Halloween and Christianity, Part Four: Let's Have Fun!

Here is the part many of you have been waiting for. I hope you have been challenged by these blogs to rethink Halloween. Or, maybe you have already chosen not to celebrate Halloween and want ideas on how to make the season FUN for you and your family.
In our country, there seem to be no viable options. Some churches have Harvest or Bible themed parties, where everyone shows up wearing their bathrobe and a towel tied to their head. But what do you do the rest of the month while everyone gears up for Halloween? When my husband and I decided to celebrate All Saints Day, there was no pattern to follow, so we made up our own.

I hope some  of these ideas work for your family. Let’s reclaim the season for Holy Partying!

First of all, decorate for fall with accents of red and white. These are the official colors of All Saints Day and they stand for courage and faith. Whoever comes into your home will find the happy, peaceful décor a refreshing change from garish black and orange decorations, cobwebs, and skeletons. I also hang red and white All Saints banners during the month of October that have scripture painted in gold puff paint. They add a beautiful touch and are a great discussion starter.



my girls and their friends did a play in full costume

Don’t forget to talk UP your chosen holiday. If we focus on the positive, our children are more likely to see the delight of God's ways. One year in early October, a cashier asked my daughter if she was ready for Halloween. Tara answered with six-year-old exuberance, “Oh, we don’t celebrate Halloween; we celebrate All Saints Day. We decorate the house and have a party. We play games and have a feast. And we read stories about brave people all month long!”
We immediately had the attention of the cashier, the bagger, and the lady in the next checkout line. For a few minutes, they pummeled us with questions, which we gladly answered.



one of many characters 

Another opportunity to share appeared when I asked Tara’s first grade teacher if she was planning a Halloween party at school. I explained that we celebrated All Saints Day instead. She asked me a little about it and not only listened, but asked if I could write up a short description for the kids. I did, and she read it in class and put up a “Be a Saint” poster. All month long, the children could earn stickers by their name when they got caught doing nice things for others.

Egyptian princess

Johnny Appleseed

Finally, don’t scrap dress up fun. Create dress up occasions NOT connected with Halloween. Tara, Launa, and their friends loved dress up parties. My girls became Skittles for the Candy Party we had for Tara's birthday. Their friends came as everything from a pack of gum to the candy fairy. We had awards, played games, and of course, ate candy. We also had a Princess Party, a Circus Party, as well as putting on plays complete with costumes.



Mime

My girls and their cousins also started a yearly tradition during family vacation. They dressed Launa as a different character every night using whatever was already in the house. Some of our favorite times were awaiting the "unveiling" and the many laughs and pictures.

When we studied mime in homeschool, Launa and I both dressed in full makeup and performed for her grandparents.



Only One?

Granddaughter Jolieanna and Kelly

Now that my children are grown, I still love dress up fun. For his birthday party one year, the theme was, “There’s Only One Kelly Vice.” I gave everyone in the family a picture of him to make into a mask or mount on a stick. They all arrived in "disguise." When he turned 50, we threw a surprise Hawaii 5-0 party for Kelly, complete with Hawaiian music, décor, and luau attire.

And for you married women, you can have fun putting together costumes for your husband’s eyes only. He will enjoy being your secret audience.



me and Tara

#dressupfun #allsaintsforgottenholiday #betterthanhalloween #allsaintsdaytoday #christianfamilyfun 

Tune in for one more entry of ideas in Part Five. The final blog in this series, will be about heroes, music, party planning, and family unity. I hope you will join me.