"All Hallows Eve" tells the story of the Halloween Fairy (you know, the one who exchanges the candy for a toy?)

Each year a few parents write to me about the Halloween Fairy -- that benevolent sprite who exchanges children's candy haul for a toy or some money. It's a win-win (as long as the "fairy" doesn't eat all of the candy, ahem). I got this lovely note from Lisa Johnson, author of All Hallows Eve: The Story of the Halloween Fairy. I read the story online and loved it. Perfect for new trick-or-treaters, and fun to read every year.

Here's my hack - we steal my kids' Halloween candy and say a fairy did it. What's more, they're psyched about it! In all honesty, we're not the only people who do this, but we are the only people who have written a book about it, and made it available for free online (or, of course, for purchase from Amazon, B&N, or your favorite neighborhood independent bookstore).

The book is All Hallows Eve: The Story of the Halloween Fairy. Read it online, or better yet, let me read it to you! Our book also provides toddler- appropriate answers for the unending stream of toddler/preschool questions (why do we dress up? why say trick or treat? what's with all the lit pumpkins?). I mean, Feast of the Dead explanations are ok for some kids, but I noticed on your site some questions about how to introduce little ones to the holiday...

We love it, we've gotten some nice reviews, kids love it (we're starting a new site next year called "The Once Upon A Times" in newspaper format to publish all the add-on stories kids send us), and we hope you like it, too!

To read the book online, or to print out some adorable coloring pages, visit: Positive Spin Press: All Hallows Eve

Win it! One lucky Parenthacker will win a signed copy of All Hallows Eve! Just answer the following question in the comments:

What is your favorite no- to low-effort Halloween costume? Boy, girl, kid, adult, whatever.

I'll pick a random winner tomorrow (10/18) in the 8pm PST range. Good luck!

Related:
Halloween Fairy swaps candy for toys
How do you prepare a toddler for his first Halloween? Talk amongst yourselves.
Favorite Halloween books? Talk amongst yourselves.
Pack seasonal books away with the decorations

Comments

[Daffodil]

My favorite no-effort adult costume is: Beat Poet. You dress up in all black. Wear low black shoes, like flats. Pull your hair back in a low ponytail (if applicable). Wear a black beret, but only if you have one. Pout a lot. Snap your fingers when you want to indicate enthusiasm. And use all your pretentious vocabulary words.

Ta-da!

[Marla]

Favorite Low-Effort Costume: If little one has one of those popular fruit/vegetable hats (apple, pumpkin, etc.), just add clothes of the same color.

[Barb]

Gotta love the black cat. All black clothing, a little face paint for the nose and whiskers, and a kitty ear headband.

[Beth A.]

I have to go with FARMER. Jeans, any shirt will do (I like the button up flannel for a "dressed up farmer look), cowboy hat (or baseball cap if there's no cowboy hat in your house), and boots. These are all things in our house. :) Add a horse on a stick and you've instantly become a cowboy!

[Anissa]

My fav is taking mini cereal boxes and attaching them to your shirt and sticking plastic knives through them. (Cereal Killer) ;)

[divrchk]

I would have to say that at this time of year a farmer is easy with jeans and a button down and hay everywhere.

[Mandy]

My daughter dresses like daddy going to work...daddy's dress clothes keep her extra warm - a tie and his computer bag is used to collect candy :)

[Meg]

I bought the skeleton PJ's from gap, which http://www.rookiemoms.com suggested. It does double duty as they go into the jammie drawer after Halloween. Similar - wear jammies, slippers, robe, messy hair and sleep mask around neck. Carry a coffee mug. Just out of bed - now that's scary.

[Ashley]

I love the plain old Ghost. White sheet is all that is needed and it is just so classic, love it.

[Debi]

My daughter has a mouth full of crowns, so she can't eat most of the candy she brings home from trick-or-treating. What we do is BUY the candy she can't eat (Tootsie Rolls, Starburst, gum...) and then she gets to take that money to get herself a nice toy. This year we might channel it to a trip to Chuck E. Cheese.

[Lindsay Lebresco (Graco)]

Best no effort when I had an infant at Halloween - an oversized chicken bib. Done and done.

[monica]

Best easy costume is to wear your pajamas & go as a sleepy mom! Its comfy & you get to wear your slippers!

[Nancy]

I'm a fan of the farmer too. When I was a kid I dressed like a "hobo" a lot but I supposed that's not exactly PC anymore.

[Andrea]

My favorite, for an adult, is a tampon. All you need is poster board (oaktag) paper, cotton balls and string. Secure the cotton balls to the top of your head, wrap your body in the posterboard paper, and hang a string out the bottom. Sounds gross, but it is hilarious.

[Meerkat]

Green hat + orange PJs = Pumpkin And if you're feeling wild, throw on jeans and a flannel shirt to be the farmer who grew the pumpkin. :)

[Holly]

Fav low maintenance costume: Black-eyed Pea. Cut out a big "P" and attach it to the front of your shirt. Draw black circles around the eyes and fill in with makeup. Done!!

(Have to say that the Cereal Killer is brilliant. Might be doing that next year!!)

[Susan]

My mother-in-law's favorite low budget costume for my husband (when he was little) was a bum. Some makeup on the face, old clothes and a stick with a bandana tied on the end. Maybe not the most politically correct, but it's easy!
Great giveaway, thanks!!!

[tracy]

low effort costume for a little girl is a kitty cat - black leotard with black tights, paint on some whiskers. You can make some ears and a tail and that's it.

[Kim]

In years where we have El Nino (you know, the weather system that dumps lots of rain here in California), I like to put my hair up in pigtails, suck on a pacifier, put on a rain poncho, and carry around a spray bottle to mist people with water. I'm El Nino! I think this might be even better on a little kid.

[Awesome Mom]

Last year I dressed my toddler as a garden gnome. I found a really easy pattern for a cone hat and then dressed him in solid colored clothing. A surprising number of people actually figured it out even though he did not have a beard of any kind.

[Jen]

My 1.5 year old daughter is going to wear a child's size pair of scrubs that she has (her daddy is a nurse). We're going to pull her around in a wagon with her toy doctor's kit and a bunch of her stuffed animals, each of them bandaged up with gauze. So easy, but with a neat twist!

[Elana]

Mine is a bubble bath (for a girl): pink leotard, pink tights, pin a whole bunch of pink and white balloons all over her. Add an empty soap wrapper and maybe a washcloth to her hair and there ya go.

[olegsmom]

Last year we decided to take the kids to a Fall Festival, and had no costumes, with 5 minutes notice. We put them both in tank tops, with unbuttoned Hawaiian shirts over them, wild print swim trunks, and loud 'fishing' hats they had in their playclothes trunk. Put a cheap plastic lei on each, and they went as tourists. Comfy, quick, no makeup required, and the boys thought it was very silly and fun.

[Jill in Atlanta]

I wore all white, he wore all black. I took white paper and made a 'P' with glue and covered it with pepper, then took black paper and made an 'S' with salt. Lazy as they come.

[Ticia]

Here's a variation of what we're doing for my daughter:
Get a hoodie in a dog like color, attach ears to it using scrap cloth, and then a tail with more scrap cloth. Paint her nose brown, and you have an adorable puppy.
Of course I'm making it harder by making the hoody, but the principle still stands.