Top 3 favourite slow Halloween activities for children

What does this festival mean to you? At the end of October comes ALL SOULS and HALLOWEEN. The spirits of the Dead are said to draw closer to the Earth at this time. The nights are drawing in now and physically we experience a drawing-in to our homes. Bonfire Night is a great experience for little ones, when the darkness outside is encountered and lit up by human beings. At this time, we also light the pumpkin lantern, an afterglow of summer’s light. At home our Pumpkin lanterns are lit at story time and pumpkin soup and cake are made with the children.

Candy, costumes and being busy?

More and more we feel the pressure to fill this festival with fairy lights, costumes and sweets. But what if we could unravel this. Have a SLOW Halloween, look at our relationship with the changing seasons, of light in the darkness.

Across cultures all around the globe, this time of year, is seen as a time to remember our ancestors and the spirits of the land.

Top 3 Way to have a SLOW halloween

So here are my TOP THREE favourite ways to bring a slow Halloween home:

  • Lantern Walk: We make a lantern. Very simply from paper, but if you don’t feel confident with that you can use a jam jar and add a string handle. We go marching up and down the lane in the dark, this year we might go around the park!
  • It’s a feast day so have a feast. Decorate the table in a special way. Bake or cook something special. We lay a place at the end for our dear departed.
  • Carve a pumpkin. We have done this every year, now it’s a tradition for us, after we have craved them we light them in the dining room and have them as a table centre for the evening meal before they go outside!

We will…

This weekend my kids will have some chocolate, but they will also have fires in the garden, lantern walks across the fields and meals with family. We will eat pumpkin and squash, we will laugh and run around in the autumn leaves. But mostly I will turn my phone off, get outside and connect with it all.