Treat Your Kid to a Sensory Friendly Halloween

In the early days of my motherhood, it was hard for me to enjoy Halloween. My kids didn't do well with noise or crowds. They hated wearing any clothes, forget a hot itchy costume. They had food allergies so the candy was a no-go, and my youngest would run away from us any chance he got, so trick-or-treating was terrifying for me and not in a fun way.
It was always so stressful, usually ending in my husband and I having a huge fight when things inevitably went wrong. I wanted it to be like when I was a kid, but the truth was that my family was different.

Once we realized (and accepted) that our family was different and that holidays and life-in-general would be different, too, things started to get better.  Once we embraced it and set out to rock the holidays in a way we could all participate in and enjoy, life got awesome. 

Sensory Friendly Halloween Activities

Sensory Friendly Pumpkin Decorating
I know the tradition is carving pumpkins, but that can be really difficult for a child with sensory challenges. Using a knife—even a safe one—requires a lot of strength and fine motor control which our kids may not have developed yet, regardless of age. Plus, the insides can feel slimy and goopy with strings and seeds and raw veggie smells. Just be aware that there are a lot of triggers.

But that doesn't mean that sensory sensitive kiddos can't be part of the fun. Pinterest has hundreds ideas for pumpkin decorating with everything from painting, to gluing on glitter, to crayon melting and more. Take a minute to browse through the list with your child and see what strikes their fancy. At my house, we love to each pick different techniques and help each other create them, so everyone is helping out and trying new things according to their own comfort level.

Sensory Friendly Costumes
Costumes can be a tricky business for sensory kids. Heck, just getting dressed can be an adventure (or a meltdown). So, it's no surprise that lots of kids with sensory processing disorder, ADHD, or autism can't tolerate costumes.

First, let me say that no kid should ever have to put on a costume or say "trick-or-treat" to go trick-or-treating. That's nonsense and it's wrong to assume everyone is capable. Halloween is basically free candy day. People show up at your door, you give them some candy. That's it. Everything else is just extra fun. 

So if your kid can't do a costume all-together, don't sweat it. Just let them go and have fun and build those memories. Ignore any jerks who say otherwise, or tell them that your kid is dressed up as their own evil twin. 

Seriously, Halloween has no rules. But if your kid wants to dress up and struggles with tactile sensitivities, comfort is key.

One year, we just bought 100% cotton pajamas with a skeleton screen-printed on them. My kiddo couldn't handle the way the skeleton printing felt though, so we had to make some last minute adjustments.

So my next two tips are let them wear the costumes a little before the big night and be flexible for last minute changes.

I used to always put the costumes up when they came in to keep them nice for Halloween, but honestly, I've learned that's a mistake. A seam that goes mostly unnoticed for 10 or 15 minutes can become quite painful if worn longer. So now we do a test drive of costumes or two... I just don't let them eat or drink anything in them.

The first test drive is always at home first. Just let them put them on and play for a bit. No pressure. We can strip them off at any point without issue. Our second test drive is usually out at the pumpkin patch or the zoo. Any Halloween activity that seems even remotely appropriate, because costumes are too freaking expensive to wear one time and then get thrown in the dress up bin. We want our money's worth.

Not to mention that I live in the midwest, and it's super likely we may have to wear a rain coat or winter coat over our costumes come trick-or-treating night. Everyone is so disappointed at that point. So we try to let them enjoy them the whole month.

Even with a few test runs, though, it's important to remember that sensory needs can be contextual. What doesn't bother them on a warm October afternoon in the backyard, may still drive them nuts on a colder night walking through their neighborhood. Our kids sensory concerns are always valid, and it's totally fine if they want or need to change things up last minute. Let them.

Like I said earlier, no costume is fine, but an improvised costume at the last minute is great, too. The year of the skeleton PJ costume incident, we grabbed a winter hat with a frog face on it and a dinosaur spiked backpack to put on the kid and Frogasaurus was born. My son loved it. He was comfy and able to participate. It worked great.

Conclusion and Mama Pep talk...

In the end, the details, the plan, the vision we for our kids as their parents doesn't really matter. What's important is what the kids take away from the holidays. It's the memories they treasure. Do I want them to remember.