If ever there was a time that kids loved to dress up is on the 31st of October (Halloween night), however in saying that, so do the biggest majority of big kids to (adults). Halloween is time a for having fun and throwing parties so therefore the reason behind much excitement the kids show when trying on their ghoulish Halloween costumes.

The earlier your plans are sanctioned for a Halloween party the better so as not to have to last minute hiccups which cause disappointment e.g. delivery of the wrong size Halloween costume you ordered from the fancy dress store. With the world the way it is today parents are desperate to protect their children and if that means forbidding them to go trick or treating then so be it. If this decision be made in your household then there are plenty of ways to put a smile back on the kiddie’s faces behind their devilish masks

One way to overcome this is to accompany your children on the evening; you will be surprised just how much fun it can be. By going along with the little ones dressed up as imps you can get a better understanding of why that in past years when it was safe for them to go out alone they get so excited.

Another solution is to throw a Halloween party if you have commitments preventing you from trick or treating with the kids. Under your supervision, leave the kids in charge and allow them to answer other trick or treaters who come knocking at your door. Let the children donate sweets money or edibles; another good idea is to let the children help you bake monster cookies to give as a treat.

It can prove to be cost affective if your neighbours who feel the same as you on the matter about children trick or treating alone come together in unison and share the cost of throwing a Halloween street party, by doing this responsibilities can be divided between each family participating. Families can be allotted a particular task i.e. preparing the food, hanging up decorations or organizing the entertainment, i.e. games music and competitions like for the best Halloween costume.

Other Activities for your party to keep the kids happy can include the popular Halloween pumpkin decorating. What is needed for this are acrylic paints, brushes, paint pens, other art supplies for decorating pumpkins. Always supervise young children and allow for mess.

Give the children their own personalized trick or treat bag and fill it full of their favourite yummies, candy will be welcomed along with a surprise novelty wrapped up inside. Halloween games come no better that the hot favourite Halloween bone hunt, for this game you will need small plastic bones; prizes, be careful with young toddlers and small particles.

Get enough bones for each child. Mark some of the bones as prize bones. Scatter the bones throughout the party area. If the kids start to show signs of boredom announce the Halloween bone hunt and watch their faces light up knowing they have to run a bone hunt. If you forget the bones I’m sure a creative mind will have you think of something else like hiding dollar bills.

Kids love movies and especially scary ones, however you may have those in contrast so be careful what movies on DVD you tend on showing, although its Halloween we don’t want the kids having nightmares.

Halloween night just like bonfire night can include fireworks being set off to liven up the occasion so as well as protecting your kids protect your pets too by keeping them at home where they will be safe warm and out of harms way.

Celebrating Halloween for some is much like Christmas, a family event to enjoy each other’s company in the spirit of giving and receiving.  It is a much anticipated day for teens and kids especially, where candies and chocolates are exchanged for beaming smiles.  Days and even weeks before the actual day, adults and kids alike are out shopping for costumes of their favorite superhero characters or the classic spooky vampires.  Unspoken friendly competition is always the motivator since everyone wants to have the most humorous, most life-like or most outrageous costume amongst the crowd.

Undoubtedly, we know it’s now part of our custom to dress up and knock on our neighbors’ doors to ask for treats on October 31st night, but, what is the actual meaning of trick or treating?  Well, it originated from the medieval times when early Christians in each town go from door to door to ask for food, or ‘Soul Cakes’.  In return, prayers would be said for the dead relatives of those who donated on November 2nd, ‘All Souls Day’.  Over time, it has morphed into a custom festivity of trick or treating.

If the intent from before is to give something back to those who donate the ‘Soul Cakes’, trick or treating nowadays is missing an important aspect.  Maybe this aspect should be added to our current practice, which could make Halloween all the more exciting and all the more meaningful!  So, to put a little twist to this Halloween, why not try what I like to call “retro trick or treating” or “reverse trick or treating”?

Keeping it short and simple, “retro trick or treating” is when you bring goodies to give back to those who give treats to you.  Just imagine for a second, you and your friends (or kids if you are a parent), knocking on a door to say “trick or treat“.  The homeowner happily opens the door and gives you bunch of candies and chocolate that you know you will enjoy for the rest of year.  Now, what about them, don’t you want to share this joy with them too?  What if before they close that door, you can say, “Please wait, I have something for you too!”  I guarantee they will be shocked initially but will accept your kindness in return with gratitude.  So, bring some goodies (like cookies, muffins, candies or even thank you note) along this Halloween and put a smile on those generous homeowners!

The other twist is “reverse trick or treating”. This is when you give goodies to people instead of receiving treats yourself. This idea I heard from a friend and I thought, “what a brilliant way to give to those less fortunate or to change the bad stigma around the idea of trick or treating for some folks.”  This can be done in a public area (i.e. shopping mall) or the good old fashion way of knocking on people’s doors. Lights are intentionally turned off on Halloween night for some households to avoid giving away treats. I say, ring those doorbells and surprise them with kindness and a treat of your own! Doesn’t that add so much more meaning to the trick or treating as we know it?  Since trick or treating was intended to give something back to those who gives, taking it a little further is to give without receiving! Dress up, have fun and prepare some goodies that you can share with someone else!