Getting Real with Kira Hazledine

I’ll own up to it. Last year, I took my infant daughter trick-or-treating. She was a whopping 6-months old, and I shamelessly collected candy for her. However, this was not just about the candy (which was delicious). This was a golden opportunity for me to dress my darling child as a flower, and for an abundance of strangers to tell me how cute she is. Thanks, I know, but you can keep telling me literally over and over again for a few hours. This is awesome!

Now, we approach Halloween again, and it won’t be so easy. I already know I’ll spend time arguing with Hallie over holding my hand while we walk, because she won’t ride in the stroller. She’s an independent lady, and if all those other kids can walk, so can she. I’ll also spend time deterring Hallie from smelling every single flower, or touching every Halloween decoration, or trying to hug strange children. And we haven’t even gotten to the candy yet.

Trick or Treat? 

Hallie will be learning the concept of trick-or-treating, which involves placing candy in a bucket. Hallie will be responsible for holding of said bucket, despite my good intentions of telling her that mommy will hold the bucket. Oh no, Hallie is an independent lady. If other kids are holding their buckets, she will too. I also predict that Hallie will want to empty the bucket every few moments – sitting down, assessing her candy, taking candy out of bucket, and putting candy back in bucket… I can already see the tantrums that are freshly emerging from her toddler mind when I ask her to move along.

So why bother?

I certainly don’t have to take her trick-or-treating. Hallie would never know the difference, and if I’m this worried about it I should just stay home and hand out candy. Well, first, I like to complain. It’s one of my favorite past-times. Second, I really do want to dress Hallie up in another adorable costume. It is entirely selfish of me, because I think Hallie would make an awesome shark or lion. Third, I find sitting on my porch boring. There’s no block party for me to attend, and the local Halloween events for small children are lame (yes, I’m snooty about it), so trick-or-treating is my only opportunity.

Long story short, I will more than likely take Hallie trick-or-treating. There will be tears and spilled candy buckets, but I think it will be great. I love offering Hallie new experiences, and watching her learn new concepts is my absolute favorite. Hallie is smart, and like her mother, she has a thing for sweets. It would be so rude of me to deny her, and if things go south, we can always cut the night short. Will it be terrifying? Maybe. It will also be an awesome time with my family and I’m always ready for a new adventure. At the very least, Hallie will get some solid behavioral and safety lessons (smell the flowers, but don’t touch the other children). I am trying to tame this independent lady, so I might as well have some fun with it.

How does your family do Halloween with little ones?