BIGGER & Brighter! Dallas Holiday Season Kicks Off

The Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau (Dallas CVB) introduces a citywide partnership with area arts institutions and attractions in the Dallas Arts District, at Fair Park, and throughout Dallas to showcase the full array of holiday events and other activities for everyone in the family to enjoy this holiday season.  

Launched for the first time in Dallas, BIGGER & Brighter! is a collaboration between the Dallas CVB and 14 organizations to provide visitors and out of town guests with ideas and easy-to-find details about the holiday activities and special exhibits occurring over the next three months and into the New Year. 

"From musicals to holiday spectacles, and festive celebrations – Dallas offers an unforgettable holiday experience for local residents and visitors," said Phillip J. Jones, president/CEO of the Dallas CVB.  "As the number one visitor destination in Texas, the Dallas area has a lot to offer families that will put a holiday twinkle in everyone's eye," continued Jones. 

"By bundling several holiday activities under the BIGGER & Brighter! experience we are presenting Dallas as a BIG holiday destination – all with a special Dallas flair," said Noelle LeVeaux, Chief Marketing Officer for the Dallas CVB.  "North Texans know how Dallas transforms into a magical city during the holidays; now we're inviting people and families living in other Texas cities and neighboring states to come, see and share this incredible Dallas experience," added LeVeaux.

The collection of BIGGER & Brighter! events includes free and paid concerts in the Arts District with hundreds of sparkling lights and a boutique shopping experience; award-winning musicals and other new and returning performances throughout the city; a new exhibition at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden featuring a Victorian collection of three-dimensional, life-size gazebos filled with charming holiday characters made famous in the 12 Days of Christmas; Santa's Workshop and indoor skating rink at Sparkle!; a Christmas Market, and City Lights, downtown's free official tree lighting celebration complete with fireworks, musical performances and the arrival of Santa Claus. Santa Claus also makes an appearance high above Dallas with his elves at the GeO-Deck at Reunion Tower.

Want to take a break from the holiday festivities and explore arts and cultural activities with your out of town guests? BIGGER & Brighter! also offers other special events taking place during the holiday season including 2theXtreme:MathAlive! at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science; Bouquets: French Still-Life Painting from Chardin to Matisse at the Dallas Museum of Art, The Mary BaskettCollection of Japanese Fashion at the Crow Collection of Asian Art; and Provocations: The Architecture and Design of Heatherwick Studio at the Nasher Sculpture Center.  

BIGGER & Brighter will culminate with Dallas' unique ringing in of the new year during the eighth annual Big D NYE, the largest New Year's Eve celebration in the Central Time Zone. Last year's New Year's celebration drew more than 40,000 people to Victory Park inDowntown Dallas.

For more information on these events and to purchase tickets please visit www.VisitDallas.com/BIGDHoliday.

The following partners invite you to celebrate the season with a BIG holiday moment in Dallas – where the holidays are BIGGER & Brighter!

BIGGER & Brighter! Events

The Dallas Arboretum: The 12 Days of Christmas | November 16 – January 4

AT&T Performing Arts Center: Reliant Lights Your Holidays | December 6

AT&T Performing Arts Center Broadway Series: ONCE | December 17 - 28 & Blue Man Group December 30 – January 4

Dallas Theater Center: A Christmas Carol | November 25- December 27 

AT&T Performing Arts Center presents at the Majestic Theater: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical | December 16 - 21

Fair Park, TX: Holiday Lights | November 1 - December 25

Fair Park, TX: Chi Omega Christmas Market | November 19 – 22

Downtown Dallas, Inc.: City Lights | November 22 – December 25

Dallas Summer Musicals: A Christmas Story, the Musical | December 2 – 14

Dallas Arts District: Holidays In The District | December 6

Dallas Symphony Orchestra: Christmas at the DSO | December 5 – 21

Dallas Museum of Art: Bouquets: French Still-Life Painting from Chardin to Matisse | October 26 – February 8

Perot Museum of Nature and Science: 2theXtreme: MathAlive! | September 27- January 4  

GeO-Deck @ Reunion Tower: Santa at the GeO-Deck | November 28 – December 23  

Hilton Anatole Dallas: Sparkle! Christmas at the Anatole | November 28 – January 4   

Crow Collection of Asian Art: The Mary Basket Collection of Japanese Fashion | October 25 – February 22                  

Nasher Sculpture Center: Provocations: The Architecture and Design of Heatherwick Studio | September 13- January 4

Big D NYE: New Year's Eve Celebration | December 31

Go to VisitDallas.com for more information about the city of Dallas.

