Ready or not, here comes Halloween!
There are hundreds of articles out there with tips guaranteeing a successful night of trick-or-treating for your kids, but nothing for the parents…until now.
If your children are young, you’ll need to go trick-or-treating with them. Before leaving the house, set out an empty basket on your front porch (make it look like it’s been tipped over), with a sign that says, “take one.” Kids (and more importantly their judging parents) will think you’ve already run out of candy and not that you’re too cheap to buy enough in the first place.
If you’re planning on wearing a costume while walking around with your kids, think it through. If you’re like me, Halloween is the only day of the year you even speak to half of your neighbors. Do you really want to have a conversation with them dressed as a clown or wearing a Trump wig?
In regards your kid’s costume, conventional wisdom says children should not wear masks that obscure their vision. I say, make sure your child’s costume has a full mask! With their impaired eyesight you’ll have no problem freely reaching into their candy basket for all the Krackel you can eat.
Also, while walking around your neighborhood, make sure you have a flashlight. Your neighbors will think you are being a responsible parent keeping your child safe, but you can actually use it to look for dropped candy along the sidewalks.
At the end of the night, every good parent needs to check their child’s candy before letting them eat any. I could not agree more with this tip. Don’t forget to “inspect” all the candy and remove anything that seems suspect (or contains gooey caramel and milk chocolate that you can further “investigate” after the kids are in bed).
Happy Parenting and Happy Halloween!
-Pete
