YIKES! Alternatives....

It's hard to believe how fast time can pass and I don't post. No reason really, busy, lazy, sick, new activities, daily grind...you name it, you choose the reason.

So, that dreaded season of halloween is upon us :( . As I've stated before, we do not celebrate, but to each their own.

Just in case your looking for something safe and different to do with the kids, here are a few SoCal Harvest Festivals going on:

Faith Community Church
West Covina
The Best Festival
10/31/10
www.go2faith.com

Cornerstone
Anaheim Hills
Harvest Fest
10/31/10
www.mycornerstoneconnection.com

Knott Avenue Christian Church
Anaheim
Mega Night
10/29/10
http://www.kacc.com

Companerismo Cristiano Forsquare
Downey
Harvest Festival
10/31/10
www.companerismo.org

Sea Coast Grace
Cypress
Trunk or Treat
10/31/10
www.seacoastgrace.org/

First Baptist Church
Downey
Trunk or Treat
10/31/10
www.fbcdowney.com

Saddleback Church
Lake Forest
Blocktober
10/31/10
www.saddleback.com

Florence Avenue Four Square
Sante Fe Springs
Harvest Fest
10/31/10
http://www.fafc.org/

Calvary Chapel
Fullerton
Harvest Fest
10/31/10
www.calvaryfullerton.org/

Abundant Hope Christian Center
Downey
Harvest Hoedown
10/31/10
www.abundanthopechristiancenter.com

Trinity United Presbyterian
Santa Ana
Fall Festival
10/31/10
www.trinityconnection.com/

Faith Community Church of the Nazarene
Yorba Linda
Harvest Shindig
10/27/10
http://www.fcnaz.org/Faith_Community.html

Brea Olinda Friends Church
Brea
Fall Feast
10/31/10
http://brea-olindafriends.weebly.com/calendar.html

Yorba Linda Friends Church
Yorba Linda
Family Fun Fest
10/31/10
http://ylfc.org

Mission Viejo Christian Church
Mission Viejo
Harvest Festival
10/31/10
http://mvcchome.org/

Our Savior Lutheran Church
Arcadia
Harvest Fest
10/31/10
www.oslcarcadia.com

Hillside Community Church
Rowland Heights
Harvest Festival
10/31/10
www.churchofthenazarene.org

Calvary Chapel
Downey
Fear Not Fest
10/31/10
http://www.ccdowney.com/home/

St. Stephen's of the Valley Lutheran
Palmdale
Harvest Festival
10/31/10
http://www.ssov.org/

Taft Avenue Community Church
Orange
Family Fall Festival
10/31/10
http://www.taftavenue.org/

A Calvary Chapel BendiZion Ministry
Sylmar
Sylmar's Harvest Festival
10/31/10
www.bendizion.com

College Ave. Church of the Nazerene
Whittier
Trunk or Treat
10/31/10
http://www.cacnaz.org/

The Garden Church
Chatsworth
Carnival Fair
10/31/10
www.TheGarden.cc

Wilshire Avenue Community
Fullerton
Trunk of Treat
10/31/10
www.wilshireave.com

Compass Church
Laguna Niguel
Fall Feast
10/31/10
http://www.compasschurch.org/

Christian Mission Church
27812 Forbes Rd. Laguna Niguel
Harvest Festival
10/31/10
more info 949-212-1025

Calvary Chapel Chino ValleyTrunk or Treat 6:30pm
12205 Pipeline Ave
Chino, CA 91710
http://calvaryccv.org

Light The Night Halloween Alternative
Free candy, free train rides, carnival games for the preschoolers and elementary age kids and more!
Date: Sunday October 31 2010
Time: 5pm to 8pm
Venue: Calvary Chapel Bakersfield
Address: 6501 Schirra Court
City: Bakersfield State:CA Zip:93313
Phone: 661-397-6000
Website: www.westbrook.org

Out of Darkness
Music, food, games, and more.
Date: Sunday October 31 2010
Time: 3:30pm to 9pm
Venue: Calvary Pico Rivera
Address: 8110 Paramount Blvd.
City: Pico Rivera State:CA Zip:90660
Phone: 562-777-5134
Website: www.CalvaryPicoRivera.org

Fall Harvest Night 2010
An evening of food, Biblical-based games, and worship music.
Date: Sunday October 31 2010
Time: 5pm to 9pm
Venue: Calvary Chapel Monrovia
Address: 123 West Pomona Avenue
City: Monrovia State:CA Zip:91016
Phone: 626-359-5116
Website:

Harvest Night
Games, bounces houses, contests and prizes, food, music and more.
Date: Sunday October 31 2010
Time: 6pm to 9pm
Venue: Calvary Chapel Perris Valley
Address: 3060 Barrett Avenue
City: Perris State:CA Zip:92571
Phone: 951-943-5979
Website: www.CCperrisValley.com