Economic Optimism Warms Holiday Shoppers

Optimism about the economy is kindling holiday cheer as shoppers plan to spend more this year and tech-savvy shoppers have even higher spending expectations, according to Deloitte's 29th annual holiday survey.  Among the findings:

Holiday spending to increase — consumers who shop across store, mobile and online channels are expected to spend more than single-channel shoppers

• Total holiday spending is predicted to increase by 13 percent to $1,299 per household, and includes gifts, socializing away from home, entertaining at home, non-gift clothing for family or self, home/holiday furnishings, and any other holiday-related spending not in the other categories.
• Spending on just gifts is expected to rise by 9 percent to $458 this year, from $421 last year.
• Consumers who shop across store, mobile and online channels are expected to spend 66 percent more on gifts than those shopping stores only, $592 versus $357.
• The number of gifts consumers expect to purchase increased to 13.4, up from 12.9 in 2013, but nearly 10 gifts less than the high of 23.1 in 2007.

Consumers prefer shopping the Internet and discount/value stores this holiday season

• The Internet and discount/value stores once again rank as the top shopping venues this year, with the Internet No. 1 for the second straight year.  Nearly half (45 percent) plan to shop online, followed closely by 44 percent at discount/value stores. 
• In-store purchases are expected to account for 52 percent of the holiday budget.
• Consumers expect to make an average of five (4.6) trips to traditional "brick-and-mortar" stores during the holiday season.
• Clothing remains the No. 1 item consumers plan to purchase as a gift, cited by 45 percent of respondents; gift cards (43 percent) continue to hold the No. 2 position, but are down from a high of 69 percent in 2007.  
• The top two gifts respondents would like to receive are gift cards (37 percent) followed by cash (35 percent).
• More than two-thirds (68 percent) plan to "shop local" this year, with the No. 1 reason, "To support the local economy"; and the No. 2 reason, "To find one-of-a-kind gifts."  In the survey, "local retail stores" are defined as small businesses, independent retailers or boutique shops which are not part of national chains.

Shoppers appear undeterred by reported data breaches

• More than half (55 percent) of respondents indicate they are concerned about the protection of their personal data when shopping online and 42 percent have the same concerns in-store. 
• Though there is concern for personal data when shopping both online and in-store, 56 percent indicated they will continue to shop this holiday season at retailers that have experienced a data breach.
• Nearly four in 10 (36 percent) indicated "I am more likely to shop at a retailer who provides me education surrounding the security of my personal data."

December shaping up to be another busy month for retailers; Nearly 70 percent of shoppers "webrooming"

• Forty-three percent of respondents will do a majority of their holiday shopping in December or later, an increase of 6 percentage points from 2013.
• Almost seven in 10 (68 percent) indicated they will go online to look at an item, then go to a store to see it and buy it in the store ("webrooming").
• Nearly half (49 percent) indicated they will go to a store to look at an item, then search online for the best price and then purchase online ("showrooming").
• Roughly three-quarters (74 percent) of shoppers say they will be influenced by coupons/promotions.
• Consumers plan to take advantage of a number of retailer offerings this year, including free shipping (68 percent), free returns (52 percent), price matching (45 percent), extended holiday hours (35 percent), order online for pick up in-store (34 percent) and free layaway (16 percent).
• Nearly half (47 percent) of shoppers say they do not rely on Black Friday as much as they used to for holiday shopping. 

According to Alison Paul, vice chairman and retail sector leader, Deloitte LLP, "With the short, 27-day shopping stretch betweenThanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, retailers need to be sharp with their promotional timing, inventory management and distribution capabilities. Retailers that can fulfill orders from both online distribution centers and store inventories, for example, may be more nimble and poised to respond quickly to pockets of high demand for certain gifts — and ensure timely holiday deliveries."

Paul added, "Despite concerns about the security of personal information, shoppers also appear resilient to reported data breaches and desire to still shop with affected retailers. Retailers should benefit from this optimism and expression of loyalty, but need to stay vigilant as a spike in transactional activity around the holiday season comes with increased vulnerability."

For more information about Deloitte's Annual Holiday Survey, please read the full survey report or follow us @DeloitteCB. Aninfographic and complete survey results are also available for download.

