text: Ed Wicks secures plywood over the windows of his business to protect from the high winds of approaching Hurricane Sandy, on Oct. 28, 2012, in Ocean City, N.J. (Photo: Mark Wilson, Getty Images) Story Highlights The Halloween holiday was originally expected to generate about $8 billion in spending this year 
   
   How much the storm will affect Halloween purchases is unclear as cancelations grow 
   
   Stores and pumpkin patches are closing all along the East Coast 
   
   Hurricane Sandy is doing her darndest to wash Halloween down the drain. 
   
   But she's only partially succeeding. 
   
   SANDY'S IMPACT: Travel | Jobs report | Gas | Stocks 
   
   The hurricane has barreled into the East Coast just a few days before the national Halloween celebration was expected to generate upwards of $8 billion in spending coast-to-coast. The good news: Most folks already have purchased what they were planning to buy for Halloween. The bad news: Many East Coast merchants that rely on Halloween day, itself, for a big chunk of business appear to be in trouble. 
   
   "Small businesses relying on last-minute shoppers will get hit," says Kathy Grannis, a spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation. "But the storm is happening on a Monday (and Tuesday) after most consumers got their shopping done." 
   
   Sandy is haunting Halloween by: 
   
   - Soaking celebrations. While the gargantuan New York Greenwich Village Halloween Parade scheduled for Wednesday night hasn't been canceled, the number of viewers and participants is expected to be cut in half, and the city's Halloween-related booty sliced from $90 million to $45 million. "We're going to do it, and everyone will get wet," says artistic producer Jeanne Fleming. "We know it's going to rain on our parade." 
   
   Newlyweds from England Christopher and Ingrid Foott, were to march at the head of the parade on their honeymoon. They e-mailed this cancellation: "We may have lost our honeymoon, but we know that there are people who have and may lose so much more." 
   
   - Draining business. Economy Party & Costumes, a Falls Church, Va., store which is normally teeming with customers the final few days before Halloween, had to close early Monday, and its manager projects the storm could cost the family-owned business up to $50,000 — a big chunk of its 2012 profits. "It's the only time we make a profit the whole year," says manager Shawn Dimitriades. 
   
   - Washing-out takeout. While Halloween is not a huge holiday for eating out, roughly one in five Americans opted for takeout food last Halloween. That number could take a hit this year if the storm or its aftermath forces a number of East Coast restaurants to close, says Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of research at the National Restaurant Association. 
   
   - Pummeling pumpkin patches. Cox Farms pumpkin patch in Centreville, Va., which turns Halloween into a celebration of pumpkin-picking and hayrides closed Monday and planned to close on Tuesday. Reservations for both days were being switched to Wednesday, when the weather is supposed to improve. 
   
   - Drowning fundraisers. The Goodwill Gridiron Halloween Party with the Baltimore Ravens, hosted by Goodwill of the Chesapeake (Va.), has been postponed. It's the group's biggest, annual fundraiser, with proceeds helping job-train people with disabilities. "We're heartbroken about it," says Jonathan Balog, director of marketing. "You can't control the weather." ||||| Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on the East Coast on Monday night, likely driving Halloween far from the minds of those who witnessed its greatest destruction. 
   
   But for families who escaped the worst of Sandy’s wrath, the question of whether Halloween will go ahead as normal -- and how to celebrate in the midst of power outages and debris-filled streets -- remains. 
   
   New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie addressed the issue directly Monday night by tweeting: "If conditions are not safe on Wednesday for Trick or Treating, I will sign an Executive Order rescheduling #Halloween." 
   
   (This story has been updated. Scroll down for new information.) 
   
   Many communities in New Jersey -- and elsewhere -- are already pushing festivities back until this weekend or next week. "It's only 'trick or treat,” Joseph Maturo, the mayor of East Haven, Conn., told the Hartford Courant. "It's not going to hurt anybody to move it to next Wednesday night." (Not everyone agreed; according to WFSB, another Connecticut town’s Facebook page encouraged residents to use “discretion” if necessary, but noted: "The town does not control Halloween.”) 
   
