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Ideas for a Spooktacular, First Halloween with Your Little One
Author: Kathy Murdock
Halloween: Dentists love it, kids love it, and parents? Well, we just hope future dental bills won’t creep up on us, like neighborhood children dressed in ghost costumes.
I can remember my oldest daughter’s first Halloween. I dressed her in a penguin suit (yeah, probably not the best idea), somehow managed to strap her into the car seat, and drive her from a mommy-and-me party, to the local grocery store for snacks, and then on to the bookstore for a dress-up story time. She sweated a lot, and I snapped some fantastic pictures – capturing great memories of, yet another, first.
Looking for a fun way to celebrate the spooky holiday with your little one this year? Check out these ideas.
- Host a Mommy & Me Spooktacular Party! Invite all of your mommy friends, and their little ones, over for a miniature costume party – complete with snacks, games, music, and treats. One year, our mommy and me group hosted a daytime, pre-nap, costume party for children ages newborn to five. The kids dressed up and trotted around the block wearing their costumes, while the parents chased them and snapped photos. When we returned to party central, the kids enjoyed healthy snacks, like Cheerios, while playing and listening to a Halloween music CD. The parents munched on dips and sweets, and chatted. The kids loved getting together, dressing up, and playing with friends, and the moms loved hanging out and socializing.
- Get Crafty! I’m a huge crafter, and so are my children. We love to sew, color, cut, glue, and create fun crafts to display around the house. While young children can’t participate in pumpkin carving, we always purchased two smaller pumpkins for the girls, and let them decorate however they wanted: paint, stickers, and markers when they were very young, progressing to glued-on craft items, like feathers and google eyes, as they got older. We then displayed the smaller pumpkins around the house for the holiday season. Need some creative ideas? Michaels (www.michaels.com) and Joanne’s (http://www.joann.com/joann/home/home.jsp) offer a variety of great craft ideas and supplies. Sign up for their newsletters to receive coupon deals in your inbox. Check out Mr. Clay Pumpkin for the younger kids; the girls and I are doing this countdown to Halloween project, which involves some basic sewing.
- Decorate in Personalized Style. What do kids love more than candy? Seeing their cute faces in photos. Make your child’s first – or fifth – Halloween fun, by preserving the memories on paper and decorating in personalized style. These plates from Hallmark would make a great accent for any Halloween party ($12 for 10). You might also create cute, personalized nameplates for the dinner table in the course of a few hours. Simply use construction paper to make small ghosts or pumpkin figures (look online for templates if you aren’t sure about your drawing abilities), and then glue on a photograph of the person. Set the nameplate on the table in front of the person’s seat and enjoy!
While Halloween may be meant for those who can toddle up to doors and request sugary snacks, a babe of any age – along with parents and family – can enjoy the festivities.
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