About the Survey

The survey was commissioned by Deloitte and conducted online by an independent research company between Sept. 13 and Sept. 24, 2014. The survey polled a sample of 5,033 consumers in the U.S. and has a margin of error for the entire sample of plus or minus one percentage point.

Halloween Fun Facts

Halloween, which dates back to Celtic rituals thousands of years ago, has long been associated with images of witches, ghosts and vampires. Today, Halloween has evolved into a celebration characterized by child-friendly activities, such as costumes, trick-or-treating and carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns.

Trick or Treat!

41.2 million The estimated number of potential trick-or-treaters in 2013 — children age 5 to 14 — across the U.S. Of course, many other children — older than 14 and younger than 5 — also go trick-or-treating.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2013 Population Estimates, PEPASR6H
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/PEP/2013/PEPASR6H>

115 million Number of occupied housing units across the nation in first quarter 2014 — all potential stops for trick-or-treaters. 
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Housing Vacancies and Homeownership, Table 8 <http://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/data/histtabs.html>

93.3%Percentage of households with residents who considered their neighborhood safe in 2011. In addition, 79.5 percent said there was no place within a mile of their homes where they would be afraid to walk alone at night.  
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Extended Measures of Well-Being: Living Conditions in the United States, 2011, <http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p70-136.pdf>

Hauntingly Delicious

1,333Number of U.S. manufacturing establishments that produced chocolate and cocoa products in 2012, employing 37,150 employees. This industry's value of shipments totaled $14.4 billion, up slightly from $14.1 billion in 2007. 
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 Economic Census, NAICS 2012: 311351, 311352 and 2007: 311320, 311330
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/00A1//naics~311351%7C311352>, <http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2007_US/00A1//naics~311320%7C311330>

439Number of U.S. manufacturing establishments that produced nonchocolate confectionary products, employing 19,141 employees. This industry's value of shipments totaled $8.0 billion in 2012.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 Economic Census, NAICS 311340
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/00A1//naics~311340>

Dressed to ThrillA sampling of occupations that one may dress up as for a Halloween costume:

Occupation	Number of Full-Time,
	Year-Round Employees
Athletes, coaches, umpires and related workers	114,456
Bailiffs, correctional officers and jailers	387,955
Dentists	97,562
Detectives and criminal investigators	117,375
Farmers, ranchers and other agricultural managers	499,775
Firefighters	256,196
Police and sheriff's patrol officers	623,338
Registered nurses	2,061,647

More Tips to Protect Your Property This Halloween

Halloween can be scary but having the right insurance coverage can take some of the fright out of the night, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).

"If you're worried about Halloween partyers who may cause damage to your home, there's probably little to fear," said Michael Barry, vice president, Media Relations, I.I.I. "But do contact your insurance professional with questions or concerns about your homeowners or renters insurance policy."

Your insurance policies provide financial protection for a host of disasters whether they occur on Halloween, which falls this year on Friday, or any other day.

The I.I.I. points out that standard homeowners and renters insurance will provide coverage for the following.

• Vandalism
  In the event your home or your personal possessions are damaged by neighborhood tricksters, homeowners and renters insurance policies provide coverage for vandalism and malicious mischief. You are on your own, however, when it comes to removing the toilet paper from your front yard….
• Fire
  If a jack-o-lantern, or other decoration, goes up in flames and damages your property, your homeowners or renters policy will cover fire-related losses. And, should the blaze make your home uninhabitable, additional living expenses (ALE) coverage will pay for alternate accommodations, such as a hotel, while your home is being repaired.
• Injuries 
  The liability portion of a homeowners or renters policy comes into play if a Halloween party guest, or a trick-or-treater is injured while at your house or apartment. These policies also include no-fault medical coverage so the injured person can file their claim directly with your insurer.
  
  And if Fido gets a little skittish from all the commotion and accidentally nips a trick-or-treater your liability coverage includes damages or injuries caused by pets.

Of course, the best solution is to avoid trouble altogether. Check out Safe Kids Worldwide and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for helpful Halloween safety tips. 

Protect Your Property From Trick or Treat Tricksters

Pumpkins are an autumn staple, with uses ranging from jack-o'-lanterns to pies. However, Mercury Insurance reports that, in the wrong hands, pumpkins can lead to nothing but trouble, noting a substantial increase in property damage during the week of Halloween compared to an average week.

