Family Activities to Trick-or-Treat, Celebrate Halloween with a Sick Child

Halloween is one of the top three events most children look forward to each year. Some kids plan their trick-or-treat costumes months in advance. So what happens, if, when the big day rolls around, the child is too ill to trick-or-treat? Here are activities you can do at home. These tips will work for parents who wish to avoid door-to-door trick-or-treating, too.

In my house, we're all about homemade, homegrown fun. Any time is an excuse to celebrate. With four children, we've also learned to be flexible and adapt. Here's quick, easy, cheap, no-fail fun for everyone. I've included lots of recycled fun, too.

* Indoor or backyard candy hunt: Kiddies too sick to go out? Maybe it's raining on Halloween? Or perhaps you live in an area that isn't kid-friendly. No problem. Hide candy around the house, apartment, patio or backyard, as you would at Easter with Easter eggs. Children can still put their costumes on if they wish. Take videos.

* Make a family movie. There are plenty of Halloween movies to rent, but why not make your own? Narrate a story, act out a play, make silly commercials or create a funny, not-too-scary Halloween film. Ask kids to write the script. Older kids will love playing filmmaker, makeup, special effects and stunt coordinator. The sick child can be the director and tell everyone else what to do. For spooky sounds, popcorn in an aluminum can makes great rain. Run the vacuum over the floor (turned off) for rattling thunder. Turn the lights on and off for lightening. Kids can wear their costumes in the movie.

* Put on a puppet show. Here's where the recycle bin comes in handy. Children can decorate old socks, cardboard cereal boxes and paper bags as puppets. They might act out a story or write their own spooky story. An overturned card table covered with a cloth makes a great puppet theater.

* Check out these links for printable Halloween crafts. Print out Halloween masks, spooky origami, kirigami (cut-paper crafts), cut and paste paper hats and toys, coloring pages, mazes, puzzles, word search, crossword, Sudoku and hidden pictures. Make an activity booklet for the sick child. Fill a shoebox with scissors, glue stick, crayons, tape and printed craft projects. He can make "couch crafts."

This may be your most memorable trick-or-treat ever!