Family Traditions: Halloween

Halloween is one of those holidays that you either do or you don’t.  In the case of my family, we do!  We are not into the darker side of this holiday…only the fun!  There will be no witches, vampires or zombies in my camp. Sign us up for the treats, fun activities and cool costumes!!

Okay…so if I’m being completely honest, by the time I get all three of my children all geared up and ready for their big costume reveal, I have no desire to dress up myself.  Booooo…boring Mommy!!  I know that they would love for me to join in on the fun, but I never really got to dress up when I was a kid so it’s just not my thing.  #Halloweengoals…to one day get my entire family to dress up in a coordinated costume set!  My kids would just explode from the excitement of that moment.

Our typical Halloween is pretty much stress-free.  My 8-year old daughters have a September birthday, so each year, I start asking them over the summer what character they want to be for Halloween.  Most of the time, I surprise them with their costumes in their birthday gift pile, but sometimes they still aren’t sure so we go to the costume stores as a family.  Purchasing or creating DIY costumes by the first week of September is a great way to not be running from store to store stressed about empty shelves or paying outrageous shipping costs to expedite items from online stores.

Halloween tends to fall on school nights, so I lay out all costume pieces and accessories where they can see them when they first walk in from school.  We speed through homework and a snack, and then the fun starts.  If there is make-up to be done, that is the first step since it takes the longest.  Next, we do our hair in such a way as to accommodate our costume.  Many times, at least one of them has a head-piece to wear and my girls have a lot of hair.  Now it’s time to don our costumes to get ready for the fun.  When Daddy gets home from work, we take pictures (click through a brief 2017 gallery above) and then he sets out to take the kids trick-or-treating.  I stay home to pass out candy to all of the cutie pie candy seekers in our neighborhood.  What makes it even more fun in our neighborhood is that everyone sets up their chairs and candy stations in front of their garages at 6:00pm to make it easier for the kids to get their treats.  This way, you don’t have to navigate all types of yard obstacles to get to the front door or worry about weirdos and barking dogs scaring the kids.  We also get to hang out and have a great time with everyone in the neighborhood.  It’s so much fun!  Lately, since everyone is out front and trick-or-treating goes pretty quickly where we live, we will pick a friend and drive to his or her neighborhood to get even more treats!

After all of the dress-up fun is done, we come home, take off our costumes, eat a decent dinner and have 1-2 treats.  My kids know that collecting treats doesn’t automatically equal eating the treats.  We first go through all of the candy and throw out anything that I think looks suspicious, gross or is going to harm their teeth (jolly ranchers be gone)!  We still try not to have a lot of sugar in our household, so their treats go into a bag with their names on them that remain in the pantry.  For the next 4-5 months, whenever they earn a treat or reward, they have the option to select something from their treat bags.

There are some safety considerations for a fun Halloween night:

1. Choose daylight!  Whenever possible, begin your trick-or-treat trek before the sun goes down.  It’s always safer and even warmer than waiting until later in the evening.  Also, the kids can get to bed sooner!! :o)
2. Wear safety gear!  The accompanying adult or the children (if the costume accommodates) can wear bright, glow-in-the-dark or even reflecting clothing such as a vest or accessories e.g. wristbands, necklaces, shoes, backpacks, etc.
3. Don’t send the kids alone!  There are lots of things that go bump in the night in real life, people.  Even if you feel comfortable in your own neighborhood, it’s better to be safe than sorry.  Always send an adult (18 or older) to accompany your little ghosts and princesses as they collect their treats.
4. Safety-check those treats!  We all know that there have been tragic stories in the past of bad people targeting children with dangerous items in Halloween candy.  Please do a thorough examination of all the loot in those treat bags before allowing your kiddos to partake in their goodies!
5. Watch for children!  If you are driving anywhere on Halloween, please be extra attentive as there will be more pedestrians than normal at any point in your vehicle’s journey.

And last but not least, the more the merrier!!  Host a Halloween party!  Have a Halloween meet-up where you join with a few other families and trick-or-treat together!  Post your pics on social media!!  It’s always a treat for me to see other people’s kiddos and their cool costumes.

Happy Halloween!!