Things in the top of my mind right now:
1. The VP debate in the US tonight. This could be awesome or torturous or both.
2. The Alzheimer's storyline on "Days of Our Lives" right now with Caroline is breaking my heart.
3. I wrote a sponsored post about my grandfather for Werther's Originals, and now I can't stop eating Werther's Originals today.
4. I got a bunch of questions on the exact same topic, and I can't think of a good answer, so I'm stuck on that post. I hope it works itself out so I can put it up tomorrow.
5. Child #1's sprained ankle/foot is much better, but he's in that stage in which it's equally fatiguing to use the crutch or to not use the crutch.
Let's discuss:
Halloween costumes and rules for candy. Specifically these issues, but any others you'd like to bring up:
- How old is too old to go trick-or-treating?
- Does it make it ok if "too-old" kids are wearing actual costumes?
- How do you decide what candy to give out? (Do you even give out candy?)
- When do you buy your candy?
- Do you have rules for how much/when your kids can eat candy?
- Who chooses your kids' costumes?
- What's the tradeoff between making and buying costumes?
- Can your kids wear costumes to school, and is that good or bad?
I'll start: I'm feeling like my older one's in an in-between stage, and it's fine for him to trick-or-treat but he has to wear a real costume so people giving out candy don't resent him. I buy whatever hits my fancy when I'm at the candy display, and have learned my lesson on buying ahead so I'll buy on Halloween day. My rules are that once a kid eats a real meal the child can eat as much candy as they want to right then. And I only make if there isn't an easy one to buy out there. (Who remembers when I had to buy a new sewing machine to make a Kermit costume with no pattern for my younger one last year and I couldn't find affordable green long johns anywhere? And the headpiece came out so wrong I couldn't even find an entry point to start to fix it? I was tempted to make a rule that people could only be Power Rangers from now on...)
Now you. Halloween, go!
5 and 7 so Halloween is still a big deal here. Our school doesn't do anything, which I've actually come to appreciate after being shocked the first year. Halloween is BIG in our neighborhood, though, and it's a lot of fun. I buy a little candy right before, but our street isn't very sought-after, so we may only get a couple of kids.
Kids pick costumes and I make them. This year I have a hamster and a tiger. They look...homemade.
The candy. That's a fight. My husband wants to dole it out ever so slowly but then discussions about it last forever. I'd like to hand it over and let it go. Eat too much? Feel sick? Learn anything from that? I think I may fight more for a combination of your plan and LisaV's: after dinner they can have as much as they want X 1 week, and then we toss it. I get the peanut butter cups for making the costumes.
Posted by: Christine | October 11, 2012 at 04:58 PM
My feeling is that if you can drive, you're too old to be going out door to door. I only buy/give out candy I don't mind having in the house and so, it's usually Swedish Fish or something like that. One piece of candy during the week after dinner and gradually, it "disappears". So far, DD has decided on her own costumes - this year, she wanted to be a "cop" and so, I got her a badge, a state police patch and a blue shirt. Our school has a costume parade which I have mixed feelings about because I feel bad for the kids who don't do Halloween.
Posted by: Jenn S | October 11, 2012 at 05:00 PM
I have already spent $70 on fabric to sew a Cowardly Lion, and can't even bare to think about what my seamstress skills (such as they are) would be valued at. I just remind myself that I sew her costume because, as my mother did for me, I want her to know I do it out of love.
My kid isn't yet 4, but we tell her the tooth fairy's cousin visits after Halloween with a deal - if she chooses to, she can trade her candy for a bag of (mostly) non-edible Halloween treats. We do the same at Easter and, so far, it makes everyone happy - she gets neat stuff, we get less sugar in our kid.
Posted by: AlexT | October 11, 2012 at 05:05 PM
Not much to add on a lot of the points, but in terms of eating the candy or not, here's one thing we've done that's worked very effectively (my boys are now 7 1/2). I make them a Halloween basket (stuff inside can't be seen but contains mostly non-food fun things). They can pick one candy to eat from their stash and then trade in the rest for their basket or if they decide they have to have more candy, no basket. Every year, they've elected the basket and have been happy with the trade. Then my husband or I take the candy to work so it is out of the house (although I do pick out any candy that might work for gingerbread house making at Christmas time).
Posted by: mo | October 11, 2012 at 05:15 PM
Ooh! Saving stuff for gingerbread houses! Great idea!
Posted by: Meg | October 11, 2012 at 05:24 PM
Kids can trick or treat through middle school (early high schoo, even), I think, but only if they have a real costume - I find it a little insulting when they throw on a mask and come around for the candy.
