What To Do If You Don't Celebrate Halloween

You can still celebrate Fall even if you don't celebrate Halloween!

 

While my kids and I have always been into Halloween, my husband is NOT.  He hates it, seeing it as a wanton occasion when children are given permission to beg and inflict decay on their teeth; he always makes sure he works late that day.  Like him, I've met families over the years who don't like Halloween.  Maybe it's for religious reasons or personal ones, but they just don't participate in the holiday and don't want their children to, either.

So what can you do on Halloween if you don't celebrate it? Here are some suggestions:

1. Do something to celebrate Fall. Go apple or pumpkin picking, enjoy a hay ride, let the kids collect leaves, find a corn maze or attend a Fall festival. 
   
   
2. Host a Fall party or throw a sleepover for other families who don't celebrate.
   
   
3. Have an destination and/or fun activities planned.  Go bowling, to the movies, to the mall, have a treasure hunt in your backyard or turn your porch light off and hang an “out of candy” sign on your door to make that night a “family” night with plenty of games. What a blast!
   
   
4. If your kids are old enough, you might want to venture to a special restaurant (anything that doesn't serve Happy Meals) where there's less of a chance meeting trick-or-treaters.

Remember, as well, that you can always throw a costume party so your kids get the benefit of dressing up – just don't throw the costume party in October so you disassociate it with Halloween.

Halloween is an optional holiday. You don't HAVE to celebrate it. Try some of the activities above to make the day special for your kids. You'll be making memories they'll cherish for a lifetime.

Halloween is not a mandatory holiday!

Do you have any suggestions for alternatives to Halloween? Share! Share! Share!

Why Leaf Jumping May NOT Be Such A Good Idea

Growing up, I remember the utter joy I experienced jumping in piles of leaves. I loved the “crunch, crunch” sound, the softness of the leaves themselves, and just the idea of jumping INTO something. Now, I know leaf jumping is a ritual of Fall and I hate to put a damper on it, but there are some major downsides into letting your kids jump into piles of leaves:

• Ticks

  Think it's too cold for ticks? Think again! Through October into mid-November, ticks are still alive and well. In fact, a few years ago, after a particularly cold October, Junior came home from a camping trip with a large tick attached under his arm. That large pile you just raked up could be harboring these blood-suckers, especially the disease-carrying deer ticks.
  
  
  
  

  

  Ticks LOVE leaf piles!

  
  
  
  

• Animal Poop

  I live in an area with a lot of critters, including deer. While I love the beauty of these animals, I am not fond of their poop, which they do everywhere including amongst the leaves.  And I won't even get started on the prospect of finding dog poop in a pile!  Disgusting!
  
  

• Sticks And Stones

  Kids tend to jump into leaf piles with abandon. A friend's kid recently jumped into a bunch of leaves and narrowly missed an eye injury.

Unless you're going to inspect EVERY INCH of a leaf pile, you're risking your children encountering the above. Still, if you're hell-bent on allowing your child to jump into one, take these precautions:

• Make sure your child is protected by covering up as much skin as possible. That means tucking pants into socks and making sure they're wearing long-sleeves.
• Use a bug-repellant spray, even over their clothes, to prevent ticks.
• Check them as soon as they get out of the leaf pile to make sure they're clean.
• Before bedtime, check them for ticks. Remember that these insects love warm, dark places like the back of knees and underarms.

Fall has many rituals: pumpkin and apple picking, decorating for Halloween, drinking apple cider. For safety's sake, you may want to consider giving up leaf jumping. 

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For more on ticks, click here ( http://www.tickencounter.org/prevention/protect_your_yard). And for instructions on how to remove a tick, click here (http://www.webmd.com/first-aid/tc/how-to-remove-a-tick-overview).

THANKS FOR READING!