   On HuffPost Parents’s Facebook page, several readers said their towns had already postponed celebrations. Commenters from the Cleveland and Pittsburgh areas said they had planned to trick-or-treat this weekend, while one woman from New Jersey wrote that she was waiting on instructions from local officials: "We'll go out trick-or-treating whenever the town says we can." 
   
   Another commenter from the hard-hit Atlantic City area wrote: "Yep, it's real down here...but at least thinking about something like this keeps the kids' minds on something fun to look forward to instead of everything else going on." 
   
   With schools closed throughout the New York City area for a third day on Wednesday, daytime Halloween activities (like these Halloween parades in Long Island’s East Hampton) have also been cancelled. 
   
   What should parents who do take their children out on Halloween night be worried about? 
   
   In addition to conventional Halloween safety advice (“be mindful of traffic” and “wear bright colors”), the Boston Police Department’s Virtual Community urges trick-or-treaters to “stay away from downed tree limbs and power lines,” avoid neighborhoods with no power and stick with short costumes that won’t get "caught in debris from trees or slippery wet leaves.” (Boston has not postponed Halloween celebrations.) 
   
   In a HuffPost blog, Safe Kids Worldwide CEO Kate Carr said she hopes people in neighborhoods that haven’t been cleaned up yet will think of “safety first”: 
   
   If you're in an area where fallen trees, flooding streets and loose electrical wires threaten to make it difficult or dangerous to trick-or-treat, please don't hesitate to do the smart thing and stay in this Halloween. 
   
   Lenore Skenazy of Free Range Kids, who has railed against the unnecessary paranoia she said she thinks some parents already bring to Halloween, told HuffPost she thought downed power lines were a legitimate concern. "Maybe in the face of the real danger that just passed through, we can finally laugh at the ones that we usually scare ourselves with, like the idea that our neighbors become psychopathic child poisoners one day of the year," Skenazy said over email. "From what I've seen, neighbors are the people who bring food and flashlights, not strychnine." 
   
   Some children may be feeling fearful of trick-or-treating, even if mom and dad aren't. Heading into the spookiest of holidays on the heels of a threatening natural disaster may take a toll on a young person's psyche. 
   
   Jerry Bubrick, senior director of the Child Mind Institute’s Anxiety and Mood Disorders Center, spoke to HuffPost about how to help kids who might be worried about trick-or-treating after the storm. He stressed that it’s important for parents not to seem nervous about going outside, since kids will note anxiety. 
   
   “We should show our kids on the radar maps that [the storm] is gone,” Bubrick said, adding that parents could “show kids that it’s okay by acting as if everything is okay” and trying to return to a normal routine as soon as possible. (It’s a message his 7-year-old daughter, Maya, has internalized; Bubrick said she told him to tell us, “The kids should take a deep breath and just calm down. Everything’s going to be okay.”) 
   
   If you can’t get outside for a conventional evening of trick-or-treating, the Internet is brimming with ideas -- some as simple as setting up an in-home candy hunt. Speaking to WSJ.com's The Juggle before the storm, social worker Catherine Pearlman said: "Halloween doesn’t have to be just trick or treating in the dark. Everyone should get still get dressed up. ... Parents can also put candy in each room and the kids can run around and get it.” On "Good Morning America,” psychologist Janet Taylor suggested the same thing. 
   
   On TODAY, Elizabeth Mayhew told Savannah Guthrie: "The big question is power. Obviously, you're not going to send your kids into a dark neighborhood. … So you need to check with your town, you need to follow the local news, see what's going on.” She told parents to make a "Plan B" -- perhaps getting a group together for "Trunk or Treat" (dispensing candy from the backs of cars) in a local cul-de-sac or making gingerbread house-style structures with extra candy and cardboard boxes. 
   
   Gawker also provided a list of activity suggestions (not all entirely practical). Our favorite: “In addition to having just as many hyphens as trick-or-treat, hide-and-seek is also the most fun game -- play it with your children. This is a particularly good activity if your kids are getting a little loud, because a large part of hide-and-seek is remaining neither seen nor heard.” 
   
