Are there any bans on costumes at your child’s school? If you don’t know the answer to this question, you can either contact the school to find out if they have put limitations on acceptable Halloween costumes, or you can play it safe by steering clear of scary costumes altogether. To be on the safe side, stay away from zombie masks and blood-soaked outfits; instead, stick to Star Wars costumes or Disney Halloween costumes.

Some of the parents at the Calgary schools think this ban is a case of “political correctness gone too far,” but the principal of the schools says it is “an attempt by staff to prevent students from wearing costumes inappropriate for young children.” What do you think? Does the principal have a right to tell her students what to wear for Halloween? Or do you think it should be up to parents to decide what Halloween costumes are “appropriate” for their children to wear?

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Zombies might be popular this year because of the runaway success of Walking Dead and of the mainstreaming of zombie fandom in general. While you’re likely to see a lot of zombie costumes this year, they probably won’t be the cultural phenomenon that the Snooki costume was last year. Zombies are fun, but if girls are looking to rock sexy Halloween costumes then zombies certainly won’t be appealing.

Will the Lady Gaga costume keep the streak alive? It was popular the past couple of years, but costumes tied to pop stars never seem to last more than a few years. While you’ll still probably see some this year, it most likely peaked last year.

The Snooki costume might hold on to the crown after all. Jersey Shore remains one of the most popular shows on television and has permeated every part of our culture. When politicians start name dropping Jersey Shore cast members to illustrate points, you know the show has reached critical mass. So don’t be surprised if you see plenty of towering poufs this year when you go out. No one will probably top Ellen Degeneres’ costume last year, though. She actually dressed up as Snooki’s Pouf, rather than Snooki herself.

Do you have a bit of an inner geek streak? Embrace it this year with hot Star Wars costumes. Check out some sexy Princess Leia and Queen Amidala costumes. They’re sure to get a lot of attention.  There’s a good chance you’ll be the only one at the party to have gone with that idea.

Maybe you want sexy Halloween costumes that are an edgy, modern take on more traditional costumes you might see anybody wearing. Sure, witches and vampires were fun when you were younger. That doesn’t mean now that you’re an adult they have to stop being fun. There are all sorts of varieties of sexy witch costumes to choose from.  And the vampire costumes might be even hotter.

You probably didn’t think a referee or private detective would make for sexy Halloween costumes, but those exist too. In the tradition of the beloved police officer costume, more professions have been transformed into eye catching Halloween costumes. Why not try one out this year?

Whatever Halloween costume you choose this year, be sure to do it up. After all, Halloween only comes once a year.

This year, why not take a cue from The Avengers and dress your child up as one of the two lead heroes who just had successful movies of their own come out recently? First, there’s the patriotic super soldier, Captain America. You can find different variations of the costume, ranging from the “classic” look of Captain America’s comic book heyday to the updated modern look that he dons in his latest movie. When looking for a Captain America costume, don’t forget to pick up his iconic shield as well. He’s not Captain America without it.

If your child doesn’t find Captain America too compelling, why not try Iron Man? This invincible, eccentric superhero has seen a resurgence in his popularity since the first Iron Man movie starring Robert Downey Jr. became a smash hit a couple of years ago. Like Captain America, you can get Iron Man costumes in different looks. Some light up (which kids love)and others come with a fake chest accessory (which is always entertaining). See what kind of look your child likes most.

Take a look at The Avengers trailer and see if it sparks your child’s interest.

Everyone knows that one of Halloween’s longest standing traditions is to put out pumpkins and carve up Jack-O-Lanterns, but those in the east may be hard pressed to find a pumpkin. Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee are to thank—or blame—for this particular pumpkin problem. The catastrophic weather conditions caused by the two storm systems have unfortunately wiped out many of the crops throughout the Northeast and on down the East Coast. We all know how integral pumpkins are to Halloween decorations, so it is going to be a real bummer if people in those parts of the countries can’t get their hands on some.

While that bit of bad news might prompt some to run out and buy their pumpkins now that would be a mistake. A large percentage of the crops are rotting and will not survive until October 31st. Before you panic, though, know that the situation isn’t hopeless. Local suppliers are reaching out to states further west, such as Michigan, that were spared from the negative effects of the storms. Many in New England have reached out to growers in the Midwestern and Great Lakes states and placed massive pumpkin orders so that folks back east can complete their Halloween decorations

So just remain patient if you live in the Northeast and avoid the temptation to pick up rotting pumpkins now. With any luck, healthy pumpkin shipments will arrive in time.

