Introducing children to Halloween: what to do and what to avoid

Despite it being the summer holidays I saw the first signs of Halloween and Christmas in the supermarket yesterday. It won’t be long before shops up and down the high street become covered in cobwebs, piled high with pumpkins and strung up with plastic bats and spiders.

When you have younger children, you’ll already know that their imaginations can often run away with them and they can find it difficult to discern between what’s real and what’s ‘pretend’. If this if your first Halloween with children who are starting to notice things such as decorations, there are some things you can do to calmly introduce them to the holiday.

One of the most important things to do is not to try and hide the holiday away from them. This can’t end well and will only leave them with a fear once they learn about what is being hidden. It’s far safer to slowly introduce the topic.

It’s necessary to remind them on a regular basis the different between real things and pretend things. At a young age, you’ll need to save playing tricks with plastic spiders for your husband, rather than your children!

One great way to show them costume ideas for All Hallows Eve, which will not only be fun for both of you, but will help them learn to associate Halloween as a fun time to play dress up and make believe.

Fun activities for everyone

To help teach them about the traditions of Halloween, baking is always a fun way to start. Even making orange and black cupcakes with spider-shaped icing, for example, will introduce them to the colours and pictures associated with the holiday.

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Of course one great activity is pumpkin carving, though it is very important to be with them at all times during this – rather than letting them do the actual carving, let them help draw the pattern on the pumpkin and scoop out the insides with a spoon.

We’ll also been searching Pinterest for craft ideas. I love the idea of witches from foot prints, toilet roll bats and paper plate ghost!