Halloween Hot Tips
Halloween isn’t just a day anymore. With month-long spooktacular events, trunk or treats every weekend, neighborhood festivities, and classroom parties, navigating October can feel like a full-time job for parents. We asked our parents for some of their favorite tips and tricks for the season.
“Simple Costumes for School”
One of our parents’ golden rules is to get a simple, low-cost, costume for school. While your child is in care, even on party day, they will still be having snacks, doing art, and playing outside. A simple costume dress or shirt can help them have fun and dress up, but also keep them ready for play. Save those fancy costumes for your main night of festivities. If you have an activity after school, please plan to change your child into their costume after you have picked them up. That way, you can ensure every detail is perfect while your child’s teachers can continue supervising the rest of their class.
Trick or Treat Alternatives
While some of us may live in a neighborhood that supports traditional trick or treating, there are a lot of other ways to celebrate the holiday. Let’s be honest, when you have a two-year-old and an infant, dressing up may be fun, but hiking from house to house in a drizzle is not. Trunk or Treats can provide a wonderful alternative for families whose lifestyle doesn’t lend itself to traditional trick or treating. Often, community businesses will team up to not only offer goodies for the kids but treats for the parents as well. This can also take pressure off Halloween itself. Trunk or Treats are typically scattered throughout the month and allow your family to celebrate on your schedule.
Candy Alternatives
Another parent shared with us their favorite non-food items. With plenty of children having allergies, different dietary preferences, and the fact that a lot of candies are choking hazards, having some non-food options can be freeing. Temporary tattoos and bubble wands were the most suggested; they come in lots of fun themes for children of all ages. You can also tailor something to your specific child. For example, if your child is a monster truck enthusiast, having them give out a small monster truck to each friend can be a great way to promote connection and sharing.
Extra Candy
When my child was young, after I had picked out my favorite candy to set aside for the year, I was often faced with the conundrum of what to do with the rest of it. Some of them just aren’t child-friendly. Or if you have done multiple events, you have enough candy to feed a small classroom. Perhaps you just aren’t a household that eats a lot of candy during the year. Candy donations are a great community event that can help support those who may not be able to trick or treat at all. Celebree School of Franklin Cool Springs will be hosting a candy drive for our local Ronald McDonald House so that we can support kids in our area. Families can also donate to our troops through Soldiers’ Angels.
No matter how you choose to celebrate, we hope you have a fantastic Halloween season!
-Written by Abby Knight, Assistant School Director