   UPDATE: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has signed an executive order postponing Halloween festivities in New Jersey until Nov. 5. Gov. Christie said in a statement: "As Governor, it is my responsibility to use all available resources of the state government to protect against the emergency created by Hurricane Sandy -- postponing Halloween celebrations by five days is a commonsense and necessary step to accomplish that." 
   
   On Wednesday afternoon, he tweeted, "Its just not safe yet to be out trick-or- treating tonight, so Halloween has officially been postponed until Monday," following up with "I better see you all out there on Monday with your costumes on and candy in tow." 
   
   Has Halloween been postponed in your area? If you’re staying inside, what are you planning to do? Let us know in the comments below. ||||| 403 Forbidden 
   
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   GLOUCESTER COUNTY — While most of the adults in the Gloucester County area are worried about tying down outdoor furniture and stocking up for possible power outages as Hurricane Sandy prepares to ravage the county, their children have other concerns. 
   
   The storm has threatened one of kids’ favorite days — Halloween. 
   
   But as kids fret over costume decisions, many municipal officials have made the decision to move Halloween and trick-or-treating to Saturday. 
   
   East Greenwich, Glassboro, Mantua, South Harrison, West Deptford, Westville, Woodbury and Woodbury Heights have all postponed Halloween until the weekend. 
   
   “It just seems to be that after the storm is over, whatever aftermath there will be, it would be less stressful to have Halloween on Saturday,” South Harrison Mayor Jim McCall said. “It’s a really important holiday for the kids but there’s going to be a lot of aftermath and cleanup and we don’t want trick or treaters on the road Wednesday.” 
   
   The remaining 17 municipalities in the county did not make any decisions as of Monday morning, but none of them have ruled out the possibility yet. 
   
   “We haven’t made any decisions at this point. It was a topic of discussion but until we know the full extent of damages from the storm I think it’s a little premature,” Logan Township Mayor Frank Minor said. 
   
   For the towns that have decided to move their trick-or-treating date to Saturday, the curfew times will remain the same as if it were actually Halloween. All children younger than 18 must be off the streets by 8 p.m. 
   
   Full coverage of Hurricane Sandy 
   
   
   
   ||||| A casket floated out of the grave in a cemetery in Crisfield, Md. after the effects of superstorm Sandy Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Hundreds of people were displaced by floodwaters in Ocean City and in Crisfield. At the same time, 2 feet of snow fell in westernmost Garrett County, were nearly three-quarters of residents lost power. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) 
   
   An ambulance is submerged in floodwaters in the wake of superstorm Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Hoboken, N.J. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) 
   
   A vehicle drives on a flooded street in the wake of superstorm Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Hoboken, N.J. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) 
   
   A firehouse is surrounded by floodwaters in the wake of superstorm Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Hoboken, N.J. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) 
   
   A vehicle drives on a flooded street in the wake of superstorm Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Little Ferry, N.J. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) 
   
   An emergency vehicle drives on a flooded street in Little Ferry, N.J. in the wake of superstorm Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) 
   
   An emergency vehicle drives on a flooded street in Little Ferry, N.J. in the wake of superstorm Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) 
   
   Rescue workers help stranded people out of their flooded homes in Seaside Heights, N.J., following the arrival of superstorm Sandy, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) 
   
   Rescue workers help stranded people out of their flooded homes in Seaside Heights, N.J., following the arrival of superstorm Sandy, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) 
   
   A runway at the Teterboro Airport is flooded in the wake of superstorm Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) 
   
   Homes in Bethany Beach, Del. are surrounded by floodwaters from superstorm Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Officials said Bethany and nearby Fenwick Island appeared to be among the hardest-hit parts of the state. (AP Photo/Randall Chase) 
   
   Floodwaters from superstorm Sandy surround homes in South Bethany, Del. Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/The Wilmington News-Journal, Robert Craig) NO SALES 
   
   Floodwaters from superstorm Sandy surround homes in South Bethany, Del. Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/The Wilmington News-Journal, Robert Craig) NO SALES 
   
   Downed power lines and a battered road is what superstorm Sandy left behind as people walk off the flooded Seaside Heights island, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) 
   
