2018 Halloween family events in Arizona

Can you believe Halloween is only seventeen days! If you haven't done anything with the family to celebrate the Halloween season and are looking for something fun there are tons of local businesses  hosting free events (or relatively cheap), I've put together a list of some of them for those who are in or around the Phoenix,Arizona area. Events were found via facebook, the city of phoenix website, etc and compiled into this list for you.

Salt River Fields Balloon Spooktacular : October 27th & October 28th 5pm-9:30pm.
Where: Salt River Fields at Talking Stick Arena 7555 N Pima Rd Scottsdale,AZ 85258
Event Details: A fun Balloon Spooktacular that is hosted yearly and offers a safe, fun trick-or-treating experience. This event is for all ages and has something for everyone from fireworks shows to live music, a pumpkin patch and a free kids zone. Plus there will be 20+ hot air balloons will illuminate the sky for several hours and a few tethered balloons will be offering rides. Don't forget to partake in the trick-or-treat candy stations, over 4,000 pounds of candy will be on hand for the event. $15 Adults, $10 Kids (Tethered balloon rides, extra) trick-or-treating, kids zone,etc included in entry free.

BooFest : October 27th 6pm-9pm
Where: Paseo Highlands Park 35th Ave and Pinnacle Peak Rd.
Event Details: A free all ages family event with live entertainment, train + hay rides, bounce houses, carnival games plus a costume contest and of course candy!

Halloween Monster Bash : October 27th 5pm-9pm
Where: Peoria Sports Complex 16101 N. 83rd Ave Peoria, AZ 85382
Event Details: Free admission with canned food item(s) to help support The St. Mary's/Westside Food Bank Alliance. Event will feature a costume parade for kids to participate in, a rock wall, make and take crafts, carnival games, inflatable houses/slides, trick-or-treating and more.

Fall Festival : October 20th 5pm-9pm
Where: Goodyear Ballpark 1933 S Ballpark Way Goodyear, AZ 85338
Event Details:  This family friendly event features trick-or-treating; a pumpkin patch; costume contest; arts and crafts and performances by local dance and martial arts groups. Other activities include: Trackless train rides; inflatables; corn hole; Friends of the Library Book Sale and more.

Fall  Festival : October 27th 5pm-9pm
Where: Eldorado Park 2311 N. Miller Rd Scottsdale, AZ
Event Details: This event will offer 25 game booths, a tot area for ages 4 and under, live entertainment, a  haunted forest,food vendors, face painting, plus fireworks at the end of the night. This year they are also offering an inflatables area with 10 inflatables and a rock wall for $5 per person.  

Family Halloween Carnival : October 27th 5pm-9pm
Where: Kiwanis Park Softball Complex, 5805 S. All-America Way Tempe, AZ 85283
Event Details: This event is free to attend however rides will cost tickets ($0.25 per ticket, 3-4 tickets per ride). There will be carnival games, food vendors, a toddler zone, inflatables, a costume contest and more. 

Halloween in the Hills : October 31st 4pm-8pm
Where: The Avenue of the fountains Fountain Hills,AZ 
Event Details: More than 40 local businesses will be offering fun games, prizes, trick or treating, inflatables,costume contests and more. 

Halloween Movie Night with "Coco" : October 26th 430pm-9pm
Where: McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park 7301 E. Indian Bend Road Scottsdale, AZ
Event Details: Enjoy free tick-or-treating, a costume contest and a free showing of Disney's "Coco" in the park. They will also be offering $2 train and carousal rides.

Pumpkins at the Peak : October 26th 5pm-7pm 
Where: Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort 7677 N. 16th St. Phoenix, AZ
Event Details: Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak hosts its annual family Halloween bash with candy, pumpkins, arts and crafts, face painting, games, music, BBQ and more. $5 or five cans of food per person to benefit St. Mary’s Food Bank Allliance.

Creepy Candy Crawl : October 27th 3pm-5pm 
Where: Desert Ridge Marketplace 21001 N Tatum Blvd, Phoenix, AZ 85050
Event Details: Trick-or-treat from store to store, plus enjoy music, prizes and more.

Family Halloween Party : October 28th 1-3PM 
Where: Changing Hands Bookstore Phoenix 300 W. Camelback Road Phoenix, AZ 85013
Event Details: Changing Hands Bookstore in Phoenix hosts a free Halloween bash with a mad scientist’s theme promising “wicked fun” for the whole family. Enjoy Halloween-themed experiments, crafts and treats. Plus, costume contest for “ghouls and boos!”

