Halloween vs. Fall Festival

As a Mom, I have a problem with Halloween. Regardless of its origins as a celebration to mark the passing of summer and the beginning of winter, regardless of its connections with honoring the dead, today’s version is far from a simple celebration or commemorative event. Too much of today’s Halloween is about blood and guts, devils and evils, and scaring the pants off people.

So what is a Mom to do? I tell my kids we do not celebrate Halloween. We celebrate the Fall Festival. We give thanks for the bounty God has provided and celebrate by sharing the booty (candy). Here are some ways we celebrate:

• Costumes - I allow my kids to dress up, but it can’t be scary. With boys, that is a tough order, so we try to stick to cartoon characters, super heroes and vehicles (trains, cars, etc.).
• Candy – We do not go trick or treating, but we do attend a church Fall Festival. Personally, I really like this option: less fear about what is in the candy, not as much candy, but enough candy to bring smiles to little faces.
• Pumpkins – We enjoy the pumpkin patch experience. If we have time, we will drive out to a pumpkin patch and enjoy a day in the country.
  
  Decorating our pumpkins - When my kids were young, I gave them a bunch of markers and let them decorate to their hearts content. Now that they are getting older, I do allow them to carve the pumpkin but again nothing scary. Two (three and four) faced pumpkins are fun. Geometric designs make interesting shadows.
  
  Pumpkin Story – I have read and heard several versions of how to incorporate the carving of the pumpkin with the Christian faith. My favorite children’s book is The Pumpkin Gospel by Mary Manz Simon. The copy we have glows in the dark so fun for all. Anyway, the basic Pumpkin Story is accepting Christ into your heart is like carving a pumpkin. Before Christ, you are full of all sorts of yucky stuff (sin). When you accept Christ, he opens you up and cleans all that yuck out (forgiveness). When the joy of Christ fills you, a smile appears bright on your face (decorative carvings). With Christ in your heart, his love will shine (candle) through you.
• Decorations – I like to decorate for holidays so this is for me. I stay away from scary. I also stay away from happy witches, ghosts, goblins and any other superstitious figures. I do collect scarecrows and happy pumpkins. I like to use colorful fall leaves. If I wasn’t allergic to candles, I would probably enjoy setting out decorative candles in orange, rust and yellow.
• Craft – This is a take off of the gingerbread house. I cover a cookies sheet or piece of cardboard with foil. I gather graham crackers, icing, candy corn, candy pumpkins and other fall candies and sprinkles. My kids and I then create our own Fall Scene with barn, crops, fences and whatever seems like fun at the time. (The icing is the glue that holds the graham cracker buildings and fences together.) This craft is fun to create and fun to eat J
• Party – Fall Festivals are lots of fun and usually free. Some have an entrance fee and most usually have a snack stand to help raise funds so take a little cash. Fall Festivals usually have areas for photo opportunities, games, rides and candy. Fall Festivals allow your kids to wear their costumes, have fun and if you go to one at a church, learn a little about faith, family and fellowship.