For children, Halloween may beat Christmas as a favourite holiday, and by several lengths. To be fair, nothing can beat a smorgasbord of candy, the thrill of dressing up and becoming your favourite idol for the night, and the delicious frissons of a frightening movie night. But this is only the tip of the Halloween jack-o’-lantern. Trick-or-Treating is an art that children carefully fine-tune every year, because of the ample and immediate rewards of candy. Going all out for this precious currency at Halloween is vital, because a good hoard of candy could potentially last until Christmas. For parents, controlling candy intake may be the most stressful task of the day, but they should consider, even as they stuff yet another chocolate bar into a lockable box, that Trick-or-Treating is a remarkable opportunity for your child to develop their mental powers.
A good Trick-or-Treater does not simply leave the house and idly amble next door –no. They Google a map of the area, and make notes on what they know about the generosity of their neighbours. In full Halloween regalia, they are fully committed to generating as much interest and attention as is achievable. They haggle with their parents for permission to cover as large an area as possible, and, if they’re truly smart, they will recruit their BFF, Best Friend, Second Best Friend, and perhaps even an additional small crew, to reassure parents that hunting in a pack... sorry, Trick-or-Treating in a group, is the most secure activity in the world. Make no mistake –Trick-or-Treating is a skill that activates the calculating, conniving mind, the devious entrepreneur and the determined athlete in all children, every one motivated by the Greedy Candy Monster that rules their taste buds. If only they would use these skills at school.
Halloween or no, there are real monsters out there, and many parents today feel too insecure to allow their children to go Trick-or-Treating alone. The hustle and bustle of a holiday facilitates a criminal’s activities, and fears of kidnapping mean that, where at least one parent is unable to go with them, the Trick-or-Treating is cancelled altogether. In recent years, there have also been reports on children accepting poisoned candy from strangers, which have further fuelled parental fears over their children’s safety.
For a parent, attempting to counter the Greedy Candy Monster isn’t a wise proposition, but if they are determined to go ahead, their best bet is to pull a trick of their own, and throw a good old-fashioned Halloween Party, stocked with treats and distractions. These must include the following:
· Traditional Halloween eats: candy apples, pumpkin pie, cake and corn
· Traditional Halloween games: Bobbing for apples, Best costume Contest, Telling scary stories
· Sliding in classic Halloween movies for those chills the holiday is all about
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