When you're a little
kid, every holiday is filled with all kinds of excitement and new experiences simply because you haven't had too many
chances to see what they have to offer and, especially for young kids, Halloween is the most exciting of all.
Stores start to dress themselves
up in spooky decorations and line their shelves with all kinds of tantalizing treats, Halloween-themed shows and movies seem
to be playing on every channel and, for just one night, you can dress up as your favorite character or monster and run around
getting free candy!
However, especially for younger
kids, a full Halloween experience can be a little bit daunting, what with all the running around late at night, running
into scary decorations (and the occasional Halloween fan who gets a little too into the spirit), and the sugar rush
and crash from the treats they'll be stockpiling. Some parents might decide to take a different approach
to Halloween with some spooky fun of their own.
One popular choice for parents,
especially those in an urban area or that live next to busy roads, might decide to (instead of a trick or treat) organize
a trunk or treat...
If you live in a close-knit community,
participate in a Halloween-friendly religion, or are part of any kind of parents' group (through a school or after school
program), feel free to work together with your neighbors and fellow parents to organize a safe, not-so-scary alternative to
late night running about.
Find a safe parking area where
you can all park your cars and pack your cars' trunks with all the goodies you would normally hand out at the door and
let each of the little kids dress up in costumes and go “trunk to trunk” asking for treats.
Organizing all of this beforehand
eliminates much of the risk of accidents possible from wandering around at night and can even avoid late-night travel by possibly
having your event earlier in the evening. You don't have to go door to door to have a great time going trick or treating and,
as a bonus, you can all make sure to have low sugar or sugar free candy alternatives, if you're trying to keep your Halloween
treats healthy.
If you have a younger child who
you'd rather not have running around outside at night at all, why not just set up trick or treating in your own home?
It's a creative and fun way to still give them the trick or treating experience they want without the worry of having them
out so late at night. You can even turn it into a fun family project everyone can enjoy.
Be sure to decorate all over
in your house for Halloween night and, as it gets closer to evening, have your little ones dress up in their costume and go
door-to-door among the different rooms of your house! You can have a different family member ready to open the door and
hand out treats when they knock without ever having to step foot outside.
Still though, if you want to
take your child out trick or treating, that doesn't mean that they or even you have to go out alone. A great way to go trick
or treating is to organize a group effort...
Get together with the parents
of some of your child's friends in the area (or even just a few neighbors with children) and organize a trick or treating
group. You can all go out together or take shifts and trade off with
the adults, depending on the time or which side of the street you're going up.
This way you can be 100% sure
your child will be having a safe, fun time with their friends under a watchful, responsible eye that you can trust and you
can spend some time out there with them enjoying the night along with them or simply kicking back and relaxing with your
fellow Halloweened-out adults who are taking a break as well.
Halloween as it is today is constructed
almost solely for children to enjoy the fun of dressing up in their favorite costumes for a chance to get plenty of treats
to enjoy. Make sure that their Halloween this year is safe and packed with good times with a specially constructed Halloween
adventure that's just right for them.
