How to Survive Halloween

A few suggestions based on a decade of experience.

I don’t know about your kids, but mine are obsessed with Halloween. It’s their favorite holiday of the year (well, okay, after Christmas). You might think that means it’s an easy, fun day for me as a parent, but you’d be dead wrong. It’s always one of the hardest — often with more meltdowns than I can count.

Why? Anticipation often leads to anxiety. My kids spend months dreaming of Halloween — the planning usually starts on November 1st — and if reality doesn’t match their expectations, they lose their minds. Add in huge amounts of candy and a late bedtime, and we hit the parenting trifecta. Suddenly, our kids aren’t just dressed up as monsters anymore. Monsters and our kids are one and the same.

But as I’ve learned over the decade I’ve spent enduring Halloween as a parent, there are things we can do to make the day go more smoothly. Here are my five key tips.