‘Tis the season for making lists and checking them twice.

But it’s time for all you gifters to double-check toys for tots this Christmas and Hanukkah season.

An astounding one third of the most popular 1,500 children’s toys contain toxic chemicals like lead, arsenic, mercury, bromine, cadmium, and others.

This from an article on Forbes.com:

On Feb. 10, 2009, a new federal law — the Consumer Product Safety Modernization Act — will set new limits on the amount of arsenic, cadmium, mercury, lead and other potentially unsafe chemicals allowed in children’s products. The new legal limit for cadmium in children’s products will be 75 parts per million, arsenic will be 25 ppm, mercury will be 60 ppm and lead will be 600 ppm. Based on these limits and related safety standards limiting bromine levels to 1000 ppm, the Ecology Center generated its list of the year’s “worst toys,” which includes, but doesn’t rank, the toys with highest levels of lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury or bromide.

Check here and here for some of the most popular toxic toys.

These toxic chemicals wreak havoc on our children. Read more about chemicals of concern.

Go to HealthyToys.org to test whether your child’s toys are safe, take action by contacting your Federal representative or by signing a petition for safe toys sent to manufacturers!

Last-minute shopping? Go for green toys at Earth Smart Games, GreenToys.com and Amazon.com. Check out more green toys at A Child Grows In Brooklyn.

Our friends at Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance pass along this Bay Ridge Halloween affair:

“Halloween Walk & Fairytale Forest”
Friday, October 31, 2008
Owl’s Head Park in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn (68th & Colonial Road)

It is sponsored by State Senator Marty Golden & other local businesses and proceeds go to the CERT1NYC team

Haunted Walk is from 4:30pm -8pm
Costume Contest 6pm to 7pm

Dracula’s Food Court is open from 3:30pm-8pm
FREE
Haunted Walk
Fairytale Forest
Trick-or-treat Trail
Pumpkin Patch
Costume Contest
Magic Show
Plus Surprises!!

For information call: 718-238-6044
“A safe alternative to Trick-or-Treating!”

A couple more favs:

FORT GREENE: HABANA OUTPOST’S ECO-FRIENDLY HAUNTED HOUSE
October 25th, 26th and 27th
Habana Works is teaming up with The Green School to design a completely “green” haunted house. It’s free fun for kids of all ages. 2-7pm. After a scare in the haunted house, give back to people in need and give blood to the New York Blood Center for a blood drive on Saturday, October 25th 12- 5:30pm
Habana Outpost
757 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
ecoeatery.com

CROWN HEIGHTS: BROOKLYN CHILDREN’S MUSEUM’S MONSTER MASH
October 31, 2:30-4:30PM, under age 5
October 31, 5:00-6:00pm, for all ages
Touch slithery snakes, get your face painted, and hear spooky stories. Come in a costume, if you like. This is the Brooklyn Children’s Museum’s first Halloween since its big makeover, and the 109-year-old institution is showing off the renovated space with a big celebration. From 2:30 to 4:30pm, tots under age five can enjoy face painting, trick-or-treat-bag decorating, Halloween storytelling and a disco sing-along. Starting at 5pm, tykes ages five and up can listen to frightening tales, touch slithery snakes and groove to Afro-Cuban music. There’s no costume contest, but kids are welcome to come all dolled up nonetheless.
Brooklyn Children’s Museum
145 Brooklyn Avenue, Brooklyn
brooklynkids.org

Many thanks to A Child Grows In Brooklyn for those two listings.

Make sure and check out the city’s two best web pages for this year’s Halloween festivities: the Halloween Events post over at A Child Grows… and the Halloween Happenings In Parks page at NYC Parks & Rec website.