Halloween is a big deal for my daughter but this year (2020), I’d be very surprised if she will be allowed to go out with her friends. With the thought that Halloween might be cancelled, I have felt the need to do something special for her. Even though she will be 16 in December, she is a kid at heart and loves to do things that would normally be aimed at younger children, so I thought we would do a good old fashioned Halloween un-party.
I thought I’d share with you what I have planned for this year and the adaptions I have to make to cater to each child’s individual needs.
Dressing up
First of all, (and probably the most important for us) the costumes! Its probably a good idea to start this as soon as possible. I’m a firm believer that the home made costumes are the best and the most interesting. I tend to keep all old clothes (not on purpose most of the time, I fully intend to pass them on, but they end up in a bag in the corner of my bedroom) these are great for ripping up to be a werewolf. You can even use a glue gun and stick the arms of one top to the body of another if you don’t have time or sewing skills. There are so many sights and tutorials for home made costumes. I remember one year, one of my children wanted to make their own costume with no help and no supervision! They were very young at the time but for some reason I said yes. It wasn’t as bad as it could be, they covered themselves in toilet paper and they were very disappointed when I told them it wouldn’t survive the rain.
Why not make a competition out of it. Get the grandparents to judge – over a video call if you can’t visit them. But don’t forget a prize, my family are so competitive but they will only compete if its worth their time. I wish I could say that the winner gets first pick at the pumpkins but I will probably have to get a little something for them individually.
Pumpkin carving
I’m planning to do some pumpkin carving, we do this every year. We go to my aunt’s house and she gets everything ready and makes pumpkin soup. We love this and it will be missed. She makes it so stress free, no idea how. But the plan is for me to do this.
I don’t cook and for some reason I get a little stressed with this sort of mess at home. So hopefully the weather will be good and into the garden we’ll go! The clean up shouldn’t be too bad either as pumpkin innards are safe for dogs, wild life and birds. I looked into cats and most websites said it was safe but one said it wasn’t. Luckily, my boys don’t mind getting their hands dirty but when the youngest gets stressed, he doesn’t like hair on his hands. I will have some small rubber gloves to hand just in case he’s having a ‘quirky’ day. It also helps to have some facts about Halloween and where it originated, taking his mind half off the job really helps.
Apple bobbing
This one should be interesting! I’m assuming that I don’t need to explain the original concept of apple bobbing; but the basic idea is fishing apples out of a water tub with your mouth. My girl will be fine doing this game…… the boys not so much, not even with goggles. I will start off with encouraging them to get their faces wet, but I know it’s not going to go down well. I’m thinking that I will end up making it into a game where they can use anything in the house, as long as it’s not electric(!), sharp or has batteries (I will need to say this)to fish out the apples; eg. a spoon. Whatever they find must be used with their mouths (or at least not their hands) to get the apple out of the water. Extra points for being inventive and making a contraption, not just getting the serving spoon out of the draw.
Doughnuts on a string
I don’t think I’ve ever done this one with my children and I don’t think I’ve played in since I was a child for that matter. First you need to tie some doughnuts to a piece of string and hang it from something like a washing line. The aim of the game is to be the first to eat all the doughnuts, without using your hands. This sounds easy but really is not, it is so much fun!
To adapt this game for my daughter, I’m planning to use a jam doughnut, as she is the eldest and obviously has the biggest mouth (love you Ali), it needs to be harder, plus she does not have any sensory problems. The eldest boy doesn’t like to get too messy so a ring doughnut will be best for him. For the youngest, I’ll try a ring doughnut but sitting on a chair or swivel stool, he’s working on his balance and I don’t fancy explaining to the doctor at the A&E department that he injured himself eating a doughnut! I’ll also put up some mini doughnuts for him, he is 5 years younger than his brother and might need the extra chance to win.
Trick or treat in the dark
The last game I’m planning is pretty much an Easter egg hunt but with Halloween treats. I’m going to wrap Halloween treats in tin foil, along with some things that they don’t like, such as pickled onions, radishes and things of similar sizes. I’m going to give them the Halloween lanterns (these can be found on the seasonal page) to enhance a spooky atmosphere. When they have finished, it will be a case of the trading sweets and seeing what ‘trick’ sweets they have found.
Most of the sweets will be eaten while we finish off the evening watching films.
