Halloween is definitely not my favorite holiday. I cannot stand the thought of a month long Halloween celebration; it seems like October 1st rolls around and the costumes come out or the costume requests. Several years ago I decided to do it differently and it was the best thing I've ever done!
Three days before Halloween we get out the costume boxes. The children decide what they want to be based on what we have in the boxes. Usually the younger children are fine with this. If the older children want to buy a fancy costume, it's on their dime. If any of them need an accessory for their costume, we make one trip to the local "costume-land" to pick it up.
Once their decision is made, we stick with it. No changing costumes or whining to be something else. With 8 children, this simplifies life immensely. I'm not dealing with costumes scattered all over the house for the month of October nor am I thinking about Halloween all month long. I think about it for 3 days and that's that.
This year we had an EMT, a seven dwarf, a BYU football fan, Paul Bunyon, an indian, a Butterfly, a fireman and a princess.
And now....we can relax!
More to come, but until then...Stick-to-it!
What is your candy philosophy or policy? Or is there one?
ReplyDeleteWe divide everything into two bowls: chocolate and non-chocolate. (Note the emphasis on chocolate) We keep the goods out of reach of "the little people" and when chores are complete, great behavior is obtained or just because, the bowls come down and we indulge. The treats become monitored rather than a free-for-all. Treats are also a reward or a privilege, not a right.
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