Trick-or-Treat at the Museum : October 31st 9am-4pm 
Where: Children’s Museum of Phoenix 215 N. 7th St. Phoenix, AZ
Event Details: $12 per person. Trick-or-treat throughout three floors of exhibits at the Children’s Museum of Phoenix. Little ghosts and ghouls are also invited to a “Monster Mash” on the dance floor, and kids can make their own caramel apple treats. free for babies younger than 1 + free parking; $5 for caramel apples.

Halloween Spooktacular : October 19th 6pm-8pm
Where:  Shops at Norterra 2450 W Happy Valley Rd #1142, Phoenix, AZ 85085
Event Details: Free admission. Car show which has decorated cars and Trunk-Or-Treating, a costume contest, live music, games, prizes, food samples, and giveaways.

Trick-or-Treat on Main Street : October 31st  11am-1pm 
Where: Downtown Mesa 1 E. Main St. Mesa, AZ
Event Details: Event is free, Little ghouls and goblins are invited to downtown Mesa for a safe, family-friendly afternoon. Participating businesses will be passing out candy. Plus kettle corn, a balloon artist and face painting. 

Trunk-Or-Treat : October 28th 5pm-10pm

Where: Old School City 6062 S. CENTRAL AVE., Phoenix, Arizona 85042 Event Details: A variety of cars will be on display and hosting a Trunk-Or-Treat event for kids, plus there will be a DJ, contests, raffles & more. Anime Halloween Fest : October 27th 10am-6pm Where: Collectors Marketplace 1945 E Indian School Rd, Phoenix, Arizona 85016 Event Details: Free Admission + Free parking. They will be offering a cosplay contest with prizes, free comics, festival games, anime screenings, artist and vendor tables and more! Spooktacular : October 27th 12pm-2pm Where: Life Time Athletic - North Scottsdale 6850 E Chauncey Ln, Phoenix, Arizona 85054 Event Details: $12 Per child. Event includes pumpkin crafts, a slime lab, costume relays, mystery solving and more. The first 100 kids that arrive will receive a spooky-fun gift bag. Register today at the Activity Center. Parent/adult presence is required. Howl-O-Ween : October 26th & 27th 6pm-1030pm Where: Phoenix Zoo 455 N Galvin Pkwy, Phoenix, Arizona 85008 Event Details: $12.95 per person ($9.95 for zoo members). Admission includes entrance into the Phoenix Zoo and access to games and entertainment. Food and beverage will be available for purchase. Events include a Extinct animal graveyard, trick-or-treating, live entertainment, mermaid photo-op, plus more scary activities for the older kids/teens and adults. Krock-Tober Event : October 31st 4:30pm-7pm Where: The Salvation Army 1375 E Broadway Rd, Phoenix, Arizona 85040 Event Details: Free Admission. The center will be filled with activities for the entire family, there will be costume contest, and community resource organizations will have tons of candy to hand out for trick-or-treating. Ghostbusters outdoors with Collier Center : October 26th 6pm Where: Collier Center 201 E. Washington St., Phoenix, Arizona 85004 Event Details: A free outdoor screening of the original Ghostbusters, Costume contests, activities and games before the film starts so get there early. Thrill-N-Treat : October 27th 5pm-11pm Where: Castles-N-Coasters 9445 N Metro Pkwy E, Phoenix, Arizona 85051 Event Details: $18 Per Person (including tax). Event includes Unlimited Rides, Live Music, FREE Candy at each ride, and a Costume Contest. Modern Milk Scottsdale's Spooktacular Halloween Celebration : October 31st 10am-12pm Where: Modern Milk 13802 N Scottsdale Rd Ste 162, Scottsdale, Arizona 85254 Event Details: Free. This event seems like it is for toddlers and small kids, event includes Bewitching crafts & activities, photo ops, Prizes, tasty treats, playtime, toddler dance party, and more. Monster Bash : October 20th 11am-2pm Where: Maryvale Community Center 4420 N. 51st Ave Phoenix, AZ 85031 Event Details: Free to attend. This family-oriented event will include carnival games, a costume contest, inflatables and a pumpkin patch. Games tickets will need to be purchased.  Fall-O-Ween : October 20th 2pm-5pm Where: Deer Valley Park 2001 W. Wahalla Ln. Phoenix,AZ 85027 Event Details: Free. The event will feature arts and crafts, inflatables, a pumpkin patch and carnival games. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Movie Fright Night with "Coco" : October 20th 4pm-9pm Where: Washington Activity Center 2240 W. Citrus Way Phoenix, AZ 85015 Event Details: Free. Watch Disney's "Coco" in the park, This event also will feature costume contests, and candy and games for kids.  Fall Festival : October 20th 6pm-9pm Where: Sunnyslope Community Center 802 E. Vogel Ave Phoenix, AZ 85020 Event Details: Free. Watch a spooktakular movie and play carnival games dressed as your favorite character, super hero or monster. Prizes will be awarded to the scariest, funniest and best family costume.  Trunk-Or-Treat : October 26th 4pm-7pm Where: Longview Neighborhood Recreation Center 4040 N. 14th St. Phoenix, AZ 85014 Event Details: Join in a fun-filled and family-oriented event that will include trick-or-treating, carnival games and prizes.  Scare Fair : October 30th 6pm-8pm Where: Desert West Community Center 6501 W. Virginia Ave.Phoenix, AZ 85035 Event Details: This annual family-oriented event will include spooky arts and crafts, carnival games, a pumpkin patch, costume contest and haunted house (entrance fee is $1). Snow cones and popcorn will be provided. Additional food and beverages will be available for purchase.  Halloween Spook-Tacular : October 27th 5:30pm-7:30pm Where: Bender Performing Arts 3141 E Beardsley Rd Ste 110 Phoenix, AZ 85050 Event Details: Bender Performing Arts will be transformed into a haunted Halloween fun house! Games, food, costume contest, trunk or treat, bounce house, crafts and more! Event is Free but you need to RSVP you can do that Here. Halloween Spooktacular : October 20th,21st,27th,28th & 31st 10am-6pm Where: SEA LIFE Aquarium (Arizona) 5000 S Arizona Mills Cir, Ste 145, Tempe, Arizona 85282 Event Details: The activities of this event are included with admission into the aquarium, if you buy tickets Online instead of at the door they are only $15 per person. Event includes Underwater Pumpkin Carving,Creepy Crawly "Tails" at Critter Canyon,Daily costume contest with great prizes,Halloween decor throughout the attraction. Brick-or-Treat : October October 20th,21st,27th,28th & 31st 10am-6pm Where: Legoland Discovery Center (Arizona) 5000 S Arizona Mills Cir, Tempe, Arizona 85282 Event Details: The activities of this event are included with admission into the aquarium, if you buy tickets Online instead of at the door they are only $15 per person. Trick or Treat Scavenger Hunt through MINILAND,Halloween and pumpkin LEGO mask builds,Positively perfect LEGO pumpkin patch,Spooky minifigure trading & Crazy costume contest

