Happy Monday to everyone! Looks like Halloween is just a little more than a week away and I would like to offer some Halloween tips and alternatives if you and your children are not the ghosts, goblins, and ghouls type. Growing up, my mother never allowed me or my 4 siblings to dress up as evil beings for our Halloween affairs. While we were allowed to trick-r-treat and collect candy, the costumes we chose had to be cheerful, creative characters that were the hero/heroines of movies, plays, TV shows or books. Never once were we allowed to dress up as ghosts or witches, nor have any weapons, blood, or violence as a part of our costumes.
Now, your Halloween traditions and rules might be different than my family's, but I would like to offer some alternative suggestions for those individuals looking to celebrate Halloween in a non-traditional manner.
First, if like my family you are not apt to let your child dress up as a scary, violent, or evil being, there are many other costume suggestions for your children. Have then dress up as their favorite Disney (c) character or a character from a favorite TV show. Encourage them to be creative, maybe make their own costumes (for a fun list of Do It Yourself costumes, be sure to visit the Family Builder's Halloween board on Pinterest). It's always fun to dress up as local heros, such as sports stars, police, fireman, or any of our armed forces. Maybe pick a family theme and everyone dresses up according to the theme. The Flintstone family perhaps, or maybe everyone dresses up as a fruit for a Family Fruit Basket. Have a big family? Create your own sports team and include cheerleaders. There are so many alternative costumes for your kids besides dressing up as evil beings. Make Halloween an opportunity for your kids to dress up as heros and heroines, or be the princesses and princes that they always dreamed of - get creative and help your kids find a fun costume!
I would also like to discuss trick-r-treating. My family always split the fun. We would spend the first hour of our neighborhood's three hour trick-r-treating time slot knocking on doors and collecting candy, and the two other hours answering our own door and passing out candy to other trick-r-treaters. Many parents want to avoid their children collecting and consuming too many sweets. This is a great way to ration the amount of candy received and allows an opportunity for your kids to be on both the giving and receiving end of participating in trick-r-treating.
Not a fan of trick-r-treating and looking for an alternative activity for your kids? While I DO NOT suggest adult-themed Halloween parties for your children, I do recommend finding local churches in your area who might be putting on a Fall celebration as an alternative to trick-r-treating. Most churches will have fun activities that are fall themed, still allow children to dress up in non-evil or fall themed costumes, and collect candy without the trick-r-treating aspect. Many families find this a much more appealing and safe way to allow their children to participate in Halloween activities. Search for local churches in your area to find out if they may be hosting such an event.
Lastly, as a parent you might be wondering what and how you should ration all that candy your kids just received in only a matter of hours. Well, at my household we were not allowed to eat any candy until we got home for the evening. From there, we were each allowed to pick 4 pieces from our own loot to eat immediately. From there, my mother would combine all 5 of our candy stashes together in a huge bowl hidden high on a shelf and we had to ask to have any. She would put one piece in our lunches everyday for school and when Thanksgiving came around, any candy left over we donated to local non-profits and schools for putting in gift bags for children. My mom made candy a privilege and a treat. If you completed a chore, you might get one piece; if you did something without being asked, you might get a piece. Candy was something we looked forward to receiving, but we were taught that it was a treat not a daily part of our meals :)
Halloween can be fun to participate in, but it can also be a source of stress for parents who do not wish to include ghosts, goblins, ghouls, or trick-r-treating into their traditions. I hope that some of the above suggestions have provided some alternatives for parents looking to get creative. Have a great week and enjoy your kids!
Below are some links to local OKC Halloween events that do not include trick-r-treating:
Haunt the Zoo at the OKC Zoo
Fall Festival at Crossroads Church
Mummy & Me Masquerade Ball
Fall Festival at Council Road Baptist Church
Free Family Fall Fest at Trinity Church of the Nazarene
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