This evening, I took the boys out for more extensive Halloween activity than we have ever done before. This was Dylan’s third Halloween. For his first Halloween, he was a little bear and we only went to the children’s costume parade downtown. Last year, we did nothing. I forget why, but we did not dress up or go anywhere. This year, we all dressed as firefighters (even the baby) and went out two times.
For both outings, my goal was the same – to have fun with Dylan and Blake without the boys eating any candy. As we drove towards our first outing, visiting the merchants downtown on Main Street, I explained the “rules” to Dylan. I told him that we were going to walk around Main Street and see all of the stores decorated for Halloween, as well as the other children in their costumes. I also told him that many people would offer him candy, and I explained that since we would be getting him a new toy at one of the stores, we would say “No , thank you” to the people that were offering candy.
You can bet that I was nervous, heading out into Halloween with children that are not allowed to eat any sugar. Sure, I had a plan in place, to have Dylan choose a toy at one of the stores and refuse all offers of candy, but was it going to work? What if he had the toy and then tried to get the candy? What if he had a meltdown on Main Street when I told him that he could not have candy? There was only one way to find out. First, we went to the store where the toys were. Dylan selected a remote controlled digger, and we bought it. We left the store, digger in hand, and walked down the street. When someone offered Dylan candy, I said “No thank you, he’s got a digger”. Dylan smiled as he lifted his new toy for the person to see. They smiled and wished us a Happy Halloween. I did get a few strange looks from people, but whatever. We made it through Main Street with no meltdowns or whining whatsoever and we had a great time.
After a quick stop at home for some grilled cheese sandwiches, diaper changes, and putting batteries in the digger, we headed down the street to Dylan’s grandfather’s house. We visited with Grandpa for a few minutes, and then my husband’s sister met us there. She wanted to walk around their neighborhood with us. The rules of the game this time around were that Dylan would take the candy from each person, and then put it into a bucket that his Auntie was carrying. When we got back to Grandpa’s house, Auntie would give Dylan two toys that she had brought for him. Again, I was nervous, but we forged on. He quickly figured out what trick or treating is all about. After the first house, he asked “We go knock on someone elses’s own door now?” It was too funny. Again, we made it with no meltdowns and again, we had a great time. Dylan then got two more new, noisy toys – the kind that uncles and aunts are famous for getting their little nephews.
Halloween without candy? Yes, it is possible. At least this year, it was. Hopefully we will have as good of a time next year.