We were out running errands a few years ago at the beginning of October and ended up walking past a very spooky (we’re talking I almost wet my pants spooky – and I’m sure glad that Noah was still in diapers at the time because I’m pretty sure he wet his pants, too) display in a store. I immediately wanted to cover Noah’s eyes and protect his sweet innocence from viewing something so awful.
And it was in that very moment I realized that I needed some prayer and some research to figure out how exactly our family was going to handle Halloween. I needed to get some arrows to put in my Mommy Quiver so that when my boys are big enough to start asking questions about the things they see during the month of October, I’ll be ready.
Question – Is Halloween satan’s Day?
Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!” I don’t think October 31st belongs to anyone. It’s just another day for us, as Christians, to glorify God with our lives. Ephesians 5:15-16 says. “Be careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity…” Every day is an opportunity to share God with the world. We also must, however, be careful how we live – not unwisely conforming to the culture (Romans 12:2), but shining the light that we have before men (Matthew 5:16). Be a light in a dark world!
Question – What do I tell my kids when we go out and see all kinds of gruesome costumes/decorations?
I think it’s important to give our kids information. When you’re out and about and you see something scary, educate your child. They should know that Halloween is a day that some use to celebrate evil. Dialoguing about God’s plan for your family in the midst of this season is a way to create strong family ties as well as a foundation of truth upon which your child can build his/her confidence.
Dr. Bob Barnes of Sheridan House Family Ministries encourages parents to use God’s Word to help. 1 Peter 3:11 says, “Turn from evil and do good.” Have a conversation asking, “What are some evil things we should turn away from and what are some good things we should turn toward?”
Question – Should my child dress up?
I LOVE to dress up. I often wear sparkly fairy wings and princess crowns around our house just for fun. I am not even kidding about this – just ask my husband. I think dressing up is a way to use the imagination that God has given us! When I was growing up, Halloween was such an exciting opportunity to create and dream! I have a hard time saying that this is wrong. But I think as a mom I will closely monitor my child’s costume choices. Look to Philippians 4:8 for guidance. When assessing a costume, have your child evaluate, “Is this costume choice right, pure, lovely, admirable, true, noble, excellent, and praiseworthy?” The Bible tells us to think about these things, so I think it’s appropriate to apply our thoughts to our actions.
*Check out this post for some really cute Bible Costume Ideas!!*
Question – How should I decorate my home in October?
This was a tough one for me! There are some pretty cute Halloween decorations out there. But as I sought the Lord about how to decorate my home (because I love to decorate), I found this verse – “Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22. This year I am going through all of my decorations and I am testing it by God’s standard – does this decoration celebrate life or death? Because as a believer, Christ died so that I might live! Death has lost it’s sting! I have the privilege to celebrate life and victory and so I want my home to reflect that (think happy pumpkins, fall leaves, cinnamon brooms, etc.). Plus, I don’t want to send a mixed message to the boys. If they see me decorating our home with cupcake witches – although ‘cute’ – do I really want to volunteer a conversation about witches and the very real and evil things that exist in that world because I brought it into our home? Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.
Question – What about Trick or Treating?
If your family wants to go out, find a church that provides an event for kids! Many churches do Trunk-or-Treats, Pumpkin Paloozas, or Harvest Festivals. These are safe and super fun options for families!
If your family decides to stay home on Halloween, I love the idea of creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere for others to experience when they come knocking at your door. Having fun as a family naturally displays the glorious love that you have in Christ. Try to engage your neighbors in conversation when they drop by for a treat. The world is at your door, make the most of it! Why not put stickers on your candy pieces that say, “Jesus Loves You”? I made some that you can print for free! All you need are some Avery Address Labels, or, simply print, cut out and attach to mini candy bars with tape.
*Find the FREE witnessing stickers HERE.*
We like to have a Family Night together, listen to praise music, drink hot apple cider, and spend time sticker-ing our Halloween candy. What a way to keep Jesus at the center of your family’s activities and build anticipation of sharing His Light and Love with the community!
Question – What about other families, even Christian ones, that choose to celebrate Halloween differently than mine?
Moms, let me encourage you with this –
Please do not judge another mom.
Whatever your convictions about Halloween, live them out for God’s glory! But also understand that Christians may differ in their beliefs about the issue. Maybe one of your Christian mom friends chooses not to do anything at all and their family turns out all the lights and refuses to even say the word Halloween. You don’t know what in her life might have led her to this point of view. Or maybe another mom friend decorates with all manner of spookiness and lets her kids get the scariest costumes. You do not know where that mom has been in her life. Show grace by understanding that the Lord is all about doing things in His timing and in His special way. Let them freely live out their convictions and keep your own convictions between you and God and your family. And if your child asks, “Well, how come so-and-so gets to dress scary?” Respond, “Child, God’s taking care of that family just as He is ours. Let’s just worry about what He has called our family to be obedient in this season.”
Is there a right or wrong answer about how a person celebrates October 31st? I think the only way to know is to seek the Lord on your own about it. He’ll show you the way for you and your happy home. 🙂
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.” Psalm 32:8
Happy Halloween-ing! 🙂
Hahaha- that pic of Noah cracks me up. He looks so stunned, like, “What are you doing to me and is this normal?”
Love the post; such helpful info. Something everyone should definitely think through and try to make wise decisions about.
