Feel like I screwed up Halloween for my kids

[Anonymous]

OP, millions of us didn't go this year. You are not alone. You did the right thing. Pat yourself on the back.

Ugh. You get no pats on the back for your choice. Can I get a pat on the back for creatively and safely engaging in a fun activity with my family without causing any extra risk of infection? Because I was able to do that while still trick or treating, with masks and no approaching doors. Your attitude is obnoxious. It's becoming apparent that fighting COVID is more about being pious and better than thou than actual science in this area. We are better than this - come on people!

1+. This is the COVID version of the superiority complex. I'm superior because I deprived myself and family from partaking in a virtually risk-free activity! Pat me on the back!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The past 7+ months I've heard the phrase "our kids have already lost so much" countless times. And, my friends, I'm over it. It's a bit pathetic, in my opinion, that as adults we are perpetuating the victim mentality for our kids instead of teaching them the art of grit and pivoting in unexpected or challenging times. Using a current issue as an example, are kids really going to "suffer" if they don't trick or treat? No. Only if WE (the adults) model a "loss" mindset. What if, instead, families looked at it as a way to plan a really fun evening? Maybe doing a family art project, bobbing for apples in mixing bowls, packaging up sweet treats to door drop for neighbors, creating a spooky themed meal together. I assure you, if WE (the adults) started finding the OPPORTUNITY instead of inflating the perceived losses, we may actually find that we have opportunities to create lasting memories for our children. They'll remember that year they had a SPECIAL Halloween instead of trick or treating like every other year. Shift your OWN perspective so we can look back at this time and remember how much our kids (and ourselves) LEARNED during the pandemic, not lost.

My aunt posted this recently, and I mostly agree. People acting devastated that their kids can't do what they do in normal years is overly dramatic - if you have a good attitude, the kids won't think it's a big deal. Shield them from seeing social media postings of kids going out trick or treating, and do fun things at home. We had a "candy hunt" yesterday - Dh and I hid 40 pieces of candy around the house and let our 4 kids go nuts finding them. That was right before lunch. Then they could eat candy after lunch while we roasted pumpkin seeds. No, it wasn't as exciting as going out to different houses and seeing everyones costumes, but everything is a bit different this year. And that's okay - we're staying safe and keeping others safe by staying home.

I love it. You aunt is wonderful.

+1

I kind of hate the italicized post. Now we as parents shouldn't allow our children to feel or express sadness, disappointment, loss, frustration, etc., lest we be perpetuating victimhood? All our kids need to make those feelings go away are cutesy art project and themed meals? Cool, cool, got it. Sounds very healthy.

[Anonymous]

This pandemic seems to be have brought serious FOMO (fear of missing out) in certain families how used to follow along what others where doing without asking themselves any questions.

We're used to doing things our own way, so we were very comfortable having a non-traditional Halloween and watching Jurassic World and eating raclette instead. No decor, no costumes, no trick or treating.

Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses. Do whatever the heck you want to do as long as it's safe for others around you. This will make you happier in the long run, pandemic or no pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm rarely negatively affected by Facebook, but damn, it feels like we are the only ones who didn't go trick-or-treating. They were upset, too, even though we tied to make a fun at-home party. Our city asked people not to trick-or-treat so we followed that request. Just feeling like I let my kids down.

Blah.

I’m sorry, but that’s on you. What on earth made you think trick or treating was unsafe? It’s an outdoor activity for goodness sake! And you can easily social distance and wear masks! I seriously do not get the mindset of people who said it was unsafe. Bars, gyms, and indoor dining all open. But no, you can’t go trick or treating?!

People, start making your own reasonable decisions instead of following Fauci’s edicts blindly.

+1000

[Anonymous]

The only mistake you made was giving the trick or treater candy. That was unfair to your son and wishy-washy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm rarely negatively affected by Facebook, but damn, it feels like we are the only ones who didn't go trick-or-treating. They were upset, too, even though we tied to make a fun at-home party. Our city asked people not to trick-or-treat so we followed that request. Just feeling like I let my kids down.

Blah.

I’m sorry, but that’s on you. What on earth made you think trick or treating was unsafe? It’s an outdoor activity for goodness sake! And you can easily social distance and wear masks! I seriously do not get the mindset of people who said it was unsafe. Bars, gyms, and indoor dining all open. But no, you can’t go trick or treating?!

People, start making your own reasonable decisions instead of following Fauci’s edicts blindly.

+1000

+100000

It feels like I'm re-living middle school experience. Many are not making decisions based on their own thoughts/observations, but are instead listening to the media on what is the "cool thing to do." Sigh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nothing is screwed up for kids. I took off from work early one of the weekdays and took them to a pumpkin patch. We met with a few families during Halloween day and did socially distanced ToT. Lots of Haloween related crafts/ activities in the last couple of weeks. We explained to the kid that there is no ToT this year so we took them to the store and they picked out a few full-sized candies of their choice. On the evening of, we all got dressed up, watched a movie, and then took a walk around our block to check out the decorations. We did come across a couple of houses with candies outside. We let our kid pick those and used hand sanitizers right after.

Life isn't in all black and white, there are plenty of shades of gray to go around. And no even if you didn't do all this, your kid's Halloween isn't screwed. Its life, it sucks right now, but it still is a pretty good one that most of us on this forum are living.

LOL! Walking around to see decorations and picking up treats is trick or treating. Yes, you went trick or treating!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually thought it was the best halloween ever. Everyone sitting outside and the extra decorations made it awesome! Versus having to ring doorbells.

I agree, I really liked this format.