My older daughter (turning 9 just before Halloween) is dressing as Annabeth from the Percy Jackson books (her idea), so we ordered a Camp Halfblood t-shirt from Cafepress and a bow/arrow set (thanks, Brave!) from Disney. She's going to wear jeans and a baseball cap to complete the costume. This might be my favorite costume ever, because it's so easy and relatively cheap.
Two years ago, my daughters were Cinderella's stepsisters (their baby cousin was Cinderella), and my mother made the costumes. It was crazy, although they did win a prize in the local parade (and the people at Disney World dressed as the stepsisters made a huge deal over them a couple months later). We make if we can't buy.
Elementary school - no costumes in school, but they have a Halloween "ball" with music, prizes, etc. and everyone can dress up for that.
Preschool - kids dress up as characters from books (younger daughter is Alice in Wonderland this year, was Fancy Nancy last year), bring the book to school to share and they have a little parade for the parents. It's cute.
We live in a big neighborhood and give out a lot of candy, which I usually buy at the last minute. I tend to buy that which I don't particularly want to eat. My kids come home with a ton of candy and we let them eat a bunch on Halloween and then one at a time after dinner until it is gone (or, more likely, disappears).
Posted by: Dawn | October 11, 2012 at 05:31 PM
I have an 11 year old here and I'm wondering about the age thing too. He's the oldest kid in the neighborhood though, so I neither have a frame of reference nor anything else for him to do that night. Our house is so out of the way none of the kids come here- not even the ones my own boys trick or treat with!
I buy a small bag of something we like and put it outside on the stoop while our whole family goes out together. The adults always have a good time visiting each other (and sometimes there are adult "treats" for us to imbibe).
My kids tend to choose a costume idea in the summer. We make them every year- the only thing all year that I get all crafty about. This year we have an old man and a burglar-- not too hard. Must buy beard...
I let them eat all the candy they want that night (I make sure they have a healthy early dinner) and then everything goes into a family candy bowl the next day. We eat from it after dinner for another month usually! Sometimes I throw stuff out discretely to help it disappear faster.
Posted by: My Kids Mom | October 11, 2012 at 05:37 PM
I vote that kids can t/t through middle school a but get extra candy if they are helping someone littler than they are. And they should definitely be wearing a costume!
I have been buying full size bars, but will end that this year. We don't get enough kids to make that worthwhile, and then I end up with extra huge bars of candy which my belly does not need - though the big bars are nice in a way, because I absolutely will NOT open them before Halloween, so I can buy them whenever.
My kids are 3 and 5, so it's still really easy to control what they are eating. I let them have maybe 2 or 3 pieces that night, then I go through and get rid of the gross stuff after they go to bed. Then the next day we go through and separate into piles: keep, give away to a community center (it goes into kids' Christmas presents), and bake. M&ms are fabulous for holiday cookies, and crushed candy decorates cakes nicely!
They tell me what they want to be and then at this age I can still coerce them into something easy. My 3 year old wanted to be a yellow bunny, but got talked into an Old Navy green dragon instead! My 5 year old wants to be a fairy, so I bought a bunch of things from h&m which can be reused. It is pretty collaborative right now. I anticipate issues in future years! Last year I made angel/devil costumes for them with white and red clothing from their closets. It was gratifying, and it's nice to have something that stands out, but also can be a little stressful, don't you think? And I LOVE to craft - but still. The pressure.
As for school - my 3 year old will wear "festive clothing" to his school party, which is nice because the littles can be easily frightened. My 5 year old will have a costume parade at school, and then a short party.
Posted by: J | October 11, 2012 at 06:00 PM
I think that kids should be able to trick or treat as long as they want to. And the same politeness rules apply to older kids as younger kids. Say thank you, and even if your costume is junky I will be happy you stopped by. I'll probably start warning my kids once they hit adult height that people might start getting shirty with them. I buy costumes because I have a lot of stuff on my plate and enough disposable income to do it. I let my kids eat whatever they collect because I think their daily food intake and love of fruits and veggies is way more important than a pound of candy once a year. My kids' schools encourage costumes. I buy candy I like and a bunch of it (we are in a really busy trick or treating neighborhood, we often go through 3-4 big bags before we shut our lights off and stop answering the door) so if there's some left over I won't mind having it on hand.
Posted by: Leah | October 11, 2012 at 06:05 PM
In my opinion, it's not too old to trick or treat, it's too tall. I stopped going after eighth grade, I think, when my friends and I noticed people jumping when they opened the door. My poor husband was tall really young (he's six ten now and was taller than his little league coach in fifth grade) so his parents made him stop really young. And even now, he doesn't care much about Halloween because it wasn't any fun for him as a kid.
Posted by: HereWeGoAJen | October 11, 2012 at 06:32 PM
Happily, so far our son (4) lets us sort candy and rule some out - we usually keep at a 1:10 ratio.
