Make Halloween Last All Year
What is it about Halloween that makes it such a popular holiday for children and adults alike—second only to the Christmas/Hanukah winter holidays?
Maybe it’s because Halloween is the one day a year when pretend play takes center stage in our culture. Starting as toddlers, we are drawn to the magnificent characters, stories, and worlds we can create in our own imaginations and the way they help us work out our goals, plans, and problems. For kids, Halloween celebrates and legitimizes their pretend play, and for adults it takes us back to that richly creative time of our lives.
Perhaps the most important thing about Halloween is how we can keep that imaginative Halloween spirit alive all year round. Pretend play fosters creativity and strong problem solving skills, and children don’t need any special props or toys to engage in pretend play . A simple scarf or piece of cloth can be a superhero’s cape, a doll’s diaper, a table cloth, or headgear for a princess. The trick is to use materials that give kids plenty of room to make it up on their own.”
Here are some suggestions for using Halloween as a launching point for a whole year of richly imaginative play:
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Keep that costume handy. Think of it as an everyday part of your child’s toy chest, not as a Halloween-specific costume. Keep it fresh by adding other items that can change or enhance the costume—scarves, gloves, goofy hats, shoes, or even pieces of cloth pinned onto the costume to transform it into a whole new character. Double check everything for safety before you offer it to your child.
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Encourage your child to make up stories about her Halloween character. Long after the treats are gone, the fun can continue through developing the personality of the Halloween character and creating stories that include it. Your child may enjoy dressing up and acting out the stories, and moms or dads shouldn’t be shy about joining in. (Yes, that means dressing up, too!) Younger kids may enjoy having you write down the stories they tell about their character, which they can illustrate, and older children can be encouraged to write out the story themselves.
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Offer other dress up opportunities. Getting “in character” by wearing a costume doesn’t need to be limited to Halloween. Other special events, like birthdays, Thanksgiving, April Fools’ Day, and other holidays can be celebrated through costumes that kids make up for the occasion. Any old day can become a party day for family and friends if you add costumes to the fun. Keep an eye out for potential costume pieces at your church rummage sale, thrift shops, and even the back of your own closet.
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“Extend the pretend” to other everyday situations. Costumes are fun, but not required for becoming your favorite imaginary character. Parents, grandparents, and kids can pretend in the most ordinary, everyday situations—doing the laundry as if you are penguins; shopping for groceries as if you are the king and queen of an imaginary country; switching roles so your child pretends to be the parent and you are the kid while you clean up the house.
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