The Country Bumpkin Family Fair
Petting zoo, bounce house, candy, face painting, arts and crafts, games and more.
Date: Sunday October 31 2010
Time: 4:30om to 7:30pm
Venue: Homeschool Campus OC
Address: 2987 Mesa Verde Drive
City: Costa Mesa State:CA Zip:92626
Phone: 714-549-0530
Website: www.HomeSchoolCampusOC.com

High Seas Adventure
Halloween Alternative event.
Date: Sunday October 31 2010
Time: 6pm to 9pm
Venue: Refuge
Address: 7800 Edinger Avenue
City: Huntington Beach State:CA Zip:
Phone: 714-891-9495
Website: www.RefugeFamily.com

Hallelujah Carnival
Free games, train rides, candy and much more!
Date: Sunday October 31 2010
Time: 6pm to 8pm
Venue: Oasis Community Church
Address: 23750 Alessandro Blvd.
City: Moreno Valley State:CA Zip:92553
Phone: 951-653-0737
Website: www.OasisChurchMV.com

Harvest Festival
Music, food, games, prizes and more.
Date: Sunday October 31 2010
Time: 5:30pm to 8:30pm
Venue: Christian Mission Church
Address: 27812 Forbes Road, Suite A

Sorry for any duplicates!

Enjoy and give God the glory in all that you do!
City: Laguna Niguel State:CA Zip:92677
Phone: 949-212-1025
Website: www.cmcnow.org

Celebrating Fall

As Christian's we do not celebrate Halloween. It's a personal choice but there is so much to Fall besides the ghosts and goblins and the harvest season is upon us once again; a time for celebrating the bounty brought forth from God and a time of wonder amidst the beauty and charm of autumn!

Fall Harvest Carnival Theme Ideas:.
Pumpkin Seed Toss - Number and line up 5 small baskets or crates; then have the children stand 3 feet in front of the first crate and toss seeds into the crates in sequence. Small prizes can be given for each of the crates they get their seeds in.
Corn Husking Race - Give each child 4 ears of unhusked corn and race to see who can have all of their corn husked first.
Pumpkin Walk - This is like a regular cake walk except instead of numbers, place pictures of several fall items on the floor for the children to walk on and call out the names of the items instead of numbers. Use fall themed music such as "Turkey In The Straw" or "Jimmy Cracked Corn".
Floating Pumpkins - Number the bottom of the small gourds that look like miniature pumpkins and float them in water for the children to choose one for small prizes.
Picking Apples - A regular sucker pull can become "Apple Picking." Make a large apple tree with lots of red apples out of construction paper; then connect the tree to some peg board. Mark the tips of the handles on only a few carmel apple suckers then poke them through the peg board holes; poke several unmarked suckers around the marked suckers; then let the kids pick an apple. Have prizes ready for those who get the marked suckers, but everyone gets to keep the sucker they pulled.
Musical Bales - Play musical chairs with bales of straw instead of chairs. A scarecrow in the center makes a fun decoration for this game.
The Squirrel Game - Let the kids pretend they are squirrels gathering nuts for the winter. Give each of the kids a small paper bag, then toss out several unshelled nuts onto the floor and let the kids race to see who can collect the most. Older and younger children should be separated for this game. Another way to play this game, (if you have a way to corral a large quantity of leaves) is to hide nuts beneath a large pile of leaves and give the kids a set amount of time to find as many nuts as they can.
Turkey In The Straw - Fill a wading pool with straw and hide a small picture of a turkey in it for groups to dig through to see who can find it first.
Pumpkin Race - Set up starting and finish lines and have the children race to see who can get their pumpkin over the finish line first using only their feet to slide the pumpkins along. Scarecrow Relay - This game is a little messy, but a whole lot of fun! Divide the children into two equal groups and have each group form a line. Provide identical scarecrow costumes for each group consisting of a pair of bib overalls or an old faded pair of jeans with a rope for a belt, a flannel shirt, a straw hat, & a basket of straw or the softer version of straw like material that is sold in craft stores. The first person in line is to put the scarecrow costume on over their clothes and stuff the straw under their hats and inside the flannel shirt or bib overalls. Once they are completely dressed they must go to the end of their line, remove the straw & costume and pass the items as they are removed up through the line to the person at the front of the line. When the last player has finished passing up the pieces to the costume, have the first person in line lay the complete costume out on the floor in front of the line. The group that finishes first is the winner.

Decor can include grape vines, pumpkins, leaves in greens, browns and oranges - let your mind wander and go outside and look around for even more ideas!