If I run across anymore I will add them to the list. I hope you all have a fun, and safe Halloween. What are some of your favorite Halloween activities?

These headphones are great for road trips with kids!

**This was not a paid post. My honest opinions were used, they are solely my own and they may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by CozyPhones for the review free of charge.**

Finding the perfect pair of headphones can be a pain sometimes, you might find one that has a great sound quality but the shape of the ear bud hurts your ear. I personally like headphone ear buds with the little squishy covers that can be shaped but they can be kind of pricey and the covers may pop off or become ripped. I recently found a different alternative to traditional headphones, they are called Cozy Phones which are small round ear buds concealed in a fabric head band.



For a review I was sent a black cozy phone ($18.97) from their original line plus the Unicorn and Panda ($19.97) from their kids line for my kids. The headbands have a soft mesh material on the inside and fabric on the outside giving you a comfortable experience. They are corded which some may not like but they do also offer a new line of cordless Cozy phones, I personally don't mind because I am not doing anything super crazy while wearing them so the cord doesn't get in the way.

Everyone has a different shaped head which means not everyone will have their ears in the same place as others so how do you make sure the ear buds are actually on your ears? There is a small slit and opening in the back of the headband where you can user your finger to move the ear buds to the exact spot your ears will sit while wearing the headband. I haven't had any issues with the ear buds moving or slipping away from my ears while wearing these which is nice.



The headband itself isn't too tight, I found it to be a wonderful fit. My ears didn't feel like they were being smashed nor did I feel like the headband was going to fall off which was nice for working out plus it helped hold my hair in place and keep my head cool. If you feel like your headband is getting to nasty due to sweat you can remove the ear buds and machine wash the headband, due to the mesh inside I would probably air dry them but thus far I haven't needed to wash it.



Since the headbands are fabric and the ear buds are flat disks you are able to fall asleep while wearing these and wake up without sore ears from having head buds in for too long, which makes them perfect for road trips with the kids. The sound quality is fantastic, when I have my mp3 player turned up all the way it keeps it loud but still at decibels that protect your ears.