"Last year, we had nearly three percent more auto claims and five percent more homeowners claims during the week of Halloween, with our insureds reporting everything from egged and 'pumpkined' cars to creatively mummified homes," says Stephanie Behnke, claims innovation director of Mercury Insurance. "Although these may sound like harmless pranks, they can cause significant and costly damage, so taking some simple steps to protect your property is no joke."

Mercury Insurance offers the following tips to help keep you from falling victim to a Halloween trick:

Park in a garage or well-lit area when possible. Otherwise, consider installing motion detectors in your driveway to turn on lights when someone approaches. If you only have access to street parking, try to park near streetlamps.

Light your walkway. This can reduce the likelihood of vandalism to your home as well as increase visibility for costumed visitors who may have difficulty viewing the terrain.

Avoid parking in deserted areas. Vandals are less likely to do their dirty work out in the open, so park in well-populated areas whenever possible. If you're attending a Halloween party in an unfamiliar neighborhood, ask the host for recommendations on safe places to park.

Activate your alarm. Car alarms are loud and draw people's attention, so use them to deter vandals. 

Keep pets indoors. Some dogs and cats can become easily spooked by strangers or kids disguised in costumes and Halloweenattire. Keep pets inside – or in a separate part of your home if you're hosting a party – to keep them safe and prevent any ugly situations where a pet can bite or scratch a guest.

If your car is damaged, many acts of vandalism fall under comprehensive insurance, according to Behnke.

"Comprehensive insurance covers your vehicle if it's damaged due to something other than a collision," she says. "For example, if rowdy teens toss pumpkins out of windows or use cars for batting practice, remaining damages would be covered after you've paid your deductible, assuming you have comprehensive insurance at the time of the incident. Otherwise, you'll need to pay for everything on your own."

Before filing a claim:

• Call the police. Filing a report provides you with an official record of the incident and, hopefully, the police will be able to track down the offender. Don't attempt to move or clean any of the damaged items until the police arrive and retrieve necessary information and document the scene.
• Take photos of the damage.
• Contact your insurer. Report claims right away to your insurance company.

Keeping Kiddos Safe While Trick or Treating

On average, twice as many kids are killed while walking on Halloween than on any other day of the year. But a few simple precautions for kids and drivers can make the night fun and safe.

Safe Kids has joined together with FedEx® to promote pedestrian safety this Halloween. FedEx volunteers are teaming up with 159 local Safe Kids coalitions in towns and cities across the United States to provide reflective materials and safe walking information to parents and children.

"On Halloween, more children are on the street after dark than normal, and they are so excited that they may run out into the street without looking," said Kate Carr, president and CEO of Safe Kids Worldwide. "We're asking drivers to take extra care and slow down on neighborhood roads. And, of course, it's very important that drivers put down mobile devices to avoid distraction."

Parents can use glow sticks or reflective trick-or-treat bags to make sure their kids' costumes are visible to drivers while still being fun. And talk to your kids about watching out for cars. Kids should make eye contact with drivers before crossing the street and always try to use crosswalks, when possible.

Here are the top tips from Safe Kids and FedEx to keep kids safe on Halloween. 

Top safety tips for kids:

• Costumes can be both creative and safe. The most important thing is to make sure you can be seen by drivers. Decorate costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers and, if possible, choose light colors. Masks can obstruct your vision, so choose non-toxic face paint and make-up whenever possible. Carry glow sticks or flashlights so you can see better, as well as be seen by drivers.
• Cross the street safely at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks. Look left, right and left again when crossing and keep looking as you cross.
• Put electronic devices down and keep heads up and walk, don't run, across the street.
• Walk on sidewalks or paths. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible.
• Slow down and stay alert. Watch out for cars that are turning or backing up and don't dart out into the street or cross in between parked cars.

Top safety tips for drivers:

• Slow down in residential neighborhoods. Remember that popular trick-or-treating hours are 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
• Be especially alert and take extra time to look for kids at intersections, on medians and on curbs. Children are excited onHalloween and may move in unpredictable ways.
• Reduce any distractions inside your car, such as talking on the phone or eating, so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings.

In 1999, Safe Kids Worldwide and program sponsor FedEx launched the Walk This Way Program in the United States to educate motorists and child pedestrians and create safer, more walkable communities. Safe Kids and FedEx address the issue through research, physical improvements to school zones, and education and awareness campaigns throughout the year.

