Make Halloween their favourite holiday
Choose your Character
By far the most important part of being the cool mum or dad is the character you choose. Now there are so many to choose from it's important that you don't go for anything the kids won't understand. Which I know is tempting, but dressing up as Alex from A Clockwork Orange, as cool as that is, will be met by blank stares and an embarrassed child (which might be a win win).
For me, I'm a big fan of getting involved in the kids' interests anyway. I don't have children, although one is due very soon, and as a massive Pokémon fan, it would be a simple choice of which Ghost type Pokémon I could look most like. And since we just released our Gengar and Mimikyu cosy socks, it would have to be one of those (shameless plug, sorry).
Remember though, the aim is to enjoy it together, so a family costume of Gastly, Haunter and Gengar would go down a treat.
Make a plan
Seems simple, but choosing a well known Halloween route is so important. I had one year where we walked around for over an hour before we found any homes taking part in Halloween and it kinda ruins the night. But when you finally find that street that takes the night very seriously, it's amazing.
Keep to the rules
Some houses really don't enjoy Halloween, and making sure they don't get annoyed keeps the evening exclusively full of good memories. So stick to the ones with decorations or with a lit pumpkin out front, this lets everyone know they're up for the scares.
Let them set the level
Some houses really ramp up the scare levels. Jump scares, creepy clown, giant spiders! It can actually be quite traumatising for some younger children (or even for me), so don't force them down any driveways that might actually cause some psychological damage!
Halloween films
This time of year isn't just about the costumes and sweets, there are so many amazing Halloween movies. And not just overly scary ones, genuine classics that everyone should watch at least once in their lives. Ghostbusters, The Addams Family, Casper and Coraline. All wonderful movies that will do nothing but enrich your lives.
Pumpkins
I think this is the best part. Letting your kids go for some crazy designs and really just having some creative fun. No need to be the best (I'm terrible), but carving a funny face or a Spiderman logo into a pumpkin is so fun and actually starts to teach the kids some important lessons on how to safely use a carving knife.
