Vidah Ryan

Celebrating Halloween with your Children

There are certain days that are really meant for children and family activities that can turn into traditions. My family originated from the Philippines and October 31st was celebrated in a very different way. It was the Day of the Dead and I remember being brought to the cemetery to my grandfather’s graves and we would bring food and drinks. There were stories told till late in the night, remembering your loved ones. The adults ate food and drank beers or some sort of alcohol while the kids played together. The graves were above ground, so you can see either children playing on top of them or used as a table for the food everyone was sharing. This is very different from my childhood later in Canada.

The activity then became Halloween, where people would dress up in costumes and you can go door to door to neighbors to “Trick or Treat”. You would yell “Trick or Treat” as you either knocked on the door or rang the doorbell. Then someone comes to the door with candies or chocolates they would place in your treat bag or basket. There were some houses where they would leave a bowl of candy outside their front doors and you can help yourself to treats on your own.

I remember my brothers and I walking around neighborhoods with our costumes that were mostly store bought. My aunts would come with us as we went door to door. It was nice getting home with our huge bags of treats. Many dental appointments where cavities were found, were likely initiated from the candies and chocolates we would eat for weeks after Halloween.

This is really covering 3 fun activities that can later be traditions with your children: Dressing up in costumes, walking around Trick or Treating and sharing those treats with each other afterwards. To be honest, growing up with my 2 younger brothers – I don’t know that I loved Halloween. It wasn’t that much fun as it was always cold and although we got candy, we didn’t share with each other and not something I have fond memories of for some reason?

My wonderful memories came later when I had my own children. The anticipation of Halloween would come weeks before the day came. Unfortunately, I was never creative enough to make costumes for them, so they were always store bought. After they had their large bags of treats, we would either come home or to their grandparents house and they would empty their candies onto the floor. They would go through their treats and always started eating their favorites first. Of course, I had to go through and get rid of candies that looked unsafe and make sure they didn’t have so much candy that they couldn’t sleep at night from all the sugar. They would sit on the floor and trade candies or chocolates for each others favorites. What I found interesting is that they each had their own pile of treats and traded treats with one another but in the end, they shared all of them throughout the next several weeks till they were finished.

They loved Halloween and still do to this day. They still continue to dress up in costumes (often created themselves) and although they can’t go Trick or Treating anymore since they are already adults – I suspect this will be a tradition they will pass to their own children someday. What makes me very happy is that they have many amazing memories of Halloween from their childhood. They remember me either walking with them while they went trick or treating or in the years where it was quite cold, they remember me following them in the mini-van. When they got cold, they would warm up in the vehicle for a few minutes before going back to their Trick or Treating.

What is even more amazing is that they celebrate the occasion by dressing up in a costume and being together for a Halloween party. One of mine and my husband’s greatest joy is that our grown children love to be together. They are there for each other and are close friends, not just siblings. Even our new daughter-in-law is equally close to her new sisters and we love her as our own daughter now too. My brothers and I are not nearly as close as they are as siblings. This is also true of my husband who is actually quite estranged from his siblings. We are thankful everyday that our children love, support and are close friends with each another.

As a parent, enjoy Halloween with your children and hopefully it is another day that they will remember fondly from their childhood. Hopefully it also gives you beautiful memories as it does for me.