For more tips on how to help kids become safer pedestrians on Halloween, and throughout the year, visit www.safekids.org and visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/safekidsworldwide.

Top Halloween Costumes for 2014

This year, the costume mania award goes to . . . Hollywood! The frenzy over Walt Disney Pictures' 2013 film Frozen has continued well into 2014. Data released by SLI Systems (SLI.NZ), a worldwide e-commerce acceleration provider for mid- to large-size Internet retailers and B2B sites worldwide, found consumers conducted over one million site searches this Halloween season for Frozen-related queen, princess and snowman characters, making it the most-searched category in the study. Other popular films, including Paramount Pictures' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT), Despicable Me's "Minions," Maleficent, and Book of Life also saw activity making 2014's Top 15 List.

SLI studied site search activity across 17 costume retailer websites based in the U.S., UK and Australia, analyzing a total of more than 80 million consumer searches taking place between Sept 1 and Oct 26, 2013 and between Sept 1 and Oct 26, 2014. Combined, the e-commerce sites studied have monthly revenue of approximately $20M.

"Our data team compared the most popular site search terms across costume retailer e-commerce sites using our Learning Searchservice during the 2013 and 2014 Halloween seasons," said Shaun Ryan, CEO, SLI Systems. "Disney's Frozen-themed costume searches simply 'freeze out' all competition, including Paramount's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT), in Halloween 2014. In fact, 'Frozen' received 122% more search activity than 'TMNT' this year, and nearly 160% more search activity than any movie in 2013 – the most popular film-related costume search being 'Batman' in 2013."

The Top 15 Most-Searched Costume Themes of 2014, in order:
(seven are movie themes)

1.    Frozen – 1,192,000 (includes searches Elsa, Olaf & other characters)
2.    Zombie – 863,000 
3.    Ninja – 863,000 
4.    Pirate – 796,000 
5.    Clown – 659,000
6.    Witch – 588,000
7.    Vampire – 565,000 
8.    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (TMNT) – 536,000
9.    Book of Life – 308,000 (includes searches for "day of the dead")
10.  Flapper – 277,000
11.  Batman – 251,000
12.  Despicable Me – 233,000 (78% of related searches for minion characters)
13.  Maleficent – 227,000
14.  Monster High – 206,000
15.  Star Wars – 148,000

Additional findings from the Halloween study include:

• Frozen-related costume searches in 2014 received 38% more search activity than the #2 theme of zombie and nearly 160% more search activity than any film in 2013.
• Costumes with film- and branded-toy relevance made the Top Ten 2013 list (but none made Top Five): Batman (461,000), Despicable Me/minion (441,000) & Monster High (405,000).
• The top three most popular searches in 2013 were: pirate (873,000), zombie (828,000) and ninja (706,000).

Children's Teeth Tops Parents' Halloween Concerns, According to New Survey

This Halloween more than two-thirds of parents say they are concerned about their children's teeth; far more than those who are concerned about stomachaches, costume choices and nightmares. With more than 80 percent of parents saying their kids will participate in a Halloween celebration this year, and with cavities being a top concern, theKids' Healthy Mouths campaign is celebrating National Brush Day® on November 1st to reiterate the importance of brushing for two minutes, twice a day every day.

National Brush Day® is an ongoing initiative celebrated on November 1st on behalf of the Kids' Healthy Mouths campaign, which was initially launched by The Partnership for Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives and the Ad Council in August 2012. Kids' Healthy Mouthsrecently announced a new series of PSAs, created pro bono by ad agency Grey New York, which feature humorous depictions of life lessons which make the point that while parenting can be tricky at times, getting kids to brush for two minutes, twice a day can be easier than many other things parents will try to teach their children.

"National Brush Day® is a wonderful time to remind parents about the importance of their children's oral health, especially after a candy-heavy holiday like Halloween," said campaign spokesperson, and former host of E! News, Kristina Guerrero. "This will be my son Mateo's second Halloween and first ever National Brush Day®. It is crucial to instill good dental habits early in life and it's great to have a day dedicated to spreading the word about getting kids to brush for two minutes, twice a day."

