Normally during the summer and fall months the fairgrounds in rural Oakland County, Michigan known as Hollygrove which is home to the Michigan Renaissance Festival are filled with the sounds of merriment and music. It has been quiet this year though as the festivities were cancelled due to the pandemic. That was until recently when rumors started circling among local townsfolk of eerie sights and sounds emerging from Hollygrove after dark as Halloween approached. Whoa!
My inner Ghostbuster couldn't resist going to see if there were any spooky spirits haunting Hollygrove. If my family couldn't enjoy cheering on the jousters and laughing at the jesters at this year's Michigan Renaissance Festival, maybe we could have ourselves some Halloween fun in the Village of Hollygrove. So off we went looking for a terror-ific time!
From now through Halloween, adventure seekers can make their way through a 3/4 mile maze of illuminations and decorations trekking through the twists and turns of the Michigan Renaissance Festival grounds. Are you brave enough to walk these paths after dark when monsters may be lurking in the buildings and forest around you? If so a limited number of guided tour time slots are available on October 17-18, 22-25, and 29-31.
Tickets are $25 for adults and $17.95 for children (5-12 years old). Social distancing guidelines will be recommend and masks required during this primarily outdoor event. Time slots will be restricted to 40 people maximum. So make reservations and purchase tickets online at halloweeninholly.com in advance to make sure you get a chance to experience A Haunting in Hollygrove.
Thanks to the Michigan Renaissance Festival for inviting this dad blogger and his family out as their guests and letting us be some of the first people to experience this Halloween event. With us staying close to home for most of this year we needed to get out for an adventure. We had a spook-tacular good time!
** A Geek Daddy received the featured product for free to review**
Adventure card games can often be daunting and time consuming but that is not the case with 5-MINUTE DUNGEON from the award-winning game publisher Wiggles 3D. In this game, two-to-five players join together as fantastic heroes to battle monsters and overcome obstacles as they must conquer a dungeon and defeat a level boss within 5 minutes. There are five dungeon levels to choose from and with randomly selected cards determining the encounters and challenges faced each time you play the game it is a unique, entertaining experience. With easy to grasp rules and a short time span, 5-MINUTE DUNGEON is a great way to have fun with family and friends.
I liked that instead of competing against one another, players have fun cooperating with one another working together for a victory. It was really great to have my kids spending time having fun working together instead of feuding when playing a game. The game doesn't drag on as the five minute time limit to complete a dungeon level has players racing against the clock. With no time to form a carefully-considered plan, and no
predicting what dangers lie ahead, communication and teamwork are the
name of the game, crucial to surviving the 5-MINUTE DUNGEON. The great artwork and humorous illustrations for the creatures and obstacles you'll encounter in the dungeons such as "A Cactus That Wants a Hug," "The Carpal Tunnel," and "An Overpriced Merchant," also provide a light-hearted, giggly atmosphere. I'm sure you'll enjoy playing this game as much as my family has so I'd encourage you to check out Wiggles 3D Kickstarter campaign that is launching on November 1, 2016 to support distribution of the game.
The Kickstarter campaign rewards financial backers with access to Early Bird Copies like the one A Geek Daddy received, Collector Editions, exclusive content and more. As the campaign proceeds, Kickstarter contributors will also unlock some great stretch goals which include linen-coated cards, high-quality game mats, and collectible figurines. Contribution levels range from $5 for a print-and-play copy of the game to $26.25 for a Standard Edition of the game that also includes all the stretch goals unlocked during the campaign to $45 for the Standard Edition + a Dungeon Master Edition which will have a more stylish box and higher quality components. This really is an affordable Kickstarter campaign to participate in for a great product.
To start off 5-MINUTE DUNGEON each player selects a hero character that has its own card mat, special attributes, and deck of symbol and action cards. Which will you choose to play as?
Next pick a Dungeon level to play and place its mat on the table with door cards stacked on top of it. Flip over the top door card and start the timer! You have 5 minutes to defeat every monster, person or obstacle that lurk on the other side of the door cards....plus the dungeon boss too!
Defeat each door card by matching the symbols on it with symbols printed on the cards in players hands selected from their hero's deck. Or instead of a symbol card you may want to use one of your action cards which depending on its special feature may allow a player to instantly defeat a monster or overcome an obstacle.
There are NO TURNSsoanyone can play the cards needed to
defeat the challenge presented by a door card. After you’ve dealt with all the door cards, it’s time to take on the big
boss himself whose symbols players need to match are displayed at the bottom of a Dungeon mat.