   This photo provided by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority shows the South Ferry subway station after it was flooded by seawater during superstorm Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ Metropolitan Transportation Authority) 
   
   Debris litters the beach north of Indian River Inlet in southern Delaware after waves churned up by superstorm Sandy demolished hundreds of yards of beach dunes and left state Route 1, the major north-south coastal highway, covered in sand. (AP Photo/Randall Chase) 
   
   This photo provided by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority shows the South Ferry subway station after it was flooded by seawater during superstorm Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ Metropolitan Transportation Authority) 
   
   This photo provided by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority shows the South Ferry subway station after it was flooded by seawater during superstorm Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ Metropolitan Transportation Authority) 
   
   Streets around a Con Edison substation are flooded as the East River overflows into the Dumbo section of Brooklyn, N.Y., as Sandy moves through the area on Monday, Oct. 29, 2012. After a gigantic wall of water defied elaborate planning and swamped underground electrical equipment at a Consolidated Edison substation in Manhattan's East Village, about 250,000 lower Manhattan customers were left without power. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) 
   
   In this Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, file photo, Consolidated Edision trucks are submerged on 14th Street near the ConEd power plant in New York. After a gigantic wall of water defied elaborate planning and swamped underground electrical equipment at a Consolidated Edison substation in Manhattan's East Village, about 250,000 lower Manhattan customers were left without power. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) 
   
   Downed power lines and a battered road is what superstorm Sandy left behind as people walk off the flooded Seaside Heights island, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) 
   
   This photo taken Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, shows what appear to be transformers exploding after much of lower Manhattan lost power during hurricane Sandy in New York. After a gigantic wall of water defied elaborate planning and swamped underground electrical equipment at a Consolidated Edison substation in Manhattan's East Village, about 250,000 lower Manhattan customers were left without power. (AP Photo/Karly Domb Sadof) 
   
   Peter Andrews removes belongings from his father's beachfront home, destroyed in the aftermath of a storm surge from the superstorm Sandy, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Coney Island's Sea Gate community in New York. Andrews, 40, who was born in the house, said "we had a lot of storms and the only damage in the past was when a national guardsman threw a sandbag through the window." He added, the house was in the process of being sold. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) 
   
   A small shop that rents personal water craft rests in a huge sinkhole on the bayside in Ocean City, N.J. Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 after a storm surge from superstorm Sandy Monday night. (AP Photo/Mel Evans) 
   
   A beachfront house is completely destroyed in the aftermath of a superstorm Sandy, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Coney Island's Sea Gate community in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) 
   
   The entrance to a beachfront house is destroyed in the aftermath of a storm surge from superstorm Sandy, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Coney Island's Sea Gate community in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) 
   
   A second floor closet is exposed in a beachfront house in the aftermath of a storm surge from Hurricane Sandy, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Coney Island's Sea Gate community in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) 
   
   People stop along the Brooklyn waterfront to photograph the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan skyline, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 in New York. Much of lower Manhattan is without electric power following the impact of superstorm Sandy. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) 
   
   Marcus Konner, 22, boards his home in the aftermath of a storm surge from Hurricane Sandy, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Coney Island's Sea Gate community in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) 
   
   People walk through the houses destroyed in the aftermath of yesterday's storm surge from superstorm Sandy, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Coney Island's Sea Gate community in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) 
   
   Carlo Popolano stands outside his beachfront home, damaged in superstorm Sandy, on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Coney Island's Sea Gate community in New York. Popolano said he was watching the storm with his son and "everything was okay until about 7:30 and then one big wave came and washed away our whole backyard." (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) 
   
   A beachfront house is completely destroyed in the aftermath of yesterday's surge from superstorm Sandy, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Coney Island's Sea Gate community in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) 
   
   A backyard is inundated with floodwaters in the aftermath of Sandy, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Lewes, Del. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Randall Chase) 
   
   A car is upended on a mailbox on Surf Avenue in Coney Island, N.Y., in the aftermath of Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Ralph Russo) 
   
