Stop before you go wasting a bundle of money on Halloween candy or costumes. Halloween can be disregarded with absolutely no ill affects. As a matter of fact, as mom and dad, you can take advantage of this holiday as a training occasion and build on your family identity in the process.
But everybody else is doing it. We have always done this this way. Yes there is an mind-boggling desire even as adults to do things just given that other folks are doing it or mainly because these things are just things that we have always done. We don’t desire to be the bizarre one in the group. We don’t want to have everyone make fun of us. We just want to have a little bit of fun. These are all very common response when I ask why people participate in Halloween activities. The reality is that not everyone is doing it and you should not feel guilty if you choose not to do Halloween.
Halloween provides an exceptional opportunity for parents to establish family identity. If you are not positive why you participate in Halloween fun-based activities other than “just to have fun” or “because it is what we have always done” then you might give consideration to letting the October 31st pass on by in your home as if it were any other day of the year. We have done this for quite a few years and have seen no damaging impacts.
Why pick on Halloween? Why use this holiday as a teachable moment or as a way to set your family apart from other families? For our family it is a personal conviction that stems from our faith in God. I wrote more about how your participation in Halloween or not can build family identity.
A few days previously I was taking part in a chat where someone said that “everyone needs a spooky computer background for Halloween.” I just said, “I don’t do Halloween”. The response of another person was, “to each his own” in a gruff and grumpy sort of way. The amount of real truth from that comment is amazing even though it was offered to me with a very disapproving tone. For the purposes of this article I will consider this phrase “to each his own” as a person’s right to determine.
I have already made the choice for my family dependent on prayer, exploration, and discussions with my best mate (my spouse). We no longer obtain or create costumes, attend celebrations, go trick or treating, and we do not give out sweets. We just plain keep clear of the whole thing all together. It has actually been a really simple deal once we committed to the decision.
Not all Christians have in common our convictions on this subject matter. As a matter of fact I would guess that a great deal of Christians don't agree with our response to Halloween. As you can see above I have wrote in much more detail about what line of thinking originally brought us to a decision to stop participating in Halloween. I encourage you to read more of my thoughts on the subject if you are looking for encouragement to stop participating in Halloween. Not everyone is taking part and you should not feel obligated to do so with your household. And this is not just a narrow minded Christian view point either. Many folks of other faiths understand the origins of this holiday and make a decision not to partake.
As dad and mom we can be different and should be different. We should make an effort to be the greatest parents that we can be and not settle for “at least as good as Fill in the Blank“. Doing things like everyone else will end up in rearing little ones just like everyone else.
What will you do to help your family stand out as unique? How will you rise above mediocrity as a family? Are you considering a change to your response to Halloween?