Enjoy Magnificent Unicorns with Candlewick Press.

**This was not a paid post. My honest opinions were used, they are solely my own & they may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by Candlewick Press for the review  free of charge.**

 Magnificent Birds by Narisa Togo - Retail Price $20.00

One of my favorite things is birds so I was quite excited when Candlewick Press sent me a book called Magnificent Birds. Instead of being a story book this is a fun birds facts book which gives you a break from your typical fact books that can be slightly boring for kids. Each bird has a two page spread which features a beautiful sketched image that look like a watercolor painting along with a bit of information about that bird. None of the pages are longer than two paragraphs, keeping everything short and sweet yet to the point. You'll find fourteen different birds featured in this book. The suggested age range for this book is 10-14 but I think it suits any age.

Do You Believe in Unicorns? by Bethanie Deeney Murguia- Retail Price $14.99

When I was younger I preferred dragons and gargoyles over Unicorns but now I love them all the same and have found myself drawn to cute unicorn products lately so this book was a cute surprise.

This fun and whimsical book is about a horse who enjoys wearing a tall red hat and the mystery of if the horse is hiding something under that hat. Could it be a horn? Maybe he was just having a messy hair day and didn't want everyone to see it. The story follows him along on his activities during the day then at the end you get to see what he was hiding under his hat. The pastels used in the illustrations of this book were pleasing to the eye. Do You Believe in Unicorns is short, each page contains one sentence so this book is perfect for younger kids just learning to read, the suggested age range is 3-7.

Small Foot Movie Review!

**This is not a sponsored post, through another blogger I was able to attend an early showing of this movie and wanted to share my opinions on the movie.**

You may have seen a recent movie preview for Small Foot which comes out this Friday September 28th. The cast is composed of several familiar voices such as Channing Tatum & Zendaya. As you can tell from the preview the movie is set in a Yeti village which I think is a fun take on the traditional story of a human stumbling on a rare Yeti/Sasquatch/Abdominal Snowman.

This movie gave us a lot of good laughs and it had a pretty great story from start to finish, my youngest can get a bit bored when watching a movie and starts to become restless but Small Foot  kept all of us entertained the entire time. A lot of kids movies have a scene or two that parents may not completely approve of whether it is a dirty adult joke or the use of a bad word, however I didn't notice any of this during Small Foot and neither did my mom who attended the movie with the kids and I. The only thing I could think of that may bother someone is the Yeti's thinking they fell out of a Yaks butt or making a joke about "crap" due to a roll of toilet paper though I think both lines are harmless.

Small Foot is packed with a strong character base that everyone is sure to enjoy and connect with. There is a bit of singing through out the movie which my daughter said she found annoying however I think that was due to the fact that for about fifteen to twenty minutes before the start of the movie they had played the songs over and over again otherwise I don't think she would have minded as much. I thought the songs were cute and well sung, one of the main songs was even done by Zendaya herself! The graphics were wonderful, I love how they created each Yeti you could really see all of the detail that went into everything.

I don't want to give away too much of the story line so the movie isn't ruined for you but I will say this is a movie worth seeing in the theaters, my kids are already asking if we can go see it again. If you want to print some coloring pages ahead of seeing the movie or if you want to hear some of the sound track for the movie you can check out the Small Foot website which has a lot of fun and free stuff.

New books from Candlewick Press!

**This was not a paid post. My honest opinions were used, they are solely my own & they may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by Candlewick Press for the review  free of charge.**

Getting a new book always makes me feel a bit of excitement because you have a new adventure waiting for you and you never know where it might lead. My kids are also little bookworms so they are always eager to add new books to our growing collection. I was recently sent a box of books from Candlewick Press to check out and share with my readers here on my blog, I will be going through and reviewing 2-3 at a time to help break up the posts a bit.

Interrupting Chicken and the Elephant of Surprise - Retail $16.99 USD. This is an adorable book that actually gave me a good laugh because it reminds me a bit of my kids and how kids can be in general. This book is about a chicken who comes home from school and asks her Papa to read with her so she can find the Elephant in the story. Unsure of what she means Papa asks her what she means, he learns that her teacher taught the class that every story has an "element" as surprise but she thinks it is an elephant of surprise and thus wants to go on a hunt for elephants.

