inaugural Halloween season last year? Add a comment telling us what you thought of it all!

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed to keep up to date with the latest tips and special offers. Thanks for visiting!

Designing your child's, or for that matter your own pirate Halloween costume this year is neither difficult not time consuming, only requiring a healthy dose of imagination and a little time scrounging up all the raw materials. Most of the items you'll need you probably already have around the house and what you don't is easily obtained. Let's take a look into just how to recreate Black Beard, Long John Silver, Jack Sparrow, or whichever bloodthirsty cutthroat you are fond of!

The basic pieces of this pirate Halloween costume are a pair of old black pants that are of no use any longer, and a colorful blouse, preferably gold or red (something flashy). The pants we'll be cutting a bit, sort of making the bottoms shorter as well as fringing them up a tad. A colorful scarf can serve as a belt that any self-respecting high seas marauder would be proud of!

For the blouse, if you happen to have an old one in your closet that is very colorful, shiny and a bit oversized for your fledgling pirate, then you won't have to go hunting for one. The key here is to have flowing blousy sleeves and something flashy and easy to move in. If you don't happen to have any old pirate blouses hanging in your closet, or something close to that, then hit the thrift stores. The ladies sales racks have many, many possibilities in this area, especially in shiny, loud colors.

If your pirate is fortunate enough to be the captain of this heinous bunch of high seas bandits, then you'll have to come up with a hat of some sort. Felt and cardboard can do wonders with a makeshift pirate's hat, and if your pirate is simply a common cutthroat, then a flashy, (probably red) bandana will do just fine.

You can also fashion a hook for a hand with cardboard and some craft paints, and you can also come up with various weaponry this way. Be careful to make your broadswords non-lethal. Tin foil over stiff cardboard should do the trick nicely with a few added painted touches.

No self-respecting pirate would be caught dead without some pirate booty; Preferably gold. Any old, gaudy costume jewelry will work just fine, and if you don't happen to have any lying around the thrift stores will. A well-placed earring is a nice touch, as well.

An eye patch is easily fashioned with some elastic and black material, and a little face makeup can add some dramatic touches as well. Perhaps blacking out a tooth or a black beard is called for. You can even add a fake bird toy your outfit if you happen to have one around. Be sure and affix the bird securely to the shoulder.

Coming up with a fantastic pirate Halloween costume doesn't have to be time-consuming or expensive. Scour your closets and you'll find most of what you need, with the rest available for only a few dollars.

If you're looking for an inexpensive Halloween costume idea for your little one or for yourself, then it's time to put on your creativity cap and get to work! There are many ways to create a work of art that doesn't have to cost you and arm and a leg, (though that's a great theme for Halloween!) and that can be made simply and quickly. Let's look at some simple ideas to get your gears turning and then see what you can come up with!

After you come up with your idea on just who (or what) little Johnny is going to portray this year, you can set about figuring out just how to make this happen. Since you're determined to make this happen as inexpensively as possible we'll proceed from the assumption that you're going to make your own costume.

Say you've decided on a pirate. Check out all the pirate costumes you can online to get a great picture (literally!) of what you're making here. When you've got that, then get even more creative. The clothes part would be simple with a bit of flair. Coming up with weaponry and a decent pirates hat can be accomplished by using cardboard fashioned, stapled and painted to spec, and a broadsword made much the same way, using tin foil as the metal. Browse through thrift stores to find useful items for the accoutrement you'll need. Makeup and extras like eye patches give an exciting touch to the would-be Jack Sparrow.

For the little girls dressing for the princess balls, the do-it-yourself route is a little more problematic. It's tough to fake a snow white costume, so you'll need to get as close as you can without breaking the bank. Again, work from a good picture and do what's most important in the costume; in Snow's case it would probably be the colors and the hair. For Cinderella the dress and shoes will be most important. These dresses can take some time to construct if you're making them yourself, or if piecing together your costume from bits and pieces of existing wardrobes. Be sure to allot enough time to not only create this amazing costume, but to make any alterations that might be necessary.

If you're not handy enough to make the costume, but still want to save a few bucks, then here are several ways to do just that! You might try looking on eBay. There will be many, many costumes listed this time of year, and you might get a great deal on a barely used or new costume that fits the bill! You could shop at an online store, as prices are definitely better there. Or you could really live dangerously and shop late, when the merchants are really trying to move the merchandise before it's too late. The obvious downside to this would be availability.

