Halloween is becoming a bigger celebration every year in the UK, partly because it comes at just that time of year when we all really need a reason to have fun. However, Halloween also present problems for some families, such as more fundamental Christians, Jehovah’s Witnesses and those for whom traditional celebrations of the Día de los Muertos have been culturally appropriated into sugar skull make-up etc.
But there are easy ways to have a Halloween that is both fun and sensitive to others.
How to make Halloween happy
- Consider working with your nanny to help the children make Halloween masks rather than buying costumes – this can help smaller children, many of whom find the very scary commercially produced consumes terrifying – to locate themselves in this festival and encourages children’s creativity too.
- Explore traditional activities that support wellbeing – carving pumpkins is great, making pumpkin soup is even better. Telling stories (they don’t have to be ghost stories) that relate to hibernation, winter etc can give children a way to appreciate the season without fear. Your nanny can help the children think about sleep as hibernation … which might even encourage them to go to bed early ….for a night or two!
- Avoid gender stereotyping such princess costumes for girls and superheroes for boys. Let your children use their imaginations and create costumes that are significant for them and take them trick or treating (if that is your choice) to houses where you know their costume choices will be supported.
- Educate your family about the blue bucket and teal pumpkin trends. Somebody carrying a blue bucket for trick or treat is representing a range of needs, most commonly autism, which may help others to understand that they may look or behave differently to others. A teal pumpkin in the garden decorations shows that the household is giving non-food treats such as glow bracelets, stickers, crayons and so on, which helps diabetic children to cope with the excess of sugar that Halloween tends to bring.
- Remember that not every family can celebrate Halloween with an elaborate costume, so if a child comes to the door and isn’t in costume, give them a treat anyway. Similarly, if you’re hosting a trick or treat, be considerate of sensory processing, so don’t set up a strobe lights or smoke machines and be aware that some children may be overwhelmed or just tired, and unable to respond with a thank you.
Photo creds: Olia Danilevich at Pexels