He can have a piece in the morning and one at night. No more. Regardless of what he ate for dinner. Even if he wants it first thing. No debate. Whenever he remembers to ask for it.
We were at a parade in June, we kept about 30 pieces. We still have about 10 of them. When he thinks of it he can have it. Someday he will develop long term memory and that will be a bummer.
He will be Pablo from the Backyardigans, we got it at a consignment sale for $10 - I was thrilled.
Posted by: Heather | October 11, 2012 at 06:34 PM
Any tips for trick or treating with kids with peanut allergies? My DD is allergic to peanuts and last year we skipped trick or treating entirely -- too stressful because so much candy is made with peanuts or on shared equipment. But I'd like her to go this year.
Posted by: sadie | October 11, 2012 at 06:39 PM
How old is too old: High School I think, although it depends on how the kids act as they trick or treat. If they are having regular fun like kids, they aren't too old. If you are accompanying a younger child (especially without parents) you get a pass on age.
Candy to give: we buy on the day usually. Candy to eat: this is a struggle. I usually say eat what you want whenever, when it's gone, it's gone.
Costumes: I subscribe to the "sweatshirt" costume school. Make it from a sweatshirt, its cheap, warm, and can be cute. So far I have made a strawberry, and otter, and a rabbit this way.
Posted by: Davida | October 11, 2012 at 06:43 PM
I've never made a homemade costume. I appreciate the moms who do and am astounded at people's creativity. I know it's not my thing. We get the Halloween costume catalogue out and the kids spend a week or so picking out their costume.
This year, my oldest (9.5) told us that he wants to go with two of his friends without us. Which is weird because our whole family has always gone out together (3 boys - 9.5, 7.5 and 5). But whatever.
Halloween night I tell them to pig out and eat whatever. After that they eat their candy after dinner (4 or 5 things) then I send them outside. That usually lasts for about two weeks and then I tell them the good stuff is gone and we dump the rest in the garbage.
Posted by: Linda | October 11, 2012 at 06:56 PM
You're never too old to trick or treat if you're wearing a costume. I even give mom or dad candy if they're wearing a costume. My daughter is 2 and daycare has a parade and party in the afternoon. I'll take her to my job and give candy to coworkers. We'll go to our neighbors houses but just the people we're really friends with on our block. Then we'll hand out candy and try to show her that we have more fun doing that.
Posted by: Amber r | October 11, 2012 at 07:12 PM
Halloween is HUGE here - as in, 600-700 TOTs. So we get candy at CostCo. This year, we also got glow-in-the-dark bugs from Oriental Trading Co., so each kid'll get candy and a bug.
We've bought most of my 7YO's costumes over the years (ninja this year). His school has costumes (parade for K; class parties for other grades), but no face masks or weapons.
I don't care how old the TOTs are, as long as they wear costumes. REAL costumes. No BS. One of the really wonderful things about our town is that everyone dresses up, including many of the adults. Our street has fog machines, fortune tellers, spooky music, and jello shots for the adults. Tons of decorations, of course. Lots of kids come from other areas (including other towns) to TOT on our street.
And in 3 years of Halloween here, always with 600+ TOTs? NOT ONE piece of litter on our yard (or anywhere else that I've seen).
Our son is allowed to pick out a few pieces of candy; we buy the rest from him so he can get himself a toy or some other treat. My husband eats most of what we buy back, I eat some, and the rest goes into work with me the next time I'm there.
Posted by: Kate | October 11, 2012 at 07:22 PM
@sadie - A friend whose daughter is allergic to peanuts takes her TOTing, but trades everything she gets for safe stuff (I think he buys one bag of assorted candy). He then brings the originals into work.
Posted by: Kate | October 11, 2012 at 07:24 PM
Noooooo! Not Caroline!! I stopped watching DOOL about 5 years ago...will Victor take care of her???
Posted by: melissa k | October 11, 2012 at 07:39 PM
Linda: I remember when my family made the switch from family trick-or-treating to with-friends trick-or-treating. My awesome parents suggested that we go out as a group (I think one parent went with us, because we weren't that old) and then everyone came back to my house for a post-trick-or-treating gathering. My mom put out sweets the first year but no one wanted them -- too much candy! So after that, we would have veggies and dip and soup. I remember it as being great.
Posted by: sadie | October 11, 2012 at 08:29 PM
I struggle with the buy vs. make costumes. My girls are only 2 & 4 but so far I've bought every costume. My mother always made ours and I would love to do the same, but I've come to grips with the fact that she and I lead different lives (I work full-time, she was a SAHM) and she has SO much more talent and creativity than I do.
