Tips Trick-or-Treat with toddlers!

Halloween is my favorite holiday and even long after I have graduated from going door to door begging for candy I have loved Trick-or-Treat! 

 

 

There’s just something about a crisp Autumn night, witches and goblins, the threat of ghosts and ghouls in the air, and entire towns coming together to pass out candy to Super Heroes and rock stars that makes me feel like a kid all over again! 

 

Of course, I’m far from a kid anymore and now I have my own little ghosts and goblins running around preparing for Trick-or-Treat!  And since I’ve been taking kiddos trick-or-treating for the past 12 years I’ve learned a few tricks that will be your Halloween night a definite treat!

 

• *Choose a costume that is comfortable!  The number one no-no when it comes to taking little ones trick-or-treating is taking them in a costume that is too big, too small, too hot, not warm enough, too long, and just too darn uncomfortable!  So definitely go with a costume that’s cute, but that your child won’t have a meltdown over in Mrs. Smith’s front yard!

 

*  Dress for the weather!  I know it’s a pain in the you know what to spend major bucks on a Halloween costume only to have the temperature be in the 30’s Trick-or-Treat night (something that is a definite maybe here in Ohio) forcing you to cover up Little Timmy’s costume with a jacket.   Layering is the key!  Most store bought costumes are made of thin fabric that make cool fall breezes downright frigid, but buying your child’s costume a little roomy and then having them wear pants and a long sleeved shirt underneath will keep your kiddos from calling it a night as soon as the sun goes down—unless of course that’s your plan!

 

*  Be visible!  Let’s face it, trick-or-treating is like a war zone and big kids with their minds on candy and candy on their minds (you liked the Snoop Dogg reference—admit it) are the enemy!  When you’re taking a toddler trick-or-treating getting separated is a real possibility.  In the event that were to happen you want it to be as easy as possible to locate them quickly…so light them up!  Whether you buy a couple of glow sticks or clothing as an easy way to see your child making sure that they are easily visible is a necessity!  One of my favorite tricks in using glow-in-the-dark tape to clearly mark an area of your child’s costume, on both the front and back, you can easily work it into the various patterns and lines in your child’s costume so that the costume looks the same, but your child is visible to you at all times!

 

*  Take snacks!  Yes, I am aware of the premise of trick-or-treat, but most parents won’t let their children eat the candy before they have examined it (myself included) so taking a baggie of animal crackers or Gold Fish for your child to snack on if they become grumpy will make your night so much better! 

 

*  Practice Manners!  I know that this is a given, but I use every single opportunity that I can to teach my children about manners and Trick-or-Treat is the perfect time to do it!  I make sure that all of my children say, “Thank You!” to everyone that they accept candy from and then I make sure to tell them how very polite they are.  In my experience, if I praise my children for being “very polite” or telling them what nice manners they have then they have used please and thank you more often—anything to get them to say please and thank you! 

 

*  Have FUN!  If you’re not having a good time, chances are pretty good that your kiddos won’t be having the best time either!  I know that it can be a pain to walk for hours in the cool air with candy sick kids looking for their next fix, but take comfort in the fact that you get to go home, examine your kiddos candy, and put all of the Milky Way in a big old pile under the guise that they “look suspicious”—that’s more than enough reason to smile as your taking Susie from house to house!

 

Happy Trick-or-Treating!