If you take some time to ponder the problem, coming up with an inexpensive Halloween costume idea will not be that difficult!

Okay, this year is your year! You're determined to take home the prize for the most creative Halloween costume this year, and you don't care who gets hurt in the process! (Sorry, seasonal humor!) Let's ponder a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing for ways to make this year's costume one for the ages!

My best strategy for winning a Halloween costume contest is to be overtly original. If you buy your costume off the rack either online or off, you're pretty much doomed to failure. If they've seen it, they've seen it! Originality is everything here, and you can't afford to be like the crowd if you want to win the contest!

My favorite way to win is to come up with someone famous who is in the news recently, probably not for their charitable work either! Capitalizing on their misfortune is - well it's exactly what you want to do here! Chances are, they did it to themselves, and we as fans owe it to them to keep them on the public's radar! Some ideas of just how this would work could include for instance, Lindsay Lohan looking for a fix; Paris Hilton in jail house garb, (fully accessorized, of course!); Michael Vick hauling his dead dog behind him (fake, of course); or perhaps the Obama girl.

The key here is to make sure you can be recognized as who or what you're trying to portray. If they have to figure you out, you're dead before you've begun. So that begs the question, "What if I don't look anything like the person I'm lampooning!?!" Well, then either the costume itself has to carry you or you need to do a bang-up job with makeup and hair. Not only that, but you need to be sold out to the idea of portraying this person. That means acting like they would act, talking like they would talk, and in general becoming that person for the duration of the party. (Or at least until the judging is done!)

Make sure you fit into this costume concept. If you're trying to portray Will Smith when your body more closely resembles Norbit, then we've got a problem from the get-go! Also, if your costume has you exposed more than you might be normally, make sure you can live with this. If you're going to dress up as Britney Spears and are uncomfortable showing the amount of everything she shows, then rethink your costume! If you look the least bit uncomfortable either in concept or execution, people will notice.  

If you are going as a couple, just be sure and not do what everyone else has done before. Originality wins, particularly in couples contests.

Make sure you have some fun! That's the bottom line here in all of this. If you come up with a great costume but aren't enjoying both the process and the contest, then what's the point?

Okay, you've got the kids covered and they're all happy as clams, but what about you? Shouldn't you get to share in the fun of Halloween? Of course you should, and you will. Now, what do you wear?

When it comes to adult Halloween costumes the sky's (and your budget's) the limit. You are only limited by what you can dream up and what you can fork over, so start dreaming!

There are loads of ideas for you to dress up this Halloween, and many of them are visible online. It's really best to do your shopping for your adult Halloween costumes online as there is a great array of choices available, and you'll certainly find something to bring a few smiles to yourself and others this year. Also, the  prices and availability of the costumes are better online as well, and if you start shopping soon, you'll beat the rush and get the best deals and costumes before anyone else.

There are costumes for almost anything you might dream up. From Biblical characters to the latest superheroes, you simply need to decide what you want to do. If you are a couple planning on doing something together, there are many great ideas. In a few minutes searching online I saw plug and socket costumes, Mustard and Ketchup, Dog the Bounty Hunter and Beth, Lock and Key couples,  Ball and Chain and many more, just from one vendor. You also might get very creative and dress up as more contemporary figures right out if the news. Lindsay Lohan and her rehab Counselor come to mind.

In women's adult Halloween costumes, the choices and many and breathtaking. While most of them lean to the sexy side of things, there are exceptions if you don't want to dress up like all the girls you just saw down on the corner. Some of the more interesting choices I saw while briefly browsing  include an Elf, Hula Girl, Mermaid, Medusa, Ghostly Victorian lady, Wicked Witch from Oz, The Virgin Mary, Marilyn Monroe and many , many more!

For men the choices range from things like Darth Vader and most of the Star Wars crew, The Hulk,  Mad Cow, (as in disease) Tony Montana, ("Say hello to my little friend!") Rameses, Vikings, Chick Magnet, Gladiator, Monk, Matrix Reloaded Morpheus, Grim Reaper, Month Python and an Outhouse, as well as many, many more.

Make sure you can move freely and aren't going to bake in this costume. The last thing you want to do is be horribly uncomfortable all night while you're supposed to be enjoying yourself. If your costume involves a great deal of makeup, make sure to get an early start and enlist some help if you need it, particularly if you're a man. Most men need a little help in this area.