   This handout photo provided by NOAA, taken Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, shows post-tropical storm Sandy off the East Coast of the US. Campaign 2012 is rich with images that conjure the seriousness and silliness that unfold side-by-side in any presidential race. Who could have predicted that a superstorm would overshadow and scramble the presidential campaign in its final days? President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney revised and re-revised their campaign schedules as Hurricane Sandy, a most unlikely October surprise, barreled up the East Coast and then roared ashore in New Jersey. (AP Photo/NOAA) 
   
   A parking lot full of yellow cabs is flooded as a result of superstorm Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 in Hoboken, NJ. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes) 
   
   A beachfront house is damaged in the aftermath of yesterday's surge from superstorm Sandy, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Coney Island's Sea Gate community in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) 
   
   A car is upended on a mailbox on Surf Avenue in Coney Island, N.Y., in the aftermath of Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Ralph Russo) 
   
   Damage caused by a fire at Breezy Point is shown Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in New York. A fire department spokesman says more than 190 firefighters are at the blaze in the Breezy Point section. Fire officials say the blaze was reported around 11 p.m. Monday in an area flooded by the superstorm that began sweeping through earlier. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) 
   
   Fire still burns at the scene of a fire in Breezy Point, in the New York City borough of Queens Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in New York. The fire destroyed between 80 and 100 houses Monday night in the flooded neighborhood. More than 190 firefighters have contained the six-alarm blaze fire, but they are still putting out some pockets of fire. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) 
   
   East Coast Begins To Clean Up And Assess Damage From Hurricane Sandy ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - OCTOBER 30: People stand on a mound of construction dirt to vew the area where a 2000-foot section of the 'uptown' boardwalk was destroyed by flooding from Hurricane Sandy on October 30, 2012 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The storm has claimed at least 33 lives in the United States, and has caused massive flooding accross much of the Atlantic seaboard. US President Barack Obama has declared the situation a 'major disaster' for large areas of the US East Coast including New York City. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) 
   
   Homes damaged by a fire at Breezy Point are shown, in the New York City borough of Queens Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in New York. The fire destroyed between 80 and 100 houses Monday night in the flooded neighborhood. More than 190 firefighters have contained the six-alarm blaze fire, but they are still putting out some pockets of fire. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) 
   
   East Coast Begins To Clean Up And Assess Damage From Hurricane Sandy ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - OCTOBER 30: A man walks over debsris where a 2000-foot section of the 'uptown' boardwalk was destroyed by flooding from Hurricane Sandy on October 30, 2012 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The storm has claimed at least 33 lives in the United States, and has caused massive flooding accross much of the Atlantic seaboard. US President Barack Obama has declared the situation a 'major disaster' for large areas of the US East Coast including New York City. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) 
   
   East Coast Begins To Clean Up And Assess Damage From Hurricane Sandy NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 30: Ground Zero is seen on October 30, 2012 in the Financial District of New York, United States. The storm has claimed at least 33 lives in the United States, and has caused massive flooding accross much of the Atlantic seaboard. US President Barack Obama has declared the situation a 'major disaster' for large areas of the US East Coast including New York City. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images) 
   
   US-WEATHER-STORM-SANDY Sailboats rest on the ground after being tipped over by Hurricane Sandy on City Island October 30, 2012 in New York. US President Obama declared New York a disaster area. The death toll from superstorm Sandy has risen to 16 in the mainland United States and Canada, and was expected to climb further as several people were still missing, officials said Tuesday. AFP PHOTO/DON EMMERT (Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images) 
   
   US-WEATHER-STORM-SANDY Boats rest on the ground after floating from their stands at dry dock on City Island , in New York October 30, 2012 following Hurricane Sandy's impact. US President Obama declared New York a disaster area The death toll from superstorm Sandy has risen to 16 in the mainland United States and Canada, and was expected to climb further as several people were still missing, officials said Tuesday. AFP PHOTO/DON EMMERT (Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images) 
   
   Homes destroyed by a fire at Breezy Point are shown, in the New York City borough of Queens Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in New York. The fire destroyed between 80 and 100 houses Monday night in the flooded neighborhood. More than 190 firefighters have contained the six-alarm blaze fire, but they are still putting out some pockets of fire. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) 
   
