Halloween capers:Play traditional games: bob for apples in a basin, hang an apple from some string and get the kids to grab a bite as it swings past, and, at the end of the evening, read a ghost story (by torchlight, of course).
- Sure, your neighbours have a firework display that rivals the new-year celebrations in Beijing, but the budget - and more enjoyable - option is to get heaps of sparklers. A winner for all ages.
- Make your own costumes. Hickeys has the best Halloween-themed fabrics: metres of shiny material with spidery, spooky, golden and fantastically gaudy motifs.
- Have colcannon for dinner. It's traditional to put a few coins in the mix. While you're at it, take a few moments to reminisce about the days when shop-bought bracks were really good - and the ring was was worth winning.
- All those people banging on that the proliferation of pumpkins is a bit "too American" should remember it was Irish immigrants during the Famine who brought the tradition of carving turnips, potatoes or beets to the US. These lanterns, representing the souls of departed loved ones, were placed in windows or set on porches to welcome the deceased.
- Pumpkin carvers should try to keep the competitive urge at bay. A toothy grin and round eyes are quite enough, thank you. If you feel moved to go over the top, check out www.carvingpumpkins.comfor wacky patterns.
- Halloween haunts: while Cork does jazz, Derry goes into carnival mode. See www.derrycity.gov.uk/halloween. - Bernice Harrison
Hail, hail, rock'n'roll
Flag a taxi, add some musicians, drive around London, film the whole shebang and you have yourself a website. The Black Cab Sessions, as they have been called by their creators, Just So Films and fledgling music promoter Hidden Fruit, regularly add new videos - or chapters, as they like to call them - with singers performing intimate impromptu gigs in the back of cabs as they roll around London's streets. Usually they're just armed with guitars, but some performers have squeezed in amps, keyboards, violins and backing singers to boot.
Starting small back in May, by posting a session by the up-and-coming English singer Johnny Flynn on YouTube, they have now launched a website, and the sessions have grown to include an impressive list of performers, from the rising songstress St Vincent and lo-fi New Yorker Jeffrey Lewis to the indie icons Bill Callahan and Daniel Johnston. "One song. One take. One cab," goes the motto of the Black Cab Sessions. Sometimes the simple ideas are the best. www.blackcabsessions.com - Larry Ryan
Sutton Park School, in north Co Dublin, has a brave history, having been founded by a group of parents in 1957 as the first co-educational and multidenominational school in Ireland. It's celebrating its 50th anniversary on November 24th and 25th, and hopes past and present students, parents and teachers will join the party. For more information e-mail 50years@sps.ie.
The best tip to give
When I think about what the Jack & Jill Children's Foundation does I tend to get a lump in my throat, and I'm hoping that the hardened restaurateurs of Ireland, all 3,000 of them, will co-operate with Jack & Jill's brilliantly simple Christmas fundraising appeal.
The idea is that diners will add a euro or two when they call for the "Jack and Jill" at the end of their meal. The money will help the foundation continue its amazing work in supporting severely ill children and their parents, including providing vital respite care. I can't think of a better cause. If a tiny fraction of what is spent nightly in Ireland's restaurants could go towards supporting this initiative it would make a huge difference to what Jack & Jill can do.
Restaurants that want to help - and I can scarcely believe there are any that won't - can log on to www.jackandjill.ieor call 045-894538 for details of how to participate in the Little Ones appeal. The scheme will operate during November and December; a list of participating restaurants will appear on the website in due course.
When I'm reviewing I look for lots of things; one of them is a sense of generosity, and this is a great opportunity to demonstrate that. I would hope that any decent restaurateur will go beyond just offering customers the opportunity to contribute.
And may I suggest that people who have enjoyed eating out during 2007 might consider dispensing with the formalities and just send a cheque for the equivalent of the cost of the best meal they have had this year to the Jack & Jill Foundation, Johnstown Manor, Johnstown, Naas, Co Kildare. - Tom Doorley
Market force
The Avoca shop in Rathcoole, Co Dublin, alongside the N7, has a good farmers' market every Thursday between 11am and 3pm.
A small group of high-quality producers, many of them local, set up temporary shop to offer preserves and jams, home-baked muffins, artisan breads and pastries, and more.
The specialist stalls include Enrico Vallesi's Italian produce, John Beade's meats and Denis Healy's fruit and vegetables - all organic, of course. Sheridans Cheesemongers also takes part, and, for something more exotic, there's a Caribbean food stall. Try to get there early: the best treats are gone in a flash. www.avoca.ie - Eoin Lyons