Pumpkins, candy, costumes and FUN! It was HALLOWEEN last weekend! This year it looked a little different around here. It wasn’t only because of COVID-19 though. It looked different because we’ve decided to start doing things that go against most of what our current culture does. It’s time to embrace being different! How I see it is that there’s a lot of autopilot in society these days and that isn’t something I want to pass on to my kids. I want to pass on consciousness. It’s time to question why we do the things we do and make sure our actions align with our core values. You might be asking how I could pass autopilot on to my kids. The same way everything gets passed on from generation to generation – through our behaviour! I honestly had a hard time narrowing it down but here are three lessons we want to teach our kids and how they fit into our Halloween celebration this year.
One – Balance is important
Ok, let’s get real for a second here. Do kids really NEED that much candy? Nope, not in my opinion. Balance is important! And so is healthy eating. I mean we all know what happens when kids eat a lot of sugar…..CHAOS. And that’s something I try to avoid in my life. When was the last time you stopped and asked yourself why you do the things you do? I do it all the time! This year, I questioned the trick or treating tradition. And we decided we would not be participating. Well, that’s not entirely true. There was that one house across the street. Why do we walk around from house to house and ask for candy that we will overeat later and making our bodies not feel great? Right? Hardly makes any sense.
Our kids had already received candy from some generous neighbors down the street, the younger kids’ daycare providers, preschool, their grandparents, great uncle, and their uncle. We also bought some candy to hand out to anyone that came trick or treating that night and they had some of that. That is plenty of sugar for anyone! Candy is not going to make you happy. Maybe momentarily, but let’s remember the important things in life. Like giving our bodies what they need to show up for us every day. What about that? Yeah.
Two – Put In The Effort And Contribute
Who doesn’t like a good feast of fun food? That’s what we did. Do you remember the days where you would put your hands in a bowl of peeled grapes that were supposed to be eye balls? Me too! But that’s not what we did. LOL. We had fun making a raw veggie skeleton – (thanks Pinterest!), a spider web taco dip, jack-o-lantern peppers with spaghetti and pumpkin cookies. At least that was the plan. Plans don’t always go right, especially when there are kids involved, so the peppers didn’t get cooked. Oh well! And guess what guys? We did it together! There was something that each kid could help with. They were involved in the process and excited to contribute to the making of the meal! There’s a big difference between showing up and being involved. Put the effort in guys! It will pay you back in rewards!
This goes for relationships too! We want our kids to know that it’s not enough to just show up and exist. You gotta be putting in effort and contribute to the connections too! We had some extended family and friends that are like family celebrate with us. They all contributed in some way too – helping prepare the meal and/or bringing a game to play. It’s important to spend time with the people you say are the most important to you. Time is precious guys and before you know it, you’ll be dead. Yes, I just said that. Read it again. You’re gonna die one day. Time is something you’ll never get back, so make sure you’re spending it with the people you love while you can.
Three – Focus On What You Have, Not What You Don’t
This year, the kids weren’t allowed costumes at school. Thank you COVID-19. They had orange and black day instead. One teacher asked her students to send her their costumes and she would show them off to the class. I thought this was a great way to show their classmates their costumes! Costumes are usually one of the highlights for the kids (and the adults)! They love getting dressed up. I know that this really meant a lot to my daughter. I forgot to send the picture to her teacher and so she missed out on having it shown to her class. Yeah, I know right? Bad mom. Um nope, I forget things too! So I sent it late and the teacher showed it to her class and she was beaming when she told me about it!
Costumes might not have been allowed at school this year and our family didn’t go trick or treating but those weren’t the things we focused on. We focused on the things we did have – lots of fun and laughter, good food including some candy, and good company. When I asked the kids if they had a good Halloween even though it looked a little different this year, the answer was a big YES!
How have your Halloween traditions changed from when you were a kid until now?