Tag Archives: kids and Halloween

I Am THAT Mom

I did it. I succumbed to the fear… nay, the reality, that the dinosaur costume my 5-year had to HAD. TO. have for Halloween might not be hanging in Toys R Us later this month. Yes, I bought the overpriced green fleece ensemble complete with plush claws… last month… shortly BEFORE Labor Day. OH YES I DID! I am that mom. The one other moms can blame for purchasing the one and only size 5 dinosaur costume Toys R Us decided to carry in our local store. I swear there was only one left when we got there. Yes, I … Continue reading →

Parental Bargaining on Halloween

“Mmmm… Mommy!” Chomp. Chomp. “Mmmm… mmm… ” Chomp. “Yum!” “Mommy, this… ” Swallow. “This is better than chocolate!” –My 4-year-old daughter after eating her first Fig Newton. Now you see why I warmly embrace the whole non-edible goodie giveaway on Halloween night. My daughter is by no means a candyaholic and would happily choose a bowl of fresh fruit or a Fig Newton over a chocolate peanut butter cup or lollipop any day. (I consider this due reward for having birthed a child who didn’t sleep through the night until she was almost 3.) On Halloween my daughter would rather … Continue reading →

Halloween Candy Competition Among Parents

There’s one in every neighborhood—-the home where you know you can score a king-size candy bar on Halloween as opposed to those tiny fun-size bars (which are really not all that “fun” unless you can cram 10 in your mouth at one time). King-size candy bars came courtesy of the Duerr family in my neighborhood. They had five kids, which explains a lot in terms of their generosity (with that many kids they were used to hosting half the neighborhood on a daily basis) and their choice of premium chocolate (one Halloween they handed out regular-size bars of Ghirardelli Chocolate … Continue reading →

Halloween Candy—Yours, Mine, Ours

How many pieces of candy do you allow your children to devour on Halloween night? My parents had a strict seven-piece limit, which was imposed as soon as we returned home with our haul. Of course, that rule never sat well with my older brother, who devised his own counter-plan, whereby he stuffed as many snack-sized candy bars in his mouth as possible while roaming the neighborhood. So much for parental control. Ironically, once he became a parent himself my brother suddenly saw the benefit of placing restrictions on candy consumption. These days he allows his young son the privilege … Continue reading →

Parents and Halloween: Scary Stuff!

What’s the Halloween game plan at your house? The holiday yields a litany of opportunities to exercise parental control beginning with the type of costume your child wears down to the type of candy you hand out to other people’s children. Then, there’s the decision between parents as to who stays behind to dole out candy and who shepards the mini ghouls and goblins around the neighborhood. And, perhaps, the toughest call to make as parent on Halloween: How much candy to allow your kids to eat on the big day before gathering up the sugary haul and locking it … Continue reading →

Halloween and Young Children: Trick or Treat?

The school supplies are long gone at area stores; swiftly replaced by Halloween everything. My preschooler, who is absolutely petrified of anything that howls, hoots or hangs crooked, bursts into tears each and every time we get near the Halloween area at Wal-Mart and Target. (I don’t even attempt to visit places like Halloween USA or Halloween Express when my daughter is with me.) This understandable, yet at times inconvenient fact (inconvenient because these days obtaining a tube of toothpaste now requires taking a six aisle detour around the Halloween madness) is not unique in families with young children. Likewise, … Continue reading →

Where To Take Your Little Ghosts And Goblins For Some Safe Halloween Fun

My 3-year-old daughter has only gone trick-or-treating twice in her entire life. The first time she went dressed as a Dalmatian and last year she was a giraffe. If you are anything like me disappoint sets in quickly about an hour after your child returns from gathering his/her goodies. What a shame that the costume you dropped $50 on (or spent 30 hours sewing) only gets to be used for a few hours on Halloween night. (Sure, there’s always the chance to show them off at various Halloween parties and you could leave them out for your child to play … Continue reading →