7 Top Things to Do with Your Small Children on Halloween

Halloween can be scary for small children especially with costumes of monsters, witches & devils roaming the streets at night. Ever wondered about whether or not there were some other ways to have fun besides the usual door-to-door trick-or-treating at stranger homes. Here are a few imaginative ways to enjoy Halloween with your young children.

Halloween Activity #1 - Family Costume Party
Parties are always fun. Send out invitations to your friends, family, and whoever else you'd like to include in your celebration. Tell them it is a "Family Costume Party" which means that all members of the family are required to dress up in a costume that reflects an overall theme. For example, one family could choose to dress up as characters or significant icons of famous movies/stories like The Wizard of Oz (mom-Good Witch, dad-Scarecrow, daughter-Dorothy, brother-Munchkin), Little Red Riding Hood (mom-Grandma, dad-Wolf, daughter-Red, baby bro-Picnic Basket), Little Three Pigs (mom-Pig 1, dad-the Wolf, kids-Pig 2, Pig 3), and Goldilock's & the 3 Bears (mom-Momma Bear, dad-Papa Bear, kids-the other 2 bears).

You can give prizes away for best costume, most creative costume, most original costume, etc. - you decide the categories.

At the end of the party, you can give away treat bags; in that way, children can still get their share of sweets and treats without the uncertainty of the level of safety of candy if it had been collected from strangers.

Halloween Activity #2 - Trick or Treating at the Mall
With our babies, trick-or-treating at the Mall was an alternative we used often. Because the people giving out the candy were business owners, we felt safe to assume that they would provide safe treats to maintain their business reputation; otherwise, they'd be jeopardizing the future of their business if their treats were tainted. Most of the time, the vendors gave out stickers, free food samples, little toys, balloons, etc. which was a welcome change for someone whose children may be too young to eat candy.