Get your fright on

It's only a matter of days now until the little neighbourhood monsters-for-a-night come knocking on your door, demanding a trick or a treat. Instead of just handing over sweets this year, here are some simple tricks to fill your home with spirits, make this horrible holiday fun and even do some scaring yourself.

Nothing screams haunted house like cobwebs, but you don't have to live with spiders - most toy and dress-up stores sell cotton-wool spider webs that can be stretched out over and between any surfaces inside and outside your home. Make the little darlings walk between cobwebs stretching between branches or bushes across the path!

Set up a sound system in the front garden with scary noises - leaves rustling, ghastly coughing, someone screaming horribly - then turn them on remotely as visitors approach.

Jack-o-lanterns are a traditional Halloween decoration, and carving a scary or funny face into a pumpkin can be a fun activity for the whole family. Light a tea-light and place inside it to make the `face' flicker and glow; then sit back and eat the rest as pumpkin pie while you watch the little ones make their way up your garden path.

Kids aren't the only ones who get to dress up on Halloween - you can, too. Find a scary outfit to wear when you answer the door to the neighbourhood kids. Put a hairy toy spider or some sticky rubber toys in the basket of `treats' so the little monsters don't get off lightly.

If you have children, get them to help make decorations by drawing ghosts, spiders, rats, cats, witches and monsters, cutting them out and sticking them in your windows.

Remember that while Halloween can be a lot of scary fun, always play it safe - only hand out (and make sure your children only accept and eat) pre-packaged sweets and if your children are heading out to trick or treat, make sure they're supervised.