Try This Tuesday: Halloween ideas

I know Halloween is still a little over a month away, but it's planning time for those of us who have to plan way in advance for these things. Personally, I love Halloween, mostly because I love all the costumes :). It's fun to get my kids dressed up (when they will let me) and see all the cute and creative costumes that other families come up with. I could do without the candy, usually we keep a little bit and I take the rest to work and leave it in a bowl on my desk for my co-workers to snack on.

Halloween can be challenging for children with sensory issues, such as sensitivity to different fabrics or difficulty with large crowds, or who have trouble with changes in routine, so I thought I'd share a few tips we have learned over the years with our kids.

Costumes can be uncomfortable for anyone, but for a child with sensory issues, they can be downright unbearable due to stiff or unfamiliar fabric, extra pieces / attachments, masks or face paint, etc. One thing that I have found helpful is to make costumes using regular clothes as the basis of the costume wherever possible. Sweatsuits are especially versatile and useful for costumes. Find one in the color you need (depending on what the costume is) and then you can attach decorations or whatever you want. From the child's perspective, it's no different than wearing sweats so as long as they are comfortable in sweats it should be tolerable for them to wear.

A couple of examples using sweatsuits:

Thing 1 and Thing 2 from 'Cat in the Hat'
with red sweats minus the blue hair

Costumes made from blue sweats,
Thomas fabric, and felt numbers

A couple of examples using "regular" clothes:

Bob the Builder outfits using overalls & flannel shirts
The hats didn't last long but they liked the toolbelts

They already had buzz-cuts, so one year we just
got camo shirts for "mini-Marine" costumes

As for the crowds and excitement, we have found it best to be flexible in terms of expectations, watch for signs of overstimulation and be prepared to bail if needed. Consider doing something a little more low-key. Many years, we have just taken the boys out for ice cream on Halloween. It's usually not crowded (because everyone else is out trick-or-treating or going to Halloween parties), it's a fun treat for them, and they can still show off their costumes :).

A couple of times we tried going to a Halloween party at church. The first time we went, the boys were 3 1/2 and it was way too much for them. The candy part didn't start until later, and by that time they were beyond overstimulated so we left and went for ice cream instead. The following year, we tried going late and got there just in time for the candy part, we missed the other activities but it worked out better for the boys. One year, we tried taking them to the mall for some trick-or-treating and that didn't go well. It was fine at first because we got there early, but as more people arrived it got really crowded and loud, and so we left that early too.

Last year, when I asked them about Halloween, Cuddlebug and Bearhug both told me they didn't want to do any trick-or-treating or parties (Bitty was too young to care one way or the other), so we did our traditional ice cream outing :). They opted not to wear costumes last year. Kind of a bummer for me but I respected their decision.

This year they tell me they want to dress up. I even have preliminary costume picks from Bearhug and Cuddlebug, but I'm not shopping or sewing just yet because I know they change their mind quite often. Once we get into October I'll get their final say on costumes and then start prepping. As for Bitty, we're all set. He doesn't really "get" Halloween so I don't think he'll care about his costume, but since the only thing he ever wants to wear is Thomas, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess he'll be cool with one of the Thomas costumes I made for his brothers when they were younger. :)

For more Try This Tuesday, visit 5 Minutes for Special Needs.