There is a lot of controversy among people of various beliefs as to why
this night should or should not be celebrated. I am among those individuals who
enjoy the festivities of this night and as long as it remains a
clean and fun night for my son, I plan to continue the traditions we
have begun. My son loves the idea of dressing up in a fun character costume and pretending to be someone else for a short time. He enjoys attending pumpkin patches, Fall Festivals at churches and playing games to win candy. We have made many great memories and have pictures to support the annual pumpkin carving and the mess that we create while doing so.
Halloween is a great opportunity for me to establish healthy boundaries with my son using education on what the history of this night is and why we choose not to partake in the evil things that this night could represent. My belief is that the good times surrounding this night are okay to enjoy and be a part of. The origin of the Halloween night is not why many people celebrate Halloween. Most people simply choose to use this night as a fun dress up time with their kids and keep it innocent. My job as a parent is to guard this night for innocence and joy .
This year we are embarking on a new endeavor with our church family. We have an outreach of an event called, Trunk-or-Treat. It is a great way to reach out to the neighborhoods and to people who normally would not step foot on church grounds. We are offering free games, free food and free fun! Each car will be decorated in something fun and non-scary. We will pass out candy and simply offer an alternative to the spooky, evil celebrations otherwise available to these families.
Halloween is a great opportunity for me to establish healthy boundaries with my son using education on what the history of this night is and why we choose not to partake in the evil things that this night could represent. My belief is that the good times surrounding this night are okay to enjoy and be a part of. The origin of the Halloween night is not why many people celebrate Halloween. Most people simply choose to use this night as a fun dress up time with their kids and keep it innocent. My job as a parent is to guard this night for innocence and joy .
This year we are embarking on a new endeavor with our church family. We have an outreach of an event called, Trunk-or-Treat. It is a great way to reach out to the neighborhoods and to people who normally would not step foot on church grounds. We are offering free games, free food and free fun! Each car will be decorated in something fun and non-scary. We will pass out candy and simply offer an alternative to the spooky, evil celebrations otherwise available to these families.
My son is all over this idea. The artist in him has created a theme for our "trunk" of Super Mario Brothers. He is dressing up as Luigi and I will be wearing a Mario hat. He has created images that we will display of a video game layout and we are even playing corresponding music while we pass out candy. We are both very excited for this night of not just reaching out to the community, but also a night of memories we are building together! He thinks his mom is pretty cool to allow him the creative licensing to just go wild with his theme and bless others with his talent. I am enjoying watching his artistic juices flowing.
Bottom line for me is that when my son and I dress up and enjoy this time together, it is a memory builder that has nothing to do with any form of evil.
How do you use this time to connect with your kids and create memories?
I have used the same method since my 13 yr old had his first halloween & continued with the next two kids. This yr though the oldest is backin out, lol. The 9 yr old will be a southern belle & the baby, a teddy bear.
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