Toddler Friendly Halloween Ideas

Halloween is fast approaching, and if you are like me, you enjoy celebrating it with your family. If you have small children, though, there are certain things that you can't do to celebrate that you would be able to do with older children. Many young children are afraid of the scary stuff, but there is still plenty of fun stuff you can do anyway.

Dress up

This year for Halloween, my toddler son, my pets, my husband and I will all dress up. Since my son isn't even 2 years old yet, he is still afraid of masks. He hasn't figured out yet that it's still Daddy (or Mommy), even if there is something in front of his face. So instead of using masks, we are coming up with some costumes that just require a little bit of make up. There are many different ones you can choose from. You can buy one or make one at home. Just make sure you give your child a chance to watch you put on the make up if you are planning on wearing much.

Make fun decorations

Although many Halloween decorations are also scary for small children, not all of them are. As long as you don't carve something scary in your pumpkin, your child will probably not be afraid of it. Drawing goofy faces on monsters is a good way to get a giggle, without losing out on a classic Halloween character. No one looks quite as scary when drawn as a silly cartoon character. The same can be done for ghosts and witches, as well.

Make fun food

Aside from the cookies and sweets, there are plenty of other Halloween themed foods you can create. How about a pumpkin shaped pizza with pepperoni eyes and a pepper mouth? I like the idea of using a pumpkin shape because it would be so easy to make. I usually use English muffins to make individual pizzas for my son anyway, so to make them into Halloween pizzas, I will simply shape the English muffin into a pumpkin to start with. Then just top it with sauce, cheese, and whatever toppings you choose to use to make your pumpkin face. They only need to be cooked until the cheese melts, so kids don't have to wait too long to eat the fun creation they just made.

Another fun food is spidery cheese balls. For this one you just mix some softened cream cheese with shredded cheddar cheese until you get a nice consistency for a ball. Then you roll your ball in more shredded cheese to give it a furry look. I use lo mein noodles for legs, and even break off little tiny pieces of a lo mein noodle for the eyes. Your spider cheese balls can be served with soup or chili, or even just as a snack.

Watch Halloween movies and read Halloween books

A movie doesn't have to be scary to be classified as Halloween. There are classic Halloween movies like "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" that are safe for children, as well as all the newer movies with their favorite characters. My son has a Winnie the Pooh one that we have watched over and over and it doesn't scare him a bit. There are plenty of fun Halloween books out there with favorite characters as well. My son loves his Dora Halloween book.

Create fun traditions

No matter how you choose to celebrate Halloween, make it fun and make up fun things that you can do together each year. Of course some things will change as your children grow up, but as long as you make it fun, Halloween will remain a holiday to look forward to for many more years.