In Dungeon Level 1 for example, you have to battle Baby Barbarian! Bosses take a lot more resources to
defeat than any door card. Once the big boss has been defeated the dungeon has been conquered and you can play it again or move up to dungeons with a higher level of difficulty. To stay on track with the 5 minute deadline, there is a FREE timer app available on both iOS and Android as an accessory to the game.
You WIN if your team conquers a dungeon. There are three ways though the dungeon can get the best of your party. If time runs out before your team defeats the Dungeon Boss, if all the players during the game run out of cards, or if your party is unable to match the symbols of a door card in the dungeon and cannot use a hero ability or action card to move past it then you LOSE the game. Well actually no one really loses because even if you can't conquer the dungeon everyone will still enjoy having a fantastic time playing this game.
I really recommend 5-MINUTE DUNGEON as a family game night selection or for kids to play with their friends because it is a short, fast-paced, exciting game where you won't have to worry about children getting bored or losing their attention span with. Great for casual gamers and advanced players alike, you are sure to have a good time battling your way through the humor-filled fantasy world of 5-Minute Dungeon. To learn more about this adrenaline-fueled adventure card game, please visit 5MinuteDungeon.com and I truly hope that you'll consider supporting Wiggle 3D's Kickstarter campaign.
** The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free **
Halloween has always been one of my favorite times of the year with its costume parties, haunted houses, ghost stories and trick or treating. One of the funnest parts of the season though has to be pulling pranks on people to see if you can scare them. BEST BUY's Geek Squad has come up with some great ideas on how you can use recent advances in technology to take your Halloween pranks to the next level. With some help from BEST BUY, you can really treat yourself to some fun with awesome spooky tricks on your friends and family.
Our family walks past this mantle probably a hundred times per day with a mirror hanging over it and built-in cabinets underneath with a television and audio-video equipment and I figured they wouldn't be pay much attention if I tried to pull off the Best Buy Geek Squad's "Mirror Mirror" prank. So I followed the directions in the video below by swapping out the mirror over our living room mantle with the flat screen television I have stashed in my basement workout area while my wife and kids were out doing some errands. I grabbed an old Halloween monster mask and recorded myself jumping as if I would be coming out of the mirror yelling BOO!!! Then I edited the video on my PC and burned it to a DVD. I connected the DVD to the television which was hidden by a sheet of two-way mirror film and hoped my family wouldn't notice the extra cords dangling about. Since we already has some A/V cords wrapped around some shelves and the mantle they really did blend in unless you were really paying attention.
When my wife and kids arrived home they went upstairs to put some things away and I grabbed the DVD and TV remote controls to get ready for my prank! I hid by the stairway entrance to our living room and as I heard steps coming down I flipped on the video just as the person approached then jumped out with my camera to record the moment. I snapped a picture just as my son began to howl out a cry of fright! Ooops! thought it was going to be my wife walking into the room first and I felt bad about scaring my son. He started laughing though once he realized it was a prank and started begging that we do it on my wife and daughter too. I let him work the remote controls when we heard them walking down the stairs. Oh the family fun you can have at Halloween!
While scaring friends and family at Halloween can be a real treat - even more fun is being able to show your "victims" how ridiculous they looked at the moment you've terrified them. Taking a photo can be a nice present to preserve their memory of this Halloween prank or if you are more devilish it can be a way to blackmail someone who wants to avoid having their embarrassing freaked out face show up all over social media. BEST BUY has some great tips on how to really do a great job of recording your prank so there are images to share.
So are there any Halloween pranks you've wanted to do but haven't had the know how to pull them off. BEST BUY can supply technology now that makes pranks that my have seemed beyond the realm of possibility in the past a reality now. CLICK HERE for BEST BUY's full list of high-tech pranks you can do for a high-scare Halloween. BOO-HA-HA-HA!!!!
My 5 year old son had been sneaking out of his room after bedtime and
slipping into bed with my wife and I in the middle of the night lately. To help alleviate the problem we gave the Mighty Lion from Dream Team Pets a try to see if that might help him stay asleep throughout the
night in his own room. My son really enjoys watching Detroit Lions games with me so we thought that was the best selection out of the Dream Team Pets line-up which includes a playful puppy, magical cat and the mighty lion. These aren't just toys though they are part of a program that is aimed to help children sleep through the night in their own rooms.