My mother also had a deal with us as children that if we donated our halloween candy, she would make gingerbread houses for Christmas. My sisters and I would carefully separate our candy into "good for decorating" and "not good for decorating." We saved the good stuff and ate the rest. Years later my mother tells me that eliminated most of our candy. However, my father managed to eat the saved stash so she still had to buy candy to decorate with come Christmas!
Posted by: Erika | October 11, 2012 at 08:29 PM
@melissa k: Bo took Caroline to be examined by Kayla today. Caroline just admitted that she's not remembering things. It's heartbreaking. Also, Victor is married to Maggie now.
Posted by: Moxie | October 11, 2012 at 08:37 PM
Dawn, I wish we lived near you - T. (6.5) is going as Percy circa *Son of Neptune*. I got all crafty and made him a camp bead necklace and probatio tablet, then bought a CHB T-shirt. We're going to paint his toy sword bronze, Sharpie on the SPQR/trident tattoo, and... I'm done!
We usually do a family costume. I may go as Athena (bedsheet toga and stuffed owl), with E as Poseidon (toga, seaweed, trident).
As for TOTing, we live on a windy road at the top of a hill. We usually just go out with family or friends to trick-or-treat in a nearby hill-less ritzy town. In the past re candy = clearing out the crappiest stuff while he's asleep, letting him binge for a few days, then hiding it away and hoping for the best. That's worked less well over time - this year (the Year of Several Expensive Cavities) I'm considering just buying the whole bag outright after the first-night binge - he's saving up for a special toy right now, so there's some incentive...
Posted by: Lisa | October 11, 2012 at 09:08 PM
3yo girl. We always make costumes (usually mostly assembled from thrift store finds). This is the first year for her to pick what she wants to be (previously she was a lion, then a Double Rainbow the year we all dressed up like internet memes, and last year we all went as Mr. and Miss Noodles from Elmo's World). She picked "bunhead" (ballerina). We got tights, tutus, and leotards from thrift shopping and she already had the shoes.
I'm giving out glow stick bracelets this year. I don't know our new neighborhood and I don't want to be stuck with a whole bunch of candy if nobody shows.
Last year I let her eat several pieces of candy, then told her Daddy would be taking the rest to work to share (college prof). Not sure how possessive she'll be this year. I don't want her to eat a bunch of crap... Maybe I'll just remove all the stuff with food coloring and let her have the chocolate. I'm not a big fan of making her ration it, because she's three, and that would be about as bad in her mind as not letting her have it at all, and I don't want it hanging around my house forever, and I don't want it to be a *thing* ever single day.
Oh, and I'll quite gladly give treats to anyone who shows up at my house in a costume -- no age limit! :-)
Posted by: Jessie | October 11, 2012 at 09:13 PM
If you're old enough that you're threatening in a mask you're too old for T&T, but nobody is too old for dressing up. (I live in SF - Halloween is a civic occasion here.)
I don't buy candy to give away, since we live just the right distance from one of the major streets in town - we can walk there, but nobody bothers with our house since they're on their way there. I let Mouse pig out on candy Halloween night and then have it in her lunch and after dinner until it runs out.
We've always made her costume together, which I attribute to the fact that Project Runway is on in the fall, so I get this idea that sewing is easy; and also that Mouse has weird taste in costumes. (Since she was old enough to pick, i.e. 2: black widow spider, raven, cinderella that transforms from ragged to fancy, vampire princess, cobra, alien bride). This year it's Jenny Linsky, this very specific little black cat from a series of books. Most of the time I don't sew it from scratch, I build onto cheap clothes and use felt and simple things. Jenny is very vintage though, so I'm sewing it fairly properly and knitting her signature scarf. I am an idiot to sign up for these things. However, pro-tip: there's a great Quik Sew pattern for a kids' unitard if you need to make alien skin or a velvet cat or anything full body like that - holler if you'd like the number.
Posted by: Charisse | October 11, 2012 at 09:16 PM
I learned my lesson a few years ago, that if I don't want to pass out candy canes on Halloween, I need to buy the candy well before Halloween. Which means I should get some this weekend.
As for trick or treating, in high school, I used to take my brother and niece and nephew around. I would throw on a costume, because what's the fun of going out without a costume. And then I was surprised (and slightly insulted) that the people handing out candy would give me some. Not that I turned it down, but I never had a bag, so I'd fill up my pockets....
As for costumes, I admire my mother's choice, in 1983, to make a set of clown costumes in graduated sizes. Those things got worn in variations for the next ten years, and if we wanted something else, she left us with the responsibility of procuring it. (This was how I had a costume to throw on for trick or treating when I was in high school--the clown costume she'd made for my older when I was 9 fit me when I was 17.)
Posted by: Julia | October 11, 2012 at 09:21 PM
I would totally buy costumes, but my son always comes up with something that isn't in stores. So, despite my lack of sewing ability, I figure it out...somehow.
