Halloween Ideas for Kids (Young and Grown)
She caught me! This year, my sister made adult plans first, so I told her that I would take the kids for Halloween. This year, Halloween lands on a Saturday. So, little does my sister know, Halloween for the kids is Friday. (Ha, ha) For more on the Adult festivities on Halloween, go to Events or click the Masquerade Ball flyer to the right.
So, being the resourceful one, I’ve been trying to find out all types fun things for the kids on Halloween.
I’ve been kinda against house-to-house trick or treating. There’s the crazy bad seeds running around out there after school, that ‘Egg’ doors and ‘TP ing’ (toilet papering) trees and bushes, terrorizing neighborhoods. I don’t really want the kids out with that madness.
Then again, the thought of people hiding, pretending not to be home, just to skimp on giving out candy to children, ends up being a waste of time for the kids. That bothers me. Not to mention worrying about, the crazy, creepy adults that poison kids. That’s a whole other thing.
So here I am, at odds with what to do with the kids on Halloween. So I’m going to share with you what I came up with.
At School: Most schools nowadays are having Halloween parties. It’s like a small festival. They have candy, games and at the least, they feed you and the kids. It gives you a chance to get to know the other parents in your child’s school and it gets an off-premises playdate aka (not at your house) out of the way.
In Neighborhoods: Nowadays, there is much more awareness about the dangers of going blindly out to people’s homes as once we did when we were kids. Some neighborhoods have the ‘Halloween list option’, where the neighbors in a building or street block come together and decide to mutually ‘keep their doors open’ to neighborhood children, coming to trick or treat.
They type and hand out the list of apartments or houses to their neighbors and Voila! Most of these end up being a block or building party. For parents, this is another way to network and get to know their neighbors. Who knows, you may be able to get some wine and cheese out of it!
Parties. Parties are fun to take your children to. There are a lot of options for this. Take your kids to a party at a friend’s house, or at the community or civic center in your area. The more people who bring their kids to the party, the more likely it is that there will be some kind of security or police presence to ensure everyone has a safe and happy Halloween.
A tiny getaway. Pumpkin picking and finding a hayride is easier to find. There are usually signs hung around that state the locations of ongoing children’s festivities. If you are still not sure what to do, again, ask your neighbors and area schools may also have information on where the good fun will be.
No matter what you do this Halloween, Kid or Adult, the number one thing that should be at the front of your mind, (yes, more than fun) is being safe.
That’s why kids costumes should be bright, attractive, unique and noticeable. This ensures that he or she is easily located in case he or she walks off.
Have Fun! Be Safe and Please, Don’t forget to CHECK THE CANDY!
Lalah McD, a New York native and aficionado, walks around New York City and its Five Boroughs, finding ways to help tourists (not look like tourists) and find their way. (She calls it her calling in life)
