With Halloween just 4 weeks away, here are some tips to help you prepare.

If you are hosting a Halloween party, your invitations need to go out this week. You also need to finalize your menu and decoration plans. If you plan any games or contests, organize them (and their prizes) as well. Develop your schedule for cleaning, decorating, cooking, etc.

Decide when your willpower will allow you to buy the treats you'll hand out. For some people, that may be on the way home from work on the 31st. You know what works for you.

If you decorate the house for Halloween, this week is a great time to get your decorations out of storage and check them out (though, of course, you made sure they were in good repair before your stored them last year — right?) The upcoming long weekend may afford time to decorate, weather permitting.

It's also time for you and your little ones to make costume plans. You don't want to spend the morning of the Halloween party sewing and gluing pieces together. Making the final choice now gives you the best selection of costumes and accessories and time to make the things that need to be made.

I have to admit that Halloween is a relative low-key event in my celebration calendar. Typically, I limit myself to eating takeout pizza while I hand out treats. But if you go big, make sure of two things: 1) That the expenses were part of your overall holiday budget and 2) That you plan ahead and pace yourself so that the celebration is not just one more source of stress.