The way the program works is you explain to your child that they are supposed to train their Dream Team Pet to sleep through the night without running into mom and dad's room. You are provided with a book to read together with your child and their new pet that explains how they need to work together to sleep through the night. It also advises that the pet is strong and brave enough to scare off any monsters that might be creeping around in the night. A certificate is provided with star stickers to place on it each night they sleep through the night together. Parents are supposed to fill out the Certificate of Achievement and present it to the child and their Dream Team Pet when they've earned enough stickers to demonstrate they've slept alone in their room for ten nights. The goal is that by the tenth night it has become a routine that will become the child's regular behavior.
We've personally had some decent results with the program and while I can't say yet it has eliminated the problem there has been a noticeable improvement. My son takes a great deal of pride and is really excited when he earns a sticker. The Mighty Lions has also become one of my son's best pals, not just at bedtime but all day long.
A Geek Daddy Blog readers receive a 30% off discount on Dream Team Pets from Amazon.com if you use the promo code: USFGUIDE. CLICK HERE to pick one out for your child.
The only problem we had with the Dream Team Pets was that I didn't pre-screen the bedtime reading book before I started reading it to my son. It really has a focus on the pet scaring away monsters that may lurk under the bed, in the closet or in a child's dreams. I didn't really appreciate that because "monsters" weren't an issue until this book made him think about them and it really highlighted a scary aspect of sleeping alone. So it actually created somewhat of a new problem for us for a few nights. He soon forgot about the monsters as I didn't read the book again and made up my own stories about not being scared at night that tied into his sleeping with his new buddy the Mighty Lion. Now if monsters are an issue for your child it is a nice little book to read to them but in our case my son was mostly scared about being alone in the dark. I felt the book could have highlighted other issues beyond being scared
of monsters to address childhood fears of sleeping through the night. So I'd just recommend reading the book by yourself before reading it to your child to see if it is a good fit for your particular situation.
The Dream Team Pets provided us with a structured child sleep training program so my wife and I didn't need to create our own ad hoc solution to a problem. Since he's been excited every morning to get his special sticker, has developed a bond with his toy, and most importantly slept through the night in his very own bed the last five nights, this product gets A Geek Daddy nod of approval.
At $19.99 Dream Team Pets are a reasonably priced option to assist with getting your child to sleep on their own through the night. Plus you can get an additional 30% off by using the promo code USFGUIDE and purchasing through Amazon.com.
DISCLAIMER: the story about my son not sleeping through
the night is true and the opinions are my own. A Geek Daddy Blog did not receive financial compensation for
this post but did receive a complimentary Dream Team Pet for reviewing the product on this blog through the U.S. Family Guide Blogger Program. A positive review was not required for our participation in this marketing campaign.
DC Comics is going LEGO in November! Twenty-two of its comic book titles will have variant LEGO covers in addition to the standard print versions of the edition that month. Why? Well it could be that DC likes to create multiple cover art variants to encourage more collectors to buy additional issues each month. It could be that DC knows that LEGOs are cool and a hot property right now with Millennials and a tie-in would help increase attention with young consumers who the industry really needs to increase sales with . The correct answer though is that a new video game LEGO BATMAN 3: BEYOND GOTHAM is being released in November and DC is looking to help promote its sale through these comic book covers.
So if you want to see your favorite characters LEGOized stop by your local comic book store in November to check them out. Note the covers will feature the LEGO artwork but the actually comic book stories will be the traditional portrayal of the characters.
Monthly variant themes is becoming a trend for DC Comics. In July the publisher featured 75 variant covers across its titles to celebrate Batman's 75th anniversary; August has a "Selfie" photo theme; in September they will have 3-D motion covers with a Futures End theme; and in October they are going with a Halloween theme and will have Monster variations for a number of its titles (check out one of the Monster covers below). Than it is LEGO in November. Enjoying the artwork on covers is a favorite part of my collecting...you just have to be disciplined and not buy too many issues just for multiple covers but rather just pick up the ones you really like. Most of these variants won't be worth anything to sell as collectibles so you need to purchase them for your personal enjoyment; but I'll also note having a collection filled with interesting covers makes the hobby a whole lot more fun in my opinion.
The
last few nights we’ve been struggling with a little boy who hasn’t want to go
to bed because he’s afraid there are monsters in his closet. We’ve been explaining to him that monsters
are just fun creatures made up in stories like Elmo and Telly in Sesame Street or Henry in Disney’s new Henry Hugglemonster.
Our hope had been that he’d associate monsters with fuzzy funny
characters that he might dream about versus creepy crawlies that would give him
nightmares making it easier for us to
get him to let us turn his bedroom light off and allow everyone in the family
to get back to getting a good night’s rest.
Then as we were in the middle of the “monster in the closet” problem
with our son the Boston Marathon bombing occurred. The horrific incident that occurred on April
15th in Boston made me think that while it was important for me to
have my son understand that while the “Where the Wild Things Are” type monsters
are fantasy creations that he also beware that our world is filled with some
very real “monsters”.