If you’re looking for costume ideas we’ve got plenty to help you. There are several interesting new costumes for Halloween 2011 and there are some from last year that are still selling like new.

The final Harry Potter movie has reignited interest in the costumes. New versions have been released and classic harry potter costumes are in high demand for another halloween season.

Conan the Barbarian and Tarzan both have new costumes and accessories to go along with their new movie releases.

The uberpopular Super Mario Brothers costumes had some interesting new additions added to its line. Wario and Waluigi. Super Mario Brothers halloween costumes are available for kids, teens and adults. There’s Mario himself, his brother Luigi, their beloved Princess Peach and the always helpful Toad.

There are several new additions to the very successful Lady Gaga series for women, including one for her hit single Born This Way.

I really think the new Kiss costumes will be super hot. With costumes for all four original members of the iconic metal band for all ages from tots all the way through to full-grown adults.

I’d also say the new Mortal Kombat and Walking Dead costumes are pretty exciting. Mortal Kombot has strong cultural ties for people who were young in the 80′s and 90′s. AMC’s hit zombiepocalypse horror tv series is set to return to the air for its second season soon. Protagonist Sheriff Rick Grimes is a heroic and sentimental character who deftly straddles the line between mortal human and larger than life super hero. And hey, zombies are totally in this Halloween. The undead are making a big comeback!

While hit tv and movie costumes tend to outperform them for the singular year in which they are most popular, the tv and movie stuff fades fast after its initial year of popularity. Food costumes on the other hand are a reliable seller year after year.

Be it some latent desire to actually consume their young or just a quirky fascination with the culinary world in general, food based Halloween costumes for youngsters have been a top performer for over 15 Halloween seasons.

When it comes to dressing themselves up for Halloween though, adults tend more toward the alcohol and pot side of the spectrum. Beer, wine, champagne, vodka, weed, are all popular costumes amongst adults.

So when you’re in the market for your child’s next Halloween costume be sure to check out all the adorable food themed styles available. But remember, even though they look good delicious, children are not for eating. and they’ll give you heartburn.

Maybe I just don’t get the whole green lantern thing. It’s complex and convoluted. Definitely not your typical, mainstream, superman style comic book hero. There are all sorts of aliens and much proprietary mythology involved. I like a good alien, but I prefer my aliens as sentient lifeforms that inhabit our galaxy (ala star trek) over the super-powered muscle bound kind.

Even so, Green Lantern is already in my Netflix queue. Have to see what they do with it.

It could be Batman Begins (Awesome!) or it could be Clash of the Titans (horrible!). Half the fun is in the finding out.

That being said, the costume makers seem to be confident that other musical type sensations will prove just as fruitful.

The Kiss costumes certainly took me by surprise. I mean, Kiss have been around since I was just a wee tot. Kiss costumes have existed for nearly as long. So the mainstream leap was a bit of a shocker. The toddler and kiddie costumes especially so.

However, I believe the psychology is sound. Parents of young children have the luxury of dressing them up any way they want. So all those grown people with children wanted to be Paul Stanley or Peter Criss for Halloween when they were 8 years old, but couldn’t be because their parents didn’t let them, now get to relive that childhood fantasy vicariously through their own offspring. It’s the cycle of life. We have children so the dreams we had dashed can be fulfilled.

The other really interesting one is Fox’s Glee costumes. Big hit tv show. Makes total sense. I’ve only watched Glee once or twice. I love the spontaneous singing. It’s awesome. Of course, I loved Cop Rock too. There’s just something about people bursting into song in the middle of a conversation that really turns me on. Apparently, I’m not the only one.

Still, I can’t finished this post without mentioning the new costume line that just made me stop and think, my god, it’s true, the world really is ending in 2012.

Abba costumes. No, that’s not a typo. The 70′s-80′s pop music phenomenon from Sweden that everyone loves to deride (but they actually secretly love).

I just wonder, even if people do love them, if anyone will have the balls to actually admit it and wear the costumes.