Halloween

Halloween is really an interesting thing, when you think about it.  All year long, we try to get our kids in bed on time, try to limit the amount of junk food they eat, and would never let them watch anything remotely scary.  Then Halloween comes along, and bam! all those things go out the window.  I mean, think about it, the rest of the year we tell our kids to not take candy from strangers.  You know, all that stuff about "stranger danger," and then Halloween hits and we walk them door to door and have them literally ask strangers for candy.  Talk about sending mixed messages.  It's ok, though, we chalk it all up to tradition and fun, and it's harmless, and I would have to be some kind of heartless monster to not let my kids go door to door.  Maybe I am slightly heartless, it's part of being a dad.

Don't get me wrong, I have many fond memories of trick-or-treating when I was a kid.  My friends and I would leave right before dark and stay out way too late trying to get our bags (usually pillow cases) as full as possible with candy.  Then we would return to one of our houses, dump out the candy and compare our hauls.  Of course, trades would take place as we tried to unload the candy we hated and get something better in return.  My mom would always see she would have to inspect the candy before we were allowed to eat it, make sure all the candy was age for our consumption.  For some reason, when I was a kid, Snickers were very unsafe, and she had to confiscate them all.  I figured out the truth, she just wanted first dibs on my candy.  It was a lot of fun, and there was no way my stash would ever be mingled with my sister or brother's stash.  I was always jealous of my sister, who would save her candy until Easter. Mine never made it to Thanksgiving.  Those were really great times, and there is no way I would ever let my kids do that stuff.

Part of it is that times have changed.  It simply is not as safe today as it used to be.  Or maybe we just never heard about how unsafe things were back then.  I would never let my kids go out by themselves  all night collecting candy from people I barely knew.  I would be terrified that they would never make it home.  I am not a helicopter parent, at least I like to think I'm not.  I just have some common sense. We take our kids out, maybe around our circle, a little bit in my mom's neighborhood, and my dad's street, to houses of people I know.  I want them to have little bit of that experience.  What I really like though is all the Halloween alternatives.  For example, my office allows kids to come in on Halloween to trick-or-treat.  My kids love it.  It is the only time all year that they get to come see dad at work, so they really look forward to it.  Plus, there are a lot of people on our floor, so the kids get quite the haul.  More than enough candy.  I also like the whole trunk-or -treat idea, where your local ward (LDS Church Congregation) and they open the trunks of their cars and the kids go from car to car.  The point is my kids still get plenty of candy without having to be out in the dark all night.

The idea of not sharing candy doesn't happen in our house either.  My wife has always been really good about this.  She always takes the kids candy and pours it into one giant bowl (now we need like three with all of our kid) and everybody takes candy from there, so they all have one giant candy stash.  It is awesome, because after the kids go to bed, Daddy knows where the candy is.  I don't have to hunt for it and try to find their secret hiding places.  Plus, it also allows me to get rid of all the gum without them seeing.  I hate gum, but that's a story for another post.

For me, Halloween used to be all about the candy.  I would never dress up in a costume, but if it meant candy, then I was there.  I like encouraging my kids to participate.  For me, the costumes my kids wear is now the best part.  This year, we will have one Spider-Man (black), one Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (orange), two princesses (Rapunzel and Belle), and one care bear.  It is just so much fun to work on my kids and talk them into what I want them to be.  Picking a Halloween costume is a lot like life that way.  I spend all my time with my kids trying to talk them into wanting to be doctors or lawyers or something that earns a lot of money so they can take care of me someday.  Halloween is no different.

I am looking forward to another great Halloween.  I hope each of you have a great Halloween as well, and stay safe, and don't forget to brush your teeth to avoid all those cavities.