In
one of the most famous newspaper editorials of all time, Francis Pharcellus
Church tells 8 year old Virginia O’Hanlon in the September 21, 1897 edition ofthe New York Sun that “Yes Virginia , there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity
and devotion exist …. “ Unfortunately, in that same context I have to
say that there are monsters and they are very real. They may not have horns, or fangs, or claws
and may look just look like an average person like you or I look in the mirror,
but as long as there are people who are willing to inflict harm or kill others
without remorse than monsters truly exist in our world.
I
remember as a child myself how our community was filled with terror as parents
warned us never to talk to strangers and stay close to home as the Oakland
County Child Killer abducted, molested and murdered four children during a 13
month period. The other big danger of my youth, that looking
back appears to be more of an urban myth than a reality, but lead to real
hysteria in the town I grew up in was the fear of monsters putting razor blades
and other metal objects in Halloween candy.
I remember anxiously standing in long lines waiting for the police to x-ray
and run my trick-or-treat candy through a metal detector before I could dig
into it. Looking at that now not very
sure how safe eating that irradiated candy might have been but I’m glad my
parents cared enough to want to safeguard me by going through the effort. These were terrible things for parents to
have to safeguard their children from but at least there were reasonable
precautions that could be taken that could give responsible families reasonable
assurances of safety.
As
a parent now, I look at the horrific tragedies that have occurred in just the
last few months: 12 people killed & 58 injured in a movie theater shooting
near Denver; a mass murder at an elementary school in Connecticut that killed
20 kindergarteners and six teachers; 3 killed and more than a hundred people
wounded at the Boston Marathon. How do
you educate your children that while there aren’t monsters lurking in their
closet they could very well be lurking in your neighborhood without scaring the
hell out of them to the point they never want to leave your house again?
In
this post 911 world we live in an era
that there are dangers that are out of our control to avoid, but what is under
our control is whether or not we continue to live our lives as we wish or
shelter ourselves away in fear.Also it
is important to remember that despite all the attention horrible crimes receive
it is still far more likely that your family will be victimized by a pedophile or
drunk driver than a terrorist or mass murderer.So my goal as a parent is to make sure that my kids live the life they
want to lead by making sure they understand there are “monsters” among us and
you need not be afraid but you do need to be vigilant all the time to possible
dangers.It appears that the steps that
my parents took to protect me are still the right actions in today’s era:
promote an understanding of “stranger danger”, make sure your child respects
their body not allowing “bad touching”, and that you are actively involved with
your child keeping tabs on where they are and what they are up to.
According
to the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), the best way parents can
protect their children is to teach them to be wary of potentially dangerous
situations so they are prepared to deal with strangers as well as known adults
who may not have good intentions. What
else can a parent do, here are a few more tips from the NCPC:
·Know where your children are at
all times. Make it a rule that your
children must ask permission or check in with you before going anywhere. Give
your children your work and cell phone numbers so they can reach you at all
times.
·Point out safe places. Show your children safe places to play, safe roads and paths to
take, and safe places to go if there’s trouble.
·Teach children to trust their
instincts. Explain that if they ever
feel scared or uncomfortable, they should get away as fast as they can and tell
an adult. Tell them that sometimes adults they know may make them feel
uncomfortable, and they should still get away as fast as possible and tell
another adult what happened. Reassure children that you will help them when
they need it.
·Teach your children to be
assertive. Make sure they know that
it’s okay to say no to an adult and to run away from adults in dangerous
situations.
·Encourage your children to play
with others. There’s safety in numbers!
For more
tips and information from the NCPC on helping your children be prepared for
dangerous situations and emergencies visit, www.ncpc.org/topics
Also keep
mind that news coverage of traumatic events like the Boston Marathon Bombing can
cause distress to children and impact them as if they were a part of the
tragedy. The DART CENTER FOR JOURNALISM& TRAUMA has researched the topic and found that children are attentive to media
coverage of mass tragedies and the negative impact that results from this
viewing consumption is a vital public health concern. The New York
City Health Department has issued a warning that repeated viewing of media
reports of traumatic events can upset and negatively impact children.They have provided a chart on how media
reports are seen through the eyes of children:
Ages 6 & Younger
Believe what
they are seeing is happening LIVE while they are watching it;
They believe
the traumatic event is happening over and over again when they see repeated
images of it;
Find images
of people suffering, crying or being attacked very upsetting
Ages 7 – 10
Understand
news is made up of reports of things that have already happened;
Find disturbing
media images upsetting;
May become
anxious for their own and their family’s safety
Age 13 & Older
Can be
scared and horrified as the same things as younger children;
They can
become deeply worried and anxious about their own safety and that of their family;
They want to
know why the bad things they see on TV are happening
Obviously
depending on a child’s age exposure to media coverage of violent events should
be limited. If they are watching this
type of media than watch it together with them and explain what is
happening. Here are a few tips to keep
in mind from the New York Health Department:
Make sure
they understand that while the images may be shown repeatedly, what they are
seeing only happened once.