This is our first year in public school (Kindergarten) and I was totally surprised that they have a no costume policy. I guess they don't want to make the kids who don't dress up feel bad. No big deal. Halloween is all about wandering the neighborhood in the dark and getting candy!
Posted by: Anne | October 11, 2012 at 09:59 PM
@sadie- we have our allergic DD let us pull the unsafe candy, which we leave in a bowl for the Halloween goblin, who leaves a coveted toy in its place overnight. Kinda like cookies for Santa?!
Posted by: Abo | October 11, 2012 at 10:13 PM
My son is 3.5 and has chosen his costumes every year except the first. My mom always made ours until I was old enough to help. I remember always having something special that no one else had. I made a skunk the first year, bought a puppy the second (was not thrilled with the quality or fit of store bought), he chose/I made a purple octopus last year (HUGE hit), and this year he has chosen to be Mr. Fredrickson from Up, complete with a house and balloons. I will buy the stuff to make the outfit and build the house myself. My son is pretty creative even at this age, so I imagine I will continue to make his costumes. I have final say on the choices, but as long as it is appropriate and can be completed in time, it's probably fine with me.
We don't have any kids in our neighborhood, and we are typically gone doing our own thing anyway so we dont buy candy. I would rather drive around town to the houses where we have friends or family instead of walking a neighborhood. By choosing the houses we go to, that limits our candy potential which is fine with me. We go to enough parades that I feel like we have a constant candy stash.
I don't have a problem with older TOTs as long as they are in real costumes. I went out with friends at least until 8th grade and then we would pick a house to hand out candy from, usually still dressing up.
Posted by: Bethany | October 11, 2012 at 11:01 PM
Never too old to trick or treat if you have a good costume.
We have the "Great Pumpkin" at our house. DS gets to choose how much of his candy he leaves out, and the Great Pumpkin comes overnight and exchanges it for a toy. The more candy that is put out, the better the toy. The rest of the candy is two pieces a day - one with lunch, one after dinner.
Store bought costumes. If I had to make costumes it would never get done. I have neither time nor skill.
I buy candy (not chocolate) because I have peanut allergies and if we are going to have leftovers, that is what I want to eat :)
We get 300+ kids so buy our candy at Costco.
Posted by: Jac | October 11, 2012 at 11:40 PM
L, who is in the 'Lions' class at daycare wants to be a lion this year. This is the first year he came up with the idea himself. Last year I suggested he be an owl and he decided that sounded good. The kids wear their costumes to daycare and then go ToT to the different classes.
I've made all of his costumes since he was a baby (made a little plush turtle shell for him when he was 4 months old that we put on him to snap a few photos). Sewing is my thing, so it's fun, not stressful to make a costume...at least not for the difficulty...it's usually that I'm more stressing about time since I always leave it to the last minute. And my mum always made our costumes, so I like that I'm continuing the tradition. Eventually we'll make his costumes together. Right now I just get his opinion on different things. He helped pick out the fabric. I was hoping to make a big crazy mane out of yarn and fabric scraps. But alas, he wants a more 'traditional' fake fur mane. Oh well... I'll have to figure out another way to make the costume original. One day I suspect he'll want a store bought costume. I'll be a little sad, but we'll cross that bridge if/when we get to it.
Like @AlexT, I'm thinking of making L's costume a cowardly lion costume (by adding a 'courage' medal). DH and I may dress up as other Wizard of Oz characters for when we take L out trick or treating. We won't go full costume, but DH will wear the tinman's hat and I'll likely make myself some ruby crusted shoes. We bring our dog out too, so you know, Toto...even if our dog is a Boxer.
So far L has been sick for 50% of his Hallowe'ens, and not surprisingly was so sick he couldn't go out or wear his costume the year I made the most elaborate one.
For how much candy and when, we'll likely follow last years plan: Eat dinner before going out ToT, then he can eat as much candy as he wants when he gets home. Then 2-3 pieces for dessert at dinner after that. We'll also pilfer some stuff. Slowly it'll go down and eventually I'll toss the remainder. Love the saving for gingerbread houses idea.
Sadly we don't give out candy as we don't get any kids at our house. We live on the top floor of a 3 story walk up, so they just don't come up.
BUT, the ToT in our neighbourhood is awesome. It's very friendly and neighbourly. A lot of parents are out with their kids. The parents & adults are giving out candy or walking around with their kids while drinking a glass of wine. Lots of great decorations. And just a lot of people out in general. Very much a family/community feeling. Which is amazing considering we live in the middle of the city, not the suburbs. Looking forward to it this year and hope the weather is good.
