Do you have a son or daughter who gets scared by the Halloween decorations out there? Or just scared of going up to neighbors? Worried it won’t go well tonight? Here are a few tips from the blog team to help you enjoy Halloween trick-or-treating:

BEFORE

• Have an easy, quick dinner planned in advance. Chili in the crock pot works well!
• Have a talk with the kids about rules and manners, like: Use driveways and sidewalks, say “Trick or treat?” and “Thank you,” and don’t grab more than one piece unless they tell you to.
• Make plans for little ones to be able to trick-or-treat for a shorter amount of time (like one street) and then circle back home before going further with the bigger kids.
• Layer, layer, layer — You never know how cold it is going to be. Try putting long underwear under regular clothes and costumes. Carry gloves and hand-warmers. 
• Bring a wagon to carry tired children and/or all of the “stuff.”
• Bring a “dump bag” to empty heavy pumpkin buckets along the way (one for each kid, unless you want to combine the candy into one).

DURING

• When your child sees a scary decoration (or costume) and starts to get scared, look at it and laugh, saying, “Isn’t that silly? That’s not real,” and move right on! You can even praise them for being brave.
• Note also: It is important to find the right balance between being brave, and not celebrating what is evil. It can be a tricky road to navigate, and every family (and child) may be a bit different. One article says to teach your kids to “Look away” when something is evil. This can apply to lots of things later in life as well. Focus on the fun, lighter parts of Halloween, and look away from the darker things.
• As far as neighbors, this can be an opportunity to practice shaking hands or just introducing yourselves. It doesn’t have to take more than a second. 
• Stay home to pass out candy and drink hot cocoa while your husband takes the kids trick-or-treating (LOL, this option was endorsed by more than one blog team member)!

AFTER

• The CANDY CONUNDRUM: Here are a few different ideas… Do a candy-eating-free-for-all the first night, and then pitch/donate the rest. Limit them to a certain number of pieces per day. Keep the candy for a limited time, like 3 days. Donate it ALL to the troops! Or, take out all the pieces that you like and hide them, and then donate the rest. ?

Don’t do trick-or-treating? One blog team member stays home with her kiddos and they pass out candy and invitations to their church instead. 

Have fun, and stay safe out there!