Halloween Fun - Trick It! Treat It! or Eat It!

By Guest Blogger - Andriana Mantas of Collaborative Minds©

As Autumn is upon us, there are many events and activities that take place including apple picking, Thanksgiving, Halloween, raking and jumping in leaves etc. So let's get into the Dos and Don'ts of Halloween.

Let's begin with the excitement of a choosing a costume. This can either be a very quick decisive process or it can be 'tricky' - and by tricky, I mean that your child may change their mind over and over again. If your child is at an age where you can discuss likes and dislikes favourite characters, heroes, sport teams and players this allows you to create a short list. By narrowing things down and prioritizing, certain items can be hand-made or produced from home. If a trip to the costume shop is necessary, have fun with it and make it adventurous. Now that you have the costume ready to wear, be prepared to see your little one dress up and down over the days or weeks before and after Halloween.

Candy is also a big part of Halloween; in fact there is too much candy just before Halloween, that evening and of course the days following. What to do with all that junk-food? What else can we 'shell out' besides candy to our 'trick-or-treaters'? Some ideas include bubbles, stickers, washable tattoos, pretzels, gift certificate, and beach balls. Other options to help keep the amount of sugar from entering the house is to keep trick-or-treat outings short. Planning an activity helps to get them home quicker without them feeling like they are missing out! Encourage your child to sort through their bags of candy and be selective about which pieces to keep. This provides an opportunity for you to examine the treats and toss candy that may be unsafe. Allow your child to select one or two treats on Halloween night, then find a spot for the excess candy - the location should be out of the child's reach and not easily accessible.

Have a fun and safe Halloween and enjoy all the tricks and treats. To get you into the spirit, below is a song about the 'five little pumpkins'.
Five Little Pumpkins
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate
The first one said "Oh my, it's getting late"
The second one said "There are witches in the air"
The third one said "But we don't care!"
The fourth one said "Let's run and run and run"
The fifth one said "I'm ready for some fun!"
WOOOOOO, went the wind
And out went the light
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

For more information, please contact Andriana Mantas of Collaborative Minds at 416-803-5321 or collaborativeminds@sympatico.ca