Halloween Week Fun

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Here's the thing...Halloween is one of those holidays where you are either okay with it or your not. There really is no fence riding for this one. The choice is, are we doing the whole dress up trick or treat thing or are we not. As believers, we are left with a tough decision. Do we go out participate or do we hide away. As parents, the decision is slightly more intense because now you have to explain your reasons for what you decide to do.

Amy and I crossed this bridge, asking ourselves the question, "Do we go or do we stay?" Initially, Halloween was no big deal. We both dressed up as kids. As a young married couple (without kids) we greeted neighborhood kids at our door with a bowl full of candy. And even when we had our first two boys, we dressed them up and went knocking on doors with them. 

But then there were a couple of years when we thought, "Why are we doing what we were doing?" Was there more to Halloween than the costumes and candy? Should we as parents be more cautious and protective? We listened as other parents, some our age some older, shared their reason why they were for or against, and it let us a bit confused over the whole thing. So we did the alternative events. The church trunk or treats, the fall festival parties, and the costume fun nights. The result? We dressed up our kids and costumes and came home with buckets of candy.

As I thought about all of this, the only real difference was the were choosing to participate in a "sanctified" version of Halloween, while missing out on the opportunity to meet and interact with our neighbors. It wasn't long after that, that I felt that we really needed to think through our approach to Halloween. 

​A number of years ago, while driving home from a work site, I was listening to our local Christian talk radio station. The station was part local churches broadcasting their Sunday sermon, part national teachers and syndicated programming, and part talk radio. That afternoon I was listening to the "talk" portion of the programming. It was a three hour mix of news, culture trends, heart-warming stories, light theological discussion, and encouragement to help you press on in your faith journey with Christ. Sometimes the topics and guest resonated with me and sometimes not so much. But on this particular day, the show featured a segment that dealt with Halloween. There is always this debate on what Christians should  so do when Halloween comes around. They interviewed a local pastor, who shared some practical and helpful ways to engage the world come Halloween night. In listening to him talk about how we have the opportunity to engaging the community in a positive way, helped us redefine our view of Halloween.

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I think as believers, we often make a the mistake of turning away from opportunities that could be a chance to connect and engage with our community.  We shut our doors, turn off ours lights, and hide in our homes in our fellowship halls at church, all because we believe that Halloween is evil. Halloween isn't evil...it's just another day on the calendar. Sure there are the accounts of how such a holiday originated and people practiced questionable activities. But think about it, by itself, Halloween is just another day. 

Seriously, Halloween is the one night of the year that people are actually out and walking around our neighborhood. If I want to engage my community, why would I miss the one night of the year when everyone is out and about? No, I want to get out there. I want to meet and greet. I want to see who it is that lives in that house down the street. I want to be where the people are. We want to engage our community. We don't want to just live here, we want to be a part of the community around us. We want to know our neighbors. We want to build relationships that offer hope and encouragement. So as we think about Halloween, the one night that the entire neighborhood is out and about, we want to be where our neighbors are.

​As I listened to the talk show that day, the pastor made a statement that went something like, 'Jesus wouldn't be at your church harvest party, Jesus would be wherever the people were.' We see evidence of this all throughout the gospel accounts. Jesus went to where the people were. 

In the years that have followed, we have worked to create a number of fun, Halloween traditions with our kids, while also looking for ways to connect with our neighbors. From trick-or-treating in the neighborhood to creative dinner ideas, movie nights, and costume parties we made Halloween a time of imagination and fun. We focused on family, togetherness, friends, and laughter. And we made a point to meet our neighbors, get know the families in the community, and welcome them into our home.

Halloween can be fun, if you think of it as an opportunity to make memories. Below are a few of the traditions, games, ideas, and fun we have had at Halloween.

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We're Talking Halloween

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Make Mummy Dogs

We still make Mummy Dogs every year. We also pick up "spooky" pasta; pasta cut like pumpkins, bones, bats, and hats. 

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Check out our Pinterest

Over the years we have created all sorts of yummy treats and snacks that we have found on Pinterest. There is a small collective of some of our favorites save on our Halloween Idea Board. Just click on the graphic to view.

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