Yes, it was so fun! We had a table out in our driveway with candy bars set out - wasn't trying to deal with making goody bags for that- and hand sanitizer. It was perfect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The past 7+ months I've heard the phrase "our kids have already lost so much" countless times. And, my friends, I'm over it. It's a bit pathetic, in my opinion, that as adults we are perpetuating the victim mentality for our kids instead of teaching them the art of grit and pivoting in unexpected or challenging times. Using a current issue as an example, are kids really going to "suffer" if they don't trick or treat? No. Only if WE (the adults) model a "loss" mindset. What if, instead, families looked at it as a way to plan a really fun evening? Maybe doing a family art project, bobbing for apples in mixing bowls, packaging up sweet treats to door drop for neighbors, creating a spooky themed meal together. I assure you, if WE (the adults) started finding the OPPORTUNITY instead of inflating the perceived losses, we may actually find that we have opportunities to create lasting memories for our children. They'll remember that year they had a SPECIAL Halloween instead of trick or treating like every other year. Shift your OWN perspective so we can look back at this time and remember how much our kids (and ourselves) LEARNED during the pandemic, not lost.

My aunt posted this recently, and I mostly agree. People acting devastated that their kids can't do what they do in normal years is overly dramatic - if you have a good attitude, the kids won't think it's a big deal. Shield them from seeing social media postings of kids going out trick or treating, and do fun things at home. We had a "candy hunt" yesterday - Dh and I hid 40 pieces of candy around the house and let our 4 kids go nuts finding them. That was right before lunch. Then they could eat candy after lunch while we roasted pumpkin seeds. No, it wasn't as exciting as going out to different houses and seeing everyones costumes, but everything is a bit different this year. And that's okay - we're staying safe and keeping others safe by staying home.

I love this so much and its 100% accurate. Are our kids so delicate they can't take having to celebrate Halloween a little differently for one year?! I honestly wonder if this is how all these "woe is me" parents react to disappointments in their owns lives? I get being distressed about school, you can make the argument that that really matters - especially for some kids. I get being tired of disappointments - we are too. Cancelled vacations, activities, online school, but Halloween? Really? Grown up, model creativity and resilience for your kids and PARENT!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, millions of us didn't go this year. You are not alone. You did the right thing. Pat yourself on the back.

Why does this have to be a competition? For those who felt safe doing TOT (and did it safely with masks, social distancing etc), that was the right answer. For those who didn't feel comfortable doing TOT and planned other activities, that was the right answer.

That’s my feeling as well. There’s no “right” thing. If your family is at-risk, then it’s good to err on the side of caution. For others, it’s nice to celebrate outdoors, with masks, and enjoy Halloween.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm rarely negatively affected by Facebook, but damn, it feels like we are the only ones who didn't go trick-or-treating. They were upset, too, even though we tied to make a fun at-home party. Our city asked people not to trick-or-treat so we followed that request. Just feeling like I let my kids down.

Blah.

I’m sorry, but that’s on you. What on earth made you think trick or treating was unsafe? It’s an outdoor activity for goodness sake! And you can easily social distance and wear masks! I seriously do not get the mindset of people who said it was unsafe. Bars, gyms, and indoor dining all open. But no, you can’t go trick or treating?!

People, start making your own reasonable decisions instead of following Fauci’s edicts blindly.

+1000

+100000

It feels like I'm re-living middle school experience. Many are not making decisions based on their own thoughts/observations, but are instead listening to the media on what is the "cool thing to do." Sigh.

[phone]. People have lost all critical reasoning and decision making skills. I believe Fauci. I wear a mask. We also went trick or treating safely. Make your own decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here and I didn't think ToT was happening. No one on our street was handing out candy, though I see now that things were happening on other streets in our neighborhood. Also, we had a fun plan in store for the kids -- a backyard party with a scavenger hunt, halloween-themed pinata, games... and while we still did that, each of our kids was allowed to invite 1 classmate. The classmates did not come because my 4YO came down with a cold.

Once I realized ToT was happening, we may have done that, but my 4YO had a cold...

My 6YO was fine with the party idea and was fine not ToT, up until when we realized their friends couldn't come.

So you didn't really screw up Halloween. You just didn't teach your kids to "enjoy the wow that's happening now," as Daniel Tiger would say. It's something kids need to learn, so this is a good opportunity for that.

They did have fun, and that is a big thing we both teach and model for our children. That doesn't mean they don't get disappointed. It's normal and okay to still feel disappointed sometimes. They had fun with the activities we planned, and my 4YO was completely fine, but my 6Yo really missed being with friends/others.

If your four year old has cold symptoms no one in your family should be socializing or trick-or-treating.

Your six year old needs to get over it. You had other fun activities for Halloween. His sister was sick. No one in your family should be out and about. Life isn’t always perfect

[Anonymous]

Our 5 and 8 year old didn’t go trick or treat, instead we bought several different kinds of chocolate/candies in small packing to hide in their rooms for them to do the candy hunt and they had so much fun for Halloween hunt then enjoy the sweets. We did left some candies/chocolates outside the door not not a single kid came.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, a lot of my DD's friends live in "fun" neighborhoods where they had pickup trucks throwing candy out at the kids, distanced parades, awesome decorations, but fortunately she doesn't talk to kids anymore since they're all DL so she has no idea! Win-win!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm rarely negatively affected by Facebook, but damn, it feels like we are the only ones who didn't go trick-or-treating. They were upset, too, even though we tied to make a fun at-home party. Our city asked people not to trick-or-treat so we followed that request. Just feeling like I let my kids down.

Blah.

Where we live in MoCo I only know one other family that went trick
Or treating. All my family in FL seemed to go but not around here...