Posted by: the milliner | October 11, 2012 at 11:44 PM
@Jac, Love that the Great Pumpkin comes to your house :)
Posted by: the milliner | October 11, 2012 at 11:48 PM
ToT has been a disappointment since we moved to our current neighborhood 8 years ago :( Our street has no little kids except for ours, so most families don't have their lights on for trick or treating.
However, they just subdivided one of my neighbor's lots into 8 new houses and all of those have kids, so the upside is that it might be a good spot to try ToT this year with the 3yo.
We'll let her eat the candy, probably one piece per day over time, since it won't be much, or use it as potty training rewards. She has a wicked sweet tooth, so i'd love to get rid of it, but I think that'll make her want it even more. And now she's too old to conveniently forget about it.
I can't sew worth a damn, but last year assembled her a sushi tamago costume:
http://houseofpeanut.blogspot.com/2011/10/tamago-sushi-halloween-costume-look-no.html
This year she wants to be a ladybug, which is a lot easier, so I got her a red leotard, black leggings and a gorgeous handmade tutu from Etsy.com, plus some wings and antennae. The newborn gets a ladybug swaddle blanket and hat :)
Posted by: ARC | October 12, 2012 at 12:16 AM
My daughter is 4 and my son is 2, plus I have a 3 month old boy. The big kids are wearing costumes from last year because they still fit and the baby is wearing the baby puppy costume that was my daughter's when she was a baby. I have saved all the Halloween costumes (bought by my MIL for the kids) and it will be fun to have pictures of the kids in the same costumes over the years.
Our rule about the candy is that the kids get to keep a few pieces and then trade the rest of it to us for a toy. Last year my daughter didn't want to go TOTing so she stayed home and handed out candy and didn't get a toy. My son was too young to care about the toy trade. This year, she again doesn't want to go (she stays home to hand out candy with my husband and I will go out with my sons) so no toy for her but I will do it for my 2 yr old. We don't eat a lot of candy or sweets and they will give it up willingly. I'll probably eat a few pieces then find one of the dentist buy back programs that sends the candy overseas to the military. Here's a good link if anyone else is interested:
http://www.halloweencandybuyback.com/
I will wait until the end to buy the candy so it is not tempting me. Just because we don't eat a lot of sweets doesn't mean I don't want them!
Posted by: Liz | October 12, 2012 at 12:25 AM
This article was written nice, I like it very much. Top.
Posted by: Mulberry Outlet UK | October 12, 2012 at 02:54 AM
Our kids are 4 and 2, and we take them on a very short circuit around about a block (maybe a dozen houses); it's enough for them and it's not too much candy. We don't make a big thing about the candy but they can have a couple pieces that night. Then when they're asleep I go through the candy and take out the most objectionable ones (anything that is crazy bad for teeth or a choking hazard, like a starburst) and then stash the bags in the pantry. They can have a piece or two per day after that.
I like the idea of homemade costumes but have no sewing skills myself (or a sewing machine!). Usually we cobble together things from what we have. So my 4 y.o. wants to be batman, and he has a batman T shirt, so we'll put that with dark pants and a dark shirt underneath and make some kind of cape. LO will be a "builder" so we have all the gear already.
I buy the really "good" candy - the expensive stuff. We don't have a lot of TOTs at our house, and it's fun to be the good house with the snickers and stuff.
Posted by: Erin | October 12, 2012 at 08:51 AM
Trick-or-treating age: As old as he wants as long as he is wearing a real costume.
Candy: As much as he wants after meals.
Which candy: The stuff I like, so that I can help get rid of the leftovers (anything still in the house on election day, I take to the polls to give to volunteers).
Costumes: Muffin Man knows WAY in advance what he wants to be, so we usually put the costume together out of stuff we own or can buy cheaply.
This year, he wants to be The Joker, so we're buying a green wig, and we'll see if we can cobble up a green and purple costume out of existing wardrobe. If not, we'll buy pieces that can be reused in real life.
Posted by: liz | October 12, 2012 at 08:53 AM
Ah, I included a link in that comment that didn't make it through
The cheap, non-crafty parent's guide to making costumes: http://mysterymommy.blogspot.com/2011/11/cheap-non-crafty-parents-guide-to.html
Posted by: liz | October 12, 2012 at 08:55 AM
We also buy Halloween candy at the last minute for the exact same reason. We do pick out our favorites, though. It's the only time of year that we eat much candy.
We might take our little one to a couple of houses this year. He's barely over one, so it's mainly to show off the costume his grandmother is making him (seamstress grandma FTW). And, yes, he'll wear his costume to daycare for Halloween.
