With Halloween around the corner, kids and adults alike are preparing their costumes and making plans for parties and trick or treating. Although this spooky holiday can be lots of fun with friends and family, there are some unsafe situations that kids could end up in, but there’s also measures to take to prevent accidents and keep everyone safe while trick or treating. Here are a few tips and guidelines to having a safe and fun Halloween.

When it comes to costumes, try to avoid masks that make it difficult to see, and look to purchase flame resistant wigs or fabrics. For facepaint and makeup, buy non-toxic products and test face paints on your skin before the big day to make sure you don’t have a bad reaction to it. If you have a fake weapon as an accessory to your costume,make sure guns have a defining feature, such as a wacky color that makes it clear that it is a toy, and not a threat to anyone. For swords or knives, make sure they are not sharp enough to seriously injure a person.

For trick or treating, first and foremost, make sure you have means of communication with family or friends, such as a cell phone. Try to stay with a group of people that you know, and communicate with everyone where you all will be going, together. Since pedestrian injuries are most common on Halloween, if you’re going trick or treating after dark, consider adding some reflective tape or fabric to your costume or trick or treat bags so that you are more visible to your friends or cars while you’re crossing a street. Make sure you and the people in your group have flashlights, and stick together. Applying these little tips to your Halloween routine can help keep everyone safe.