Tell them
only as much as they really are mature enough for in a way they can understand.
Answer their questions and correct any
misunderstandings about the event being show on the news.
Be aware of
their fears and assure them that they are safe.
Explain to
them that the news is often about bad things, but most people are good.
I also found
some great tips online from psychologists at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas:
• Limit media coverage: It is
important that children are not unnecessarily exposed to media coverage of
these events. There is nothing to be gained from letting a child watch news
coverage of the aftermath of the shootings. Older children may be interested
and it may be appropriate to allow them some exposure; however, parents should
watch with their children to be ready for questions and discussion. Younger
children should not have any exposure to media coverage of these events.
Naturally, even young children may gain information through peers or a chance
exposure to TV news, so parents must be aware of this and be ready to help the
children process this information.
• Be
calm: Adults must model a sense of calm and reassurance for children,
monitoring their own reaction, anxiety and outrage about the shooting.
• Reassure
them: Some children may need more ongoing reassurance about their safety. It
can be helpful for parents to point out steps that are being taken to help ensure
a child's safety at school.
• Answer
their questions: As questions arise, tell children the truth in a
developmentally appropriate manner. Answer only the specific questions the
child asked in a factual manner. It is critical not to speculate or overwhelm
the child with more information than they are seeking. It is equally important
that parents not close discussion of the topic — letting children ask questions
and express their anxieties can help them cope.
• Accept their reactions: Do
not dictate a reaction to a child or dismiss his reaction. Children should be
told that feelings of uncertainty, fear or anxiety are normal reactions to
events like this. Don’t necessarily expect children to open up and give their
feelings on demand; rather, be cognizant of signs and symptoms of anxiety and
stress so that they are prepared to let their children express their feelings
according to the child's timeline.
• Maintain
normal routines: Maintain a sense of normalcy at home and at school by staying
with normal routines for meals, homework and bed time. Understand that children
struggling with anxiety and stress may have difficulty completing schoolwork or
have difficulty falling asleep at night. At the same time, it’s important not
to be overly rigid about the routines; rather, try to maintain the normal
schedule to provide children with a sense of predictability and security.
• Watch
for vulnerability: Some children are by nature more vulnerable to periods of
stress and anxiety. Parents and teachers must be aware of children who may be
more vulnerable. Children who have experienced a previous traumatic event,
personal loss, significant life change, or who experienced mental illness are
particularly at risk for having trouble coping with such an event. Similarly, children
who don’t have a strong support system – network of friends and family – may be
more vulnerable and in greater need of support.
• Be there: Parents should be
very available to their children following this event. Not only will this
reassure the child, but it also gives parents a good opportunity to monitor the
child's stress level, anxiety and reaction. This is a good time to increase
family time and to model a calm, reassuring and in-charge presence for
children.
• Warning
signs: Parents should be aware of warning signs of high anxiety and fear. These
might include persistent worry about their own safety or the safety of loved
ones, problems falling asleep or other sleep disturbances such as nightmares,
withdrawal from family and friends, excessive clinginess and dependence,
irritability, sadness, or decreased activity, preoccupation with the recent
shootings or ideas of death and violence, agitated behavior or new behavioral
problems and nonspecific physical complaints. Do not hesitate to contact a pediatrician
or mental health professional if you have concerns.
• It can be
empowering for children to have activities to focus their energies on during
times of heightened anxieties. Consider involving children in prayer groups,
church activitie, or volunteer work for community agencies that assist victims
of crime or traumatic events. Younger children can be encouraged to draw
pictures or write cards in support of victims of the shootings or other violent
crimes and traumatic events. This is also a good time to rehearse and reinforce
vigilance and child safety practices as well as home security measures.
As parents
these are difficult topics and challenges for us to address, but the safety and
wellbeing of our kids is our most important responsibility. If you have any tips on talking with your
kids about monsters and taking precautions as a parent to protect your children
please share them with us in the comment section. Good luck and God Bless to everyone dealing
with this subject in their homes!