Posted by: SarahB | October 12, 2012 at 09:22 AM
I'm so excited that this year Boo and Little Guy will celebrate their first American Halloween - we'll be vising my mom then. I agonized over the costumes. I wanted something that would last; they love to play dress-up. After scouring the websites I kind of gave up and put in my mom's hands. I mean, after 10 years in France (and many many more since I was the age of doing halloween) I have no clue what to do.
For us no problem w/ the candy. It's vacation so rules are a bit relaxed anyway but after the first night it will be slowly rationed out or shared with the big people.
Posted by: Karin | October 12, 2012 at 09:47 AM
I saw some Halloween non-candy options at T@rget that I am reallllly excited about. Bags of mini pretzels, mini granola bars, cereals...I can pack these suckers in school lunches through Christmas! Always torn between what the dentists say- binge one or two days and be done or save and spread it out all month long. I don't mind older trick or treaters-- if they're dressed up and begging for candy at least they're not up to other mayhem.
Posted by: rebecca | October 12, 2012 at 10:30 AM
We make costumes from sweatsuits or bedsheets + felt or a little bit of material. So far we've done: Charlie Brown (bald baby in yellow sweatshirt from thrift store that we drew zigzag on in Sharpie), flying monkey (brown hoodie with ears safety pinned on, tan felt pinned on tummy, felt + coathanger wings on a red sweatshirt cut into a vest), aligator (just make a head out of tagboard, dressedd in green sweats) plus a few more that I'm forgetting. Usually takes 1 trip to 2ndhand store, 1 trip to Target or similar, 1 trip to fabric/craft store and 1 afternoon to put it all together.
For older kids - I'll give candy to anyone that rings my doorbell, but I get cranky (internally) with older kids that dont even try beyond a mask or their football jersey.
Posted by: AmyRenee | October 12, 2012 at 10:52 AM
I buy kitkat, peppermint patties and m&ms (candy we like and can eat - no nuts at our house), the day before or a few days before. Older kids need costumes - plastic bag over clothes does not count. Lights out at 7:45. We do a mix of store bought items and homemade or toy store. No set or fast rule for us. We have done all homemade (help from MIL) and all internet buy as well. Kid wore a Halloween tshirt for the first 3 years. I personally do not like babies in costumes. The Halloween Fairy takes a majority of the candy esp. with nuts (and all random candy left over from the year worth of holidays and birthday parties)and leaves a small lego set. Then a treat in lunch and/or after dinner for a few days.
Posted by: courtney | October 12, 2012 at 11:36 AM
@sadie - my son could not have nuts for the first 7 years of life (so 4 trick or treats?). 2nd year was a bit stressful because he really understood and it made him sad. So the couple of years I had kitkats and peppermint patties at home that he could trade nut candy for. His kinder teacher was a big peanut butter cup fan so we saved some of those as presents for him. I still can't have nuts or peanuts so all the rest goes to the office. good luck!
Posted by: courtney | October 12, 2012 at 11:44 AM
We usually cobble a costume together from stuff on hand, maybe buying a few things to fill it out. (Note to self: do we have an eye patch at home?)
For candy, we allow them to keep 25 pieces of their choosing, they rest they forfeit. We go to the bookstore and I buy them each a book in exchange. If 25 sounds like a lot of candy, you should see how much they get! It blows my mind. So 25 is pretty pared down. I don't police it, either. They can eat it all that night, or one piece a day or whatever they want. This works well for us. (Especially because a lot of the forfeited candy ends up in my sock drawer.)
Posted by: Rudyinparis | October 12, 2012 at 12:48 PM
Oh, and I forgot--as long as you're in costume and in the spirit of the thing, I'll happily give you candy. What drives me nuts--and we get a handful a year--is sullen, non-costumed teenagers silently holding out a bag. Does anyone have good ideas of how to deal with this? I end up reluctantly giving them a piece of candy because I don't want my house egged (or worse) but it actually really pisses me off.
Posted by: Rudyinparis | October 12, 2012 at 12:51 PM
@Rudyinparis might a playful parenting (neighboring?) approach work with the sullen teens, i.e., "AAAAH! You're disguised as a teenager!!! Scariest costume I've seen all day!!!" to suggest to them that it's time to phase out (or get with the dressing up program)? Actually I think the last year I ToTed as a kid (I was maybe 13?) was one I thought I wouldn't (too old) and then was tempted at the last minute, so I have some empathy for them (I think I pulled together some very lame costume but I may not have).
I'll admit I don't have a system. This year DS, 5, picked out what he wanted to be for the first time and I bought it b/c there was no way I wanted to negotiate making a t-rex costume for him. He hasn't tried on the bought costume yet (delivered just yesterday) though he picked it out, so hopefully it will live up to his expectations ... urgh. In prior years, I bought something cheap and tolerable (it was a fireman's costume the last 2 years running and a puppy before that) and just used it/gave him the option of being that. But he is older, and developing an awareness that choices like these should be his (which of course they should once he reaches that point). So.