   US-WEATHER-STORM-SANDY Boats rest on the ground after floating from their stands at dry dock on City Island , in New York October 30, 2012 following Hurricane Sandy's impact. US President Obama declared New York a disaster area The death toll from superstorm Sandy has risen to 16 in the mainland United States and Canada, and was expected to climb further as several people were still missing, officials said Tuesday. AFP PHOTO/DON EMMERT (Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images) 
   
   US-WEATHER-STORM-SANDY Residents look at damage left by Hurricane Sandy on City Island, New York, October 30, 2012. US President Obama declared New York a disaster area The death toll from superstorm Sandy has risen to 16 in the mainland United States and Canada, and was expected to climb further as several people were still missing, officials said Tuesday. AFP PHOTO/DON EMMERT (Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images) 
   
   US-WEATHER-STORM-SANDY Boats rest on the ground after floating from their stands at dry dock on City Island , in New York October 30, 2012 following Hurricane Sandy's impact. US President Obama declared New York a disaster area The death toll from superstorm Sandy has risen to 16 in the mainland United States and Canada, and was expected to climb further as several people were still missing, officials said Tuesday. AFP PHOTO/DON EMMERT (Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images) ||||| FULL COVERAGE: Sandy Hits NJ 
   
   Governor Chris Christie has postponed Halloween until Monday, November 5. 
   
   
   
   Governor Chris Christie at the Regional Operations and Intelligence Center (ROIC) in Ewing. (Governor’s Office/Tim Larsen) 
   
   “I’ve taken this action to minimize additional risks to lives and the public safety as we begin the process of rebuilding and recovering from Hurricane Sandy,” said Governor Christie. “In too many communities in our state, the damage and losses from this storm are still being sorted out, and dangerous conditions abound even as our emergency management and response officials continue their work. As Governor, it is my responsibility to use all available resources of the state government to protect against the emergency created by Hurricane Sandy – postponing Halloween celebrations by five days is a commonsense and necessary step to accomplish that.” 
   
   Surrounded by his children during Monday’s Ask the Governor on Townsquare Media NJ, Christie said he would likely postpone the holiday after seeing the full effects of Sandy around New Jersey. 
   
   The damage sustained from Hurricane Sandy poses a continued threat to public safety in communities across New Jersey due to flooding, fallen trees, downed power lines, roadway closures, and disruptions in electrical service, making it unsafe and imprudent to participate in traditional celebrations, such as trick-or-treat walks. 
   
   Local officials are advised to notify and encourage their communities and residents to delay any planned celebrations until Monday. 
   
   Toms River postponed its annual Halloween parade indefinately.
target: – Now that the worst of Hurricane Sandy is over, we can focus on some important questions like … what happens to Halloween? Don’t worry, Chris Christie is on it: He has now officially postponed Halloween until Monday, citing safety reasons, NJ 101.5 reports. “I can’t imagine that it’s going to be safe for kids to go around for Halloween tomorrow,” the New Jersey governor said yesterday, reports the Star-Ledger. He had earlier tweeted, “If conditions are not safe on Wednesday for Trick or Treating, I will sign an Executive Order rescheduling #Halloween.” That, of course, led to some amused reactions. (“Uh I don’t think it works that way,” reads one reply.) But the storm’s impact on the holiday is undeniable: Christie's not alone: At least eight Jersey cities and towns have postponed trick-or-treating to Saturday, the Star-Ledger reports. Good Morning America and Today both canceled the traditional Halloween specials they had planned for this morning, the Huffington Post reports. Halloween sales, which had been expected to hit $8 billion, will surely see an impact, USA Today reports. "Small businesses relying on last-minute shoppers will get hit," says a National Retail Federation rep. One such small business reports that the storm will cost it as much as $50,000, a good chunk of its profits for the year. Some Halloween events are still happening tonight, like New York’s Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, but the crowds are expected to be much smaller than those of a normal year. Other festivities have been delayed to this weekend or even next, the Huffington Post reports.