Part 3 in 5 Part Series: Making Halloween Safe

Halloween must be without any doubt my favorite time of year. The Costumes, the decorations, the laughter, the make believe. It is the closest most "regular" folks ever seem to get to magic. On the negative side of this fun Holiday is the fact that it brings out the nuts, the predators, the maliciously sadistic and the mentally ill.

There comes a Point in every Family when the kids no longer are willing to play by your Rules without too much moaning and groaning. Of course we are not talking about Teenagers here, but kids younger then that.

Thankfully, each Problem has a Solution. Here are five Solutions to the five most common Problems.

The Problem: I don't want my Parents to chaperone me anymore, I am too old.
The solution: Nobody is ever too old for Trick or Treat. What the kids don't know won't hurt them. If you don't have an older Sibling or Cousin handy that can go along, you may need to be a bit tricky. Kids often group up when they go out for a night of trick or treat. Another "kid" will hardly be recognized. Agree on a route with your children, where to drop them off and where they will be picked up. Have your Spouse drop them off and make them responsible for pick up. In the meantime you get into a full costume, which means a Mask and full figure cover, preferably something that distorts your figure. Don't wear any aftershave or perfume please since kids are extremely smart. Once you are ready meet up with the Trick or Treat Group and enjoy a Night of fun as the new Kid on the Block. By pretending that your Character can not talk or by using a Voice distortion box you can avoid detection by your young. They believe that they are on their own and you have the peace of mind while having fun.

The Problem: Why should I wait to have the candy checked before I eat it?
The Solution: You have two choices; either you can give them a long lecture about the evil in the world and all the bad that could happen to them. I bet you have done that anyway every year, or you can be as sly as a fox and cut a deal with them.

The Deal is as follows: Whatever Candy they bring to you unopened and untouched you will either match for them or give them a penny per Candy. Their choice. No homemade goods permitted. If they bring you a homemade good they get to trade it in for one of their favorite Candy Bars.
Is this foolproof? No, but neither is threatening them and kids are notoriously greedy!

The Problem: My Friends have the XYZ Custom why can't I?
The Solution: That really depends on the Reason why you don't allow it. If you don't have the money, it is maybe wise to be honest with them. However, who says you can not try your best to rent the custom or get as close to making it your-self as possible. If you are just don't approve of the choice find a good solution and instead of preaching to them, sell the other idea to them. Explain to your kids that being just like everyone else is boring and that Halloween is for being different. I can not remember one Year when my kids had a fully bought custom and wore it as it was meant to. However, they were always the hit of every party. Your boy wants to be Spiderman? How boring, how about being.....the Villain and you make up the Character and then have him invent the persona. You create it together. Kids have a strong sense of Pride. If you play to it instead of making them feel powerless you get much further.

The Problem: I am too old to go trick or treating!
The Solution: If you are not ready to give up the Halloween Spirit yet, I know I am not; you can set the Kid to helping with the Candy Duty. My Daughter 16 and I dress up in original and homemade customs, set up spooky music and a table outside and play trick or treat at our house. It is her turn to give out the Treats now and she still gets her share of the Candy. Perhaps they have just gotten tired of the tightfisted Neighbors.

The Problem: I want to stay out later, everybody else does.
The Solution: Here again you have two simple choices. One, don't just make one day Halloween. It is never enough for a child, but by having Halloween fun for a couple of weeks leading up to it, they will have their fill by then. Two, have a small Halloween Party set up for your kids when they get home. Trick or Treat is just the Time for you or your Spouse to set things up, the real fun happens at home.

The Tip here is to think like a Kid. I know that as we get older we seem to get way to serious about everything. If you remember what it was like to be a child and with so little to say or control of your own life, you can find simple solution for simple problems.