While you may not be able to have people over this Halloween, you probably don’t want your toddler to miss out on all the fun. So, here are my top tips for making sure your little one has a good time even when it’s a small affair.
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Buffet: Children love ‘picky food’ in other words, food they can eat with their hands, so make sure there is a generous spread of toddler friendly nibbles, like cut up vegetables and hummus, zero salt crisps, unseasoned chips, rice cakes, oaty bars and sliced fruit. Sugar free red squash makes an inexpensive drink that looks like blood too, so focus on the drinks just as much as the food! If you really want to push the boat out- you could get Halloween themed table cloths, paper cups and plates to spook out your space even more.
Treats: You can’t celebrate Halloween without a few treats especially when there are young ones about- but just remember to buy ones that your toddler can eat. All the supermarkets have a wide range of cakes, chocolates and sweets right now so you are bound to find something that your toddler will love. Just remember not to buy jelly or round sweets as these are a potential choking hazard for little ones. If you’ve decided not to entertain trick or treaters, be sure not to go overboard or you will be eating Halloween themed candy until December!
Costumes: Make sure your toddler is dressed for the occasion by popping them in an appropriately themed costume. Whether you choose to make them a witch, a ghost or a pumpkin, it’s important to remember that toddlers are clumsy, so something that is not too bulky will stop them from falling over or catching the material on furniture and doors as they pass by. If your child is particularly accident prone, you might be better off buying them a t-shirt instead.
Plus, there’s nothing stopping you from joining in too- so why not pick something up for yourself when you are getting theirs so your little one doesn’t feel left out?
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Pumpkins: Carving pumpkins is a great Halloween activity, however toddlers can’t be trusted with sharp things so you could get them to decorate their pumpkin with colours instead. They could paint it or draw a face on it with marker pens to personalise it how they wish. If you have a large craft box for your toddler, they could even stick glitter or sparkles to it to make it extra special. Just keep a close eye on them as it could get messy very quickly!
Drawing: You can pick your toddler up a Halloween themed colouring book or simply pull some Halloweeny colours out of their collection and draw some typical creepy characters. The benefits of this are two-fold- your toddler will enjoy the activity, especially if you do it with them- but they may learn something too. Halloween is a chance to teach your little one words they might not ordinarily use like ‘ghost’, ‘pumpkin’, ‘witch’ and ‘vampire’, so they are bound to start November with some additional words in their vocabulary.
Watch a Halloween show: While your toddler may not have the attention span for a Halloween movie, there are plenty of cartoons available on streaming services for your little one to watch- all the right length to keep them interested. You could watch one of these at the start of your celebrations so they don’t get scared before bed, or have them on in the background while you eat or craft to encourage the right atmosphere.
Dance: Throw on some spooky songs and dance around with your toddler- little ones love to learn songs with actions so why not teach them the moves to thriller?
Happy Halloween from everyone at Female First!
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