It was the same way when I was a kid, but now that I'm a parent I appreciated the extended festivities, over the span of two weeks. Note the "festivities" part. The best part of any celebration is the anticipation of it. We get all excited for what's to come. So our household partook in as many as we could. And as parents we chose to limit the amount of candy consumed.
Event#1: Halloween Night at the Museum
There is a lot of science behind Fright Night, so why not learn while having fun. The only drawback was the Grand Finale - Exploding Pumpkins fizzled instead of banged, much to the disappointment of the kids. Question is: Do we (parents) explode our pumpkin as a method of disposal or do we let the kids wrestle with disappointment, which in itself is a valuable life skill?
Event#2 Fall Fest at Real Life Church
Our neighbors invited us to this event and we happily went. It was a great event and fun was had by all. There were so many activities. Pony rides, rock walls, mechanical bug, bounce house, obstacle course. She got candy but she got to DO so much stuff. I don't know about your kids, but my kid like DOING. She burned so much energy that the two pieces of candy she was allowed was negligible in the grand scheme of things.
Hold On (Tightly) from Nikkola James on Vimeo.
Event#3: Spooky Symphony
Just watch the video linked. No words necessary.
Event#4: Boo Bash at the YMCA
The had games, a spook house, bounce house, obstacle course, and my little girl's favorite, a dance party.
Event#5: Oct 31st Party at James River Church
More games, bounce houses, obstacle courses, and bit a candy.
Finally Trick or Treat in our Neighborhood:
We got to meet a few neighbors, grown ups and kids. For me the fun was seeing the kids' (and some grown-ups) costumes. And little miss social just loved the opportunity to talk to people.
After all was said and done, she racked up a gallon bag of candy. We let her select which candies she wanted to keep BUT they had to fit in a sandwich bag. The rest goes to dad's work. Don't like it? Oh, we can throw away ALL the candy and you can have none. I'll let you guess which option she chose. Even more importantly she got to participate in activities, play with other kids, and she got one-on-one time with each parent, and best of all we made great family memories.
There is a lot of science behind Fright Night, so why not learn while having fun. The only drawback was the Grand Finale - Exploding Pumpkins fizzled instead of banged, much to the disappointment of the kids. Question is: Do we (parents) explode our pumpkin as a method of disposal or do we let the kids wrestle with disappointment, which in itself is a valuable life skill?
Event#2 Fall Fest at Real Life Church
Our neighbors invited us to this event and we happily went. It was a great event and fun was had by all. There were so many activities. Pony rides, rock walls, mechanical bug, bounce house, obstacle course. She got candy but she got to DO so much stuff. I don't know about your kids, but my kid like DOING. She burned so much energy that the two pieces of candy she was allowed was negligible in the grand scheme of things.
Hold On (Tightly) from Nikkola James on Vimeo.
Event#3: Spooky Symphony
Just watch the video linked. No words necessary.
Event#4: Boo Bash at the YMCA
The had games, a spook house, bounce house, obstacle course, and my little girl's favorite, a dance party.
Event#5: Oct 31st Party at James River Church
More games, bounce houses, obstacle courses, and bit a candy.
Finally Trick or Treat in our Neighborhood:
We got to meet a few neighbors, grown ups and kids. For me the fun was seeing the kids' (and some grown-ups) costumes. And little miss social just loved the opportunity to talk to people.
After all was said and done, she racked up a gallon bag of candy. We let her select which candies she wanted to keep BUT they had to fit in a sandwich bag. The rest goes to dad's work. Don't like it? Oh, we can throw away ALL the candy and you can have none. I'll let you guess which option she chose. Even more importantly she got to participate in activities, play with other kids, and she got one-on-one time with each parent, and best of all we made great family memories.
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