Papa chicken picks out a story he knows has no elephants but his daughter finds the elephant and 'rescues' it, afterwards it is a bit of a back and forth about there not being any elephants and they read two more stories with the same result. After finishing the homework of looking for the elephant "element" of surprise in three books Papa chicken and his daughter make up their own story with a elephant which was quite adorable. Even with as cute as the story is my favorite page is the last, when Papa chicken is ready for bed looking exhausted from doing homework when his daughter says "Now you can help me with my math homework!" this is exactly how I feel when helping my daughter with her pile of homework every night.

I thought this was a sweet book to read with the kids and they got a real kick out of it as well. The imagery is lovely, everything has a almost water color feel to it and the sharp lines used along with color choices are eye catching.

 Night Job - Retail $16.99 USD. This book actually reminds me of a few nights when I was a child. This book is about a little boy whose father works as a night time janitor at a school and he goes with on Friday nights to join his dad for the night to spend time with him. I remember for a while when my mom worked several night shifts and I got to tag along a night or two (though I usually feel asleep on the sofa in the break room after a while) it was always an adventure.

This neat book is done completely in neutral colors giving it the feel of being night time which we thought went extremely well with the theme of the book. The book follows the father and son duo on their night at the school from room to room and what they do while cleaning up such as listening to base ball and playing music. Much like myself when I was younger the son can only stay up so long and falls asleep on a sofa in the library until his dad comes to wake him up to take him home.

Free Museum tickets on September 22nd,2018

The Smithsonian magazine is hosting their annual Museum Day on September 22nd where you can get FREE tickets to any of the participating museums. You can get 2 free tickets per email address, keep in mind most of these museums are first come first serve on the day of to keep from going over their max capacity so get there early. Sorry but this is for US residents only.

Some states have a ton of Museums so there are a lot of options to select from, Arizona for example has 34 museums offering tickets some of which are only open for those participating in Museum Day instead of anyone just walking in.

Click the link below for more info and find a museum(s) near you participating & Don't forget to Share this ...so others can have a chance to enjoy as well. 

 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/search/

 (This is not a promoted post I just love Museums and wanted to share)

Pamper yourself like a super hero with these Incredibles 2 beauty sets!

**This was not a paid post. My honest opinions were used, they are solely my own & they may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by TownleyGirl for the review free of charge.**

If you haven't seen The Incredibles 2 what are you waiting for? My family and I were all big fans of the movie and we absolutely loved Jack-Jack during the entire film. I would say it lived up to what we were hoping for, although I know a few people were disappointed with a few words that were added into the movie I thought it was a fun family movie.

My daughter and I are big fans of the products created by Townleygirl that center around beloved characters such as super heroes, Disney Princesses, Emojis and more. When we were offered a chance to check out a few of their Incredibles themed items we couldn't say no.

Incredibles 2 Lip Gloss Set with Bonus Tin - Retail $6.99 This kit includes three lip gloss tubes with a character attachment and a carrying tin (plastic) to hold everything. We thought this set was pretty cute when it came to the over all product packaging, even the tubes themselves had a printed pattern that goes along with the movie. I like that the tin can also be used to store cash, jewelry, etc after the lip gloss is long gone. Their lip gloss formula actually isn't bad, normally I don't like lip gloss because it is too thick but theirs seems just right and is actually pretty moisturizing. Plus if you accidentally get some lip gloss in your mouth there is no taste to it good or bad.

Incredibles 2 Lip Balm with Mirror - Retail $5.99 This set comes with a handheld mirror, nail stickers and two lip balms. We did think it was slightly off the set came with nail stickers as it seemed a little out of place, my daughter thinks a comb or some kind of brush would have been a better option. The mirror is pretty sturdy and can stand up to a lot, my daughter has a Trolls mirror just like it which has been dropped several times without breaking or cracking. The lip balms are nice and the nail stickers are fun.



Incredibles 2 Lip Balm Set with Bonus Bag - Retail $7.99 This set comes with three lip balms, three bouncy balls and a storage bag. The lip balms are nice, they have a nice scent the formula seem to be just right to where your lips don't feel greasy or oil. The kids loved that they came with bouncy balls, the little plastic piece on top of the lip balm cap holds the ball perfectly so you can easily take it with you on the go. The kids did think it would be neat to see a set of these with just the three kids on them. The little coin storage bag this comes with is nice as well and can be used for multiple purposes. 

Over all we were pretty happy with these products though a bit bummed Jack-Jack wasn't more predominant on a product or two as a stand alone character like the rest of the family. (Violet isn't really in these products either aside from family shots but she is on other products in this series.) Our favorite thing about TownleyGirl is how affordable their sets are and how much fun they make everything.