To take part in National Brush Day®, parents and caregivers can join the Kids' Healthy Mouths communities and share new campaign images on Facebook and Twitter (@brush2min2x). In addition to an extensive public relations and social media campaign, Kids' Healthy Mouths is kicking off its first video contest leveraging Zooppa.com, the world's leading crowd sourced marketing platform for producing creative content. The contest will encourage amateur and professional video makers to create videos showing how difficult it is to teach a child something if a parent only has two minutes, leveraging the campaign strategy and using the hashtag #BrushRules. 

"We are so excited to see the continued success of this extraordinary campaign," said Ad Council CEO, Peggy Conlon, "This campaign truly exemplifies the power of advertising to impact attitudes and behaviors and National Brush Day® is an ideal time to remind parents about children's oral health."

Parents are also encouraged to visit the campaign website, 2min2x.org where parents and children can watch entertaining videos–all 2 minutes in length–while brushing their teeth. Campaign media partners, including Cartoon Network and myKaZootv, donated snippets of videos for the site.

"Seventy five percent of parents report that their child sometimes or frequently forgets to brush his or her teeth," said Gary Price, Secretary and CEO of the Dental Trade Alliance Foundation. "We need all parents to get involved in National Brush Day® so we can instill lifelong habits in children that will continue throughout their lives."

As an extension of the campaign, the Ad Council also recently launched a mobile program in-house on behalf of Kids' Healthy Mouths that will engage parents and their kids in a fun and creative brushing challenge that supports the campaign's main goal of encouraging parents to make sure their children brush their teeth for two minutes, twice a day. Users will meet the voice of the program, "Joy," who will help brand and personalize the texter's experience. The campaign also includes a mobile gaming app called "Toothsavers" which has received over 120,000 downloads since January of 2014.

Since its launch in 2012, more than 1.7 million people have visited 2min2x.org and the English and Spanish-language PSAs have received more than $64 million in donated media across TV, radio, print, web and outdoor outlets. Additionally, a 2013 Ad Council survey showed that in one year, English-speaking parents reported that their children were significantly more likely to brush twice a day (55 percent in 2013, up from 48 percent in 2012) and significantly more likely to brush for two minutes each time (64 percent in 2013, up from 60 percent in 2012). Spanish-speaking parents report improvement as well, with an increase in those saying that their child brushes at least twice a day (66 percent in 2013, up from 63 percent in 2012) and significantly more reporting their kids are brushing for two minutes (77 percent in 2013, up from 69 percent in 2012).

For more information about the Kids' Healthy Mouths campaign, visit 2min2x.org and follow the campaign's social media communities on Facebook and Twitter (@brush2min2x).

The Ad Council's survey was conducted by LightSpeed Research in September 2014. The nationally representative online survey included 600 parents with children 0-12.

Alternatives to Candy for Ghosts and Goblins

Everyone loves sugar – and it's no wonder. Sugar is more addictive than cocaine," says Dr. Frank King, an Asheville, N.C., doctor of naturopathy and chiropractic. "We hand out candy at Halloween as if it's harmless. Would we give our kids cigarettes?"

"If parents understand the problems associated with sugar, their whole family can be healthier," he says. "With one third of our youth overweight or obese, we cannot keep pretending empty, artificially flavored and colored, addictive calories are okay."

Obesity, even in young people, is linked with high blood pressure and higher risk of cardiovascular disease, a fact Professor Peter Schwandt reported to the 2014 European Society of Cardiology Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

"Sugar consumption is also linked to hyperactive behavior, fatty liver and diabetes," King says, "and it feeds Candida albicans, a yeast-like fungus that can cause numerous health problems."

King explains that sugar causes the pancreas to spike its insulin output. "Surprisingly," he says, "non-calorie sweeteners are no better, since the pancreas is tricked into thinking sugar is present, and it responds in the same way. In fact, research suggests that diet sodas may actually cause people to gain weight, not lose it."

"Sugar also lowers the immune system for hours after ingestion," King says. "When your kids want a sweet treat, offer a small bunch of fresh grapes or an apple."

Parents may not be able to change old habits overnight, but they can gradually remove sugary foods from their family's diet, and teach children that sugar is not their friend.

King recommends these creative Halloween alternatives to candy:

1. Play-Doh
2. Bubbles
3. Bouncy balls
4. Yo-yos
5. Stickers

"Abundant health is the goal," King encourages. "Overcoming the sugar habit is easier when people simply enhance what I call the eight essential areas of life (nutrition, nature, fitness, sleep, the human spirit, hands-on techniques, water, and relationships). Saying 'no' to sugar will reap tremendous rewards."