Candy -- thus far, we've allowed it to be eaten more or less without limit Halloween night (DS is a kid who will hand me back a pack of cookies with cookies still in it and say "I've had enough," which, believe me, was not me as a kid -- nor is it me as an adult), and then, so far, candy has just sort of been around and nibbled on until it gets gone (not too long, and there may be some selective mom removals). We'll see how that works this year. I will note that he's one of those scrawny little boys, so while clearly his body doesn't need the contents of candy (non-nutrition) anymore than any of the rest of ours does, I'm not at this point worrying about his weight, particularly not about it being too high. But of course who knows what the future holds, so all my thinking on all this may need to evolve over time.
We have a great neighborhood where one family organizes a gathering and the families meet up for a dinner and then all go around together; I may break apart from the "together" ToT group this year because honestly (though I love the people), I find the group ToT kind of large and overwhelming and as a candy-giver prefer a few ToTers at a time.
Posted by: Alexicographer | October 12, 2012 at 01:10 PM
My kids are 10, 9, and 5. They all love Halloween and trick-or-treating. My friends and I trick-or-treated in college(!) with costumes on, so I have no problems with older kids trick-or-treating. Now, when the parents are holding out a bag for themselves, I think it's odd.
My kids wear store-bought costumes, pretty much. They like to mix and match--for example, this year my 9-year-old girl is going as a disco zombie, so she has a zombie costume and a rainbow wig.
I usually try to buy candy that I'm not tempted to eat and I don't buy it far in advance.
One of my friends suggested letting kids eat candy first thing in the morning, and it actually works pretty well. They aren't wired before bed, anyway. Plus, they eat breakfast right after to mitigate the effects.
My kids usually lose interest in the candy after a week or so, and then I just "disappear" it (throw it away).
My oldest has a peanut allergy, and we let him trick-or-treat, but all the candy goes straight into his bag. No eating candy en-route. When he gets home, we sort out the safe candy and trade the unsafe candy for stuff we know he can eat. It's easier now that he's older and knows what he can and can't eat.
Posted by: Jennie | October 12, 2012 at 01:13 PM
My daughter is two and so far we are assembling her costumes. I don't particularly like to sew and don't have the time to go whole hog about it, but my mom always did homemade costumes and a lot of the store-bought ones feel cheap to me (while actually being quite expensive). So we've picked stuff we could put together from "everyday" items. I also plan to pick her costume for her until she won't let me anymore. Last year, she was a hunchback. I put her in brown pants and mocassins she already owned, and bought her a button-up boys shirt that was about two sizes too big. We stuffed a balloon under it and I put some smudges of green concealer on her face, and moussed her hair (of which she had quite a bit) so it stuck out all over. My SIL, whose 9-month-old daughter went as butterfly fairy princess, thought it was a horrible thing for us to do. Everybody else I know thought it was hilarious, and we have some wonderful pictures of her answering the front door like a little Igor. I don't think we'll ever have as much fun again, but this year we're doing Princess Leia - size 14/16 white turtle neck, belt made out of white and silver duct tape, and cute white boots that she'll be able to wear with any of her winter dresses.
For candy, I always buy it early on sale, usually when I get a craving. Then I open the bag, eat a few pieces, and put the rest away. I buy what I like because our neighborhood really seems to vary and we usually have a bit left over.
Since she's still so young, I don't know what we'll do about candy. We only took her to two houses last year, but we'll probably try the whole cul de sac this time around. I'll likely let her have a few pieces here and there throughout the week, especially if it helps me get something done (like grocery shopping). I like everyone's ideas about letting kids trade in candy, but there's a part of me that's not sure I'd want to bother taking her trick or treating if we didn't actually want to let her eat the candy. We never got to go as kids because we lived in a pretty rural area, but my mom (who was strict with sweets any time but holidays and special occasions) let us "trick or treat" at home, and gave us huge bags of candy bars. I honestly think my feelings about how much she gets to eat at Halloween will depend on how much I feel she's getting the rest of the year. Between birthday parties, school parties, and my own sweet tooth, I'm afraid she'll get a lot more sugar than I did just by default, so we might limit Halloween just to help balance things out.
Posted by: Rbelle | October 12, 2012 at 02:23 PM
@Rudyinparis - when kids hold out their bag without saying "trick or treat" I say "Trick or Treat" and act like I'm going to take candy out of their bag. That will usually get the younger ones to smile and say it and it lets the older ones know they need to at least play along.
Posted by: Andrea | October 12, 2012 at 03:22 PM
@Andrea, I like that!
Posted by: Rudyinparis | October 12, 2012 at 05:03 PM