There is a reason that many kids say that Halloween is their favorite holiday and it’s not just because of all the candy. Halloween is a wonderfully creative event that lets all of us indulge our imaginations and have fun with the scarier, ickier side of life. Take advantage of the spirit of Halloween to have some creative fun with your kids!
Find a Costume that Does Double Duty
Why limit costumes to just Halloween? Look for costumes that your child can incorporate into his or her fantasy play all year long. While costumes based on popular characters are fine, you’ll get more play value from costumes that allow your child the inject their own personality into their pretend play. Have fun getting into character with your child and playing pretend games, such as fire rescue team, animal hospital, enchanted forest and super hero squad. Don’t worry about “spoiling” the holiday by letting your child wear their costume early, most children will have even more fun trick-or-treating as a character that they’ve “rehearsed”!
Make Your Own Decorations
Instead of shelling out money for store-bought decorations, why not turn it into a crafts project for the whole family? You can make bats, spiders, ghosts, mummies and a host of other spooky characters out of easy to find household items. A quick web search for “Halloween crafts” will yield a wealth of ideas that you can adapt to suit your family’s taste, materials on hand and your child’s ability. While most children can’t handle knives safely for pumpkin carving, they can still create their own jack-o-lanterns using paint or by sticking in objects Mr. Pumpkinhead-style.
Get to Know Your Neighborhood
An unfortunate side effect of our busy modern lives is that many of us no longer know our neighbors and neighborhoods as well as we used to. Remedy that by devoting one or more afternoons this October to taking walking tours with your child around your neighborhood to see all of the wonderful decorations! Take a minute to greet and speak to any neighbors you see to model good social skills to your child. You can even help your child make somebody’s day by writing short notes to the homeowners of particularly well-decorated homes expressing their admiration and delight.
Have a Monster Dance Party
Make a playlist of classic Halloween music such as “The Monster Mash”, “One-Eyed, One-Horned Flying Purple People Eater” and “Ghostbusters”, clear some space for a dance-floor and let everyone get all of their wiggles out. For added fun, you can videotape the festivities so that distant family members and friends can enjoy your dance moves, too! (Be prepared for your kids to want to watch it over and over)
You can use a online music service such as Spotify to find free playlists of kid-friendly Halloween music or borrow kid’s music CDs from your local library.
Turn Ordinary Candy into Something Extraordinary
The morning after Halloween, many parents are left wondering how on earth they’ll get rid of all their kid’s loot. Instead of doling it out piece by piece, get creative and find ways to incorporate it into delicious baked goods or decorations for Thanksgiving and Christmas. You can find many recipes for Halloween candy cakes, cupcakes, brownies and more online. There are also templates and instructions for building gingerbread houses, candy wreaths and more that can be constructed using Halloween candy.
Go Ahead and Smash Those Pumpkins
There is nothing more wonderful to most children than getting the chance to throw an old jack-o-lantern off a balcony or launch it from a homemade catapult. Do take care to do it safely and involve your children in the clean-up, but don’t worry too much about giving them the wrong message by letting them do something so destructively messy once a year. Kids love the chance to do something that would normally be considered “naughty” with their parent’s permission!
Note: Some smaller or more sensitive children can be upset by this kind of activity. Use your best judgment and if surprise tears occur, comfort your child but don’t worry too much about scarring them for life. As long as you handle the situation with sensitivity and respect for their feelings, they will be fine.
Have a ghoulishly good time this Halloween with your children and enjoy the memories for decades to come!
Authors Jacob and Carol Maslow are the proud parents of five preteen children who have learned from experience that real toys don’t require batteries. Carol works as a therapist, specializing in integrating developmentally delayed preschoolers with their classmates. Jacob works at online retailer Today’s Concept, where parents can find the classic Melissa and Doug Toys.