Halloween

This was the first Halloween that River was able to anticipate,
understand and fully participate in, which made it so much fun. For
the first time ever, I put up Halloween decorations. We went on a
walk through the woods, we went trick or treating, we attended a
party. Throughout, he never expressed the slightest discomfort with
the skeletons, spiders and witches, but accepted it all as part of the
fun. He enjoyed the trick or treating and loved his pumpkin basket,
but his interest was more in the impressive decorations than in the
receipt of candy.

“I don’t need any more candy,” he said, after visiting several houses.
But he loved seeing the other kids in costume and examining the yard
decorations.

He wore an Elmo costume that we got for free and was very well
received. Even a middle-schooler we passed on the street said it was
a very cool costume. Hopefully it will still fit next year.

Since he didn’t go to all that many houses, his stash of candy wasn’t huge. I
let him have several treats on Halloween itself, plus he ate a copious
amount of peanut butter frosting, while helping me make the monster
brownies. He did get some less damaging treats – like pretzels and
packets of goldfish and teddy grahams. So after he went to bed, I
cleared out the corn syrup, highly artificial and highly
gooey/cavity-causing bits, leaving some lollipops, the less harmful
treats and a selection of toys, stickers and other knick-knacks. I
think the pumpkin still had enough stuff in it for him to go through
that he won’t notice or mind the disappearance. But I’m not sure how
to handle it in future years.

I think Halloween is going to become an important celebration in our
house for at least the next decade or so. It’s so much fun to see his
excitement, wonder, and enjoyment. It’s also one of the only times we
get to see some of our neighbors. For a short while, we all get to
become kids again.

What is your Halloween candy policy? How does it work for you?