Here is Sadie's Halloween costume. It's a little too long, so I'm going to pin the hem a bit with safety pins. It ought to last for a few years though! When we discovered that we were expecting Sadie, I began to devour every book I could find on babies and motherhood. I was especially focused on Catholic Motherhood. As I began to read about parenting slightly older kids I began to come across the Halloween Issue.
I'm no stranger to the Halloween Issue. Just like any parenting debate, people have strong views and things can get heated. In second grade my Baptist Sunday School teacher announced to a class of seven and eight year old that it was a sin to believe in Santa and the Easter Bunny. Other members of our church had no problem with the holiday.
I don't have any particularly strong views on Halloween, but I have seen and read about things that some parents do that I really like. In one of Susie Lloyd's books (I think that it's in Please Don't Drink the Holy Water) she talks about how they celebrate Halloween. The kids do dress up, but they dress up as Biblical Figures, Angels and Saints. My husband and I saw the same thing when we attended Mass in a town an hour away on All Saint's Day and the local Catholic elementary school kids attended. There were a lot of little Mary's and Joseph's, a handful of angels and a lot of shepherds.
I'm sure our approach to Halloween will develop as our little one gets older. For this year we've been stocking up on Saint Cards (which Sadie is a big fan of) and I'm about to order the cute little board book Our Friends the Saints. I've been reading to Sadie from the Illuminated Lives of the Saints book that we have upstairs and she tolerates the stories, although they are a bit wordy for a one year old.
Nap time's over. I have to run! If anyone has any suggestions or ideas about what they do for Halloween, or if you just want to share your opinion I'd love to hear it!
I think it's wonderful that you're allowing her to participate in Halloween. So many families take the strictly religious side and tend to forget that to their kids, it's the one day of the year they get to play dress up and get lots of treats. My husband's entire family (except for him and his little brother) don't have anything to do with it, and it's sad. I think their kids miss out on something really fun and I'd love to throw a family friendly party one year. If you don't feel comfortable with her trick or treating yet(with you of course), a fun thing to do is a treat hunt, like an easter egg hunt. You could have some treats and maybe a little toy or two hidden around someplace for her to find.
ReplyDeleteHi Joanna-
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of a treat hunt, especially if we do end up moving overseas when my husband goes to his next University. Where we are right now the shops in our little historic downtown area set up tables on the sidewalk and all the kids go down the sidewalk and get candy from the shop owners and doctors and dentists who usually set up some healthier booths. I can't wait to see Sadie's face this year when she sees all the costumes!
I want to have my kids pick a saint (or Bible character or angel of course) and dress up as them... I can turn it into a mini lesson that's fun at the same time. Kalila's too young right now though & my hubby's not convinced lol
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