The most important thing to remember about your adult Halloween costume is to have a lot of fun in it. This is one time a year, so make sure you do it up right! 

If you've been tasked to try and find the perfect teenage Halloween costume for either yourself or your teen, then know first that this is not an impossible task. You can find exactly what you're after with a combination of searching online or maybe a little store shopping.  With some added creativity on your part, before you know it, the perfect costume will be yours!

First you need to decide on a theme, in other words, what general category you would like to dress as this year. This just helps keep you from looking at everything that's out there and help to focus the search a little.

Then you need to decide if you want to buy this outfit online or at a party store near your house. Both have their advantages, but just know that shopping online for your Halloween costume will afford the most choices, best availability, and probably also the best prices. There are many reputable companies doing business on the web and by simply Googling the term "Teenage Halloween Costumes" you will return thousands of results. Concentrate on the first few pages, as that is really all you need. If you have a really specific costume desire, you might go a bit more detailed in your search request, such as by searching for "teenage Marie Antoinette Halloween costume" and see if what you are looking for doesn't appear. Play with this and you might surprise yourself!

If you're on the lookout for more contemporary ideas, you might try using music stars, movie stars or sports stars. These people are in the public eye and you can really get creative and come up with some great ideas along these lines. Some ideas off the top of my head might include Paris Hilton in jailhouse garb; The Barack Obamma girl; Lindsay Lohan's rehab counselor (out looking for Lindsay!) Michael Vick's dog handler and perhaps Al Gore's son.

The news is rife with ideas like these and some not quite so much capitalizing on their misfortunes. Try and make your costumes as clever as you can, incorporating as much detail and imagination as you can into them. Don't settle for the store bought costume and leave it at that. Make sure to go the extra mile and do the makeup, appropriate props, and anything else that will help get your point across. Maybe Lindsay's rehab counselor is showing Lindsay's mug shot around, (found now on the internet) Michael Vick's dog handler could be dragging a deceased dog behind him. (Fake of course!) You get the idea. Go the extra mile that others won't and you'll find yourself the hit of the party.

Make sure everything actually fits long before the big night. You don't want to wait until the last minute to find out there's more of you than there is costume, or vice versa. Take advantage of some of these tips and have yourself a happy Halloween!

Picking a Halloween costume isn't that hard. You'll have lots of help. Trust me, lots, and lots of help. Kids can't wait to tell you what they, 'simply have to be' for Halloween this year.  They are bound and determined for you to use their idea, probably just as much as you are not to let this get out of hand. The good news is that with a few ground rules that you can agree on beforehand, the two of you can come to a mutual agreement and both be happy when Halloween finally shows up.

First decide on a budget for your Halloween costumes and hold the child to this. They may want the coolest, most expensive thing to come down the pike, but ultimately you end up paying the bill for this outfit that will likely only have a few days life in your child's wardrobe. Once you decide how much you want to spend, try and give as many choices therein as you can. This is a fun thing, after all. If you have concerns about subject matter or age appropriateness, then you need to direct them in this.

Depending on age of your child, make sure you look at the applicable safety concerns. Will this costume trip them up, choke them or suffocate them? Will they be able to see where they are walking? Will it be too hot? Too cold? Too exposed? Many times costumes are marketed to the parents and the result is little Samantha ends up looking like someone off of late night TV. If you and your child are ready for that, fine. If not, consider what this will look like on your 6 year old!

You might decide to shop online this year for your Halloween costumes, and if you do, you've probably made a wise decision. The choice online is many times greater, and by starting your shopping now you'll be able to have the pick of the best available costumes this year. Many online sites have not only great selections, but fast shipping, low prices and incredibly creative ideas, available in all sizes.

Some of the most creative designs will be found online as opposed to the department stores and seasonal Halloween shops that spring up this time of year. Those stores have to market the latest, most popular costumes, as they can't afford to take a flyer on a costume that may or may not sell. Online, that's not the case. When you go to your local Target you might find Pirates, Princesses and Wizards this year, and not a whole lot else, in about two minutes of browsing online I found children's costumes of a cell phone, a man-eating shark, a gumball machine, all the characters of The Wizard of Oz, Colonial boys and girls, the Statue of Liberty and much, much more! Take the time to find a truly unique costume this year!

Take your time, shop early and make this Halloween an event your child will remember!