That was a very good blog post with some helpful suggestions. When I was young, my parents let us dress in whatever costumes we wanted. I dressed as a mummy, as Frankenstein’s monster, and all manner of classic horror figures. (You should have seen the mummy get-up. Wrapped from head to toe in Ace bandage. Incredibly uncomfortable, as it turned out!) I don’t think I suffered any permanent bent towards evil, at least I hope not, but I am left to this day with a serious love of old black and white horror film classics. Every Halloween, I find myself wanting to watch Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, or Vincent Price in something that by modern horror standards is silly, but to me is a comforting connection to my own childhood. My own kids, when they were young enough to dress up, preferred superhero costumes and Disney princess dresses to anything scary. I do think Halloween can be fun for families. One thing worth mentioning is that the history of Halloween itself, how it came to be, can be really interesting to study with your kids. Thanks for putting together such a well organized and thoughtful article for families!
Thanks, Mark! I appreciate your thoughts and encouragement! I agree, the origins of Halloween are rather interesting, indeed!
LOVE that picture of Noah. He has some truly GREAT facial expressions that make him so lovable! 🙂
I really enjoyed this post! As a Christian, I have prayed about the exact questions you addressed. I am encouraged and appreciative of your thoughtful and prayerful responses…thank you for being bold and loving at the same time…this mom appreciates it 🙂
Michelle, Thank you for visiting my blog! Yours was so inspiring! I’m glad that this post encouraged you! You are a wonderful Mommy and I know your home is a happy one!
Hi Lady! Dan and I were just discussing this very issue as we prepare to invite some friends over to our house on Halloween night. I don’t mind the use of black necessarily, or using decor with “night” animals like owls for decoration. But I can’t do witches or devils or any of the bloody stuff. I try to go more for a “fall at night” approach, or enjoying the natural creepiness of some of God’s creatures – like spiders, I like spiders for Halloween. But always more fun than fright. 🙂
Christina – that sounds like fun! Agreed! God made those things! Have fun celebrating!
Thanks!
That was so well put together for me to take in as I too prepare for this day with my 5 month old.
Hi friend! I just love your blog…very interesting and helpful post. I also read a blog post by Doug Wilson about Halloween and will copy the address below that was interesting. Thank you for your thoughts and I miss you guys and love you all!
http://www.visionforum.com/news/onlineemail/vision-forum/2010/10/25_scary/
Hello; my name is sheree. I stumbled upon your blog, and admired your comments about celebrating Halloween. Its never too early in a childs life to learn high standards. You mention how excited you are about having a Family Night as your little guy grows up. I thought I would let you know about a manual you can get through our church. Its printed every year for weekly family activities. If you are interested in one, my husband can get one for you at no charge. Feel free to contact me at the above e-mail address.
I loved this post! Such great words (God’s word) on dealing with this season–Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Santa Claus. I also loved your quick guide of scripture to post on the fridge. Thanks for your time and energy!
Loved this post! We really struggled in the beginning of our parenting journey with how to allow our kids to celebrate. We came to the same conclusion that you shared, every day is the Lord’s. We can dress up and have fun and enjoy each other and some treats any day even the 31st. We decorate our house with fun pumpkins, lights, material and some other cute things (avoiding the witches, ghosts etc.) we all dress up (yes even me) and we make dinner for all the kids in the neighborhood and their parents. We have some fun music, some hot dinner and fellowship. Then we go out together and trick or treat. The kids all look forward to it every year and we even start out our night with prayer over the food and night. I want my kids to learn they can still be the salt of the earth without isolating themselves from others that dont feel the same way. Everyone even Christians are so different on everything they do so I agree that we need to be gracious during the holidays.
Wow this was a really great post, thank you so much for sharing! I agree with everything here, and I really think you really touched on everything in a good way.
Incredibly well written. Great support from scriptures and an excellent point about being graceful towards those whose beliefs about halloween are not the same as ours. Just really, really well done.
Thanks for such a great post. We’ve really been trying to articulate our thoughts on Halloween now that we have a child and this was tremendously helpful!
Thank you for this post. I have major spiritual issues with Halloween. I have since I was a child. It just doesn’t sit well with me. When I tried to put limitations on it with my children, I was met with resistance and anger from everyone around me. Apparently I’m trying to keep my children from a vital part of their childhood. I would simply appreciate a little respect for my feelings and beliefs.
That said…
Your comment about the stickers and then having a warm and welcoming home for visitors made me think. What if we took thank-you gifts with us trick-or-treating to give to the people who give our kids candy? We could put those Jesus Loves You stickers on the gifts, such as foil heart chocolates, which you can usually find year round at candy stores (or they can special order them for you).
It’s my belief that a lot of times Christians give things power by calling them evil and making laws about them. We are too worried about whether or not the meat has been sacrificed to idols to enjoy our lunch, so to speak.
I discussed a little bit of that in my post here talking about my daughter’s jack ‘o lantern last year: http://www.typativemamacat.com/2011/10/carving-pumpkins.html . When I was a kid, growing up homeschooled, there was always a costume party but we had to call it “Harvest Fest,” as if the word Halloween had magic powers that would somehow taint our good clean fun. It used to drive me a little crazy.
I love having parties and dressing up. I wish more holidays called for costumes.
Well spoken.
There’s so much I could say here but I will keep it short. Absolutely wonderful blog but the one thing I am most appreciative and grateful for is the ‘not judging others’ segment. Way too many ‘Christians’ are judgmental and critical and it’s Christians like yourself that help encourage me when I need it most. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing this. I came upon your blog post while researching for my church’s small group discussion lesson. I am the small group coordinator and I think it is important to discuss with the kids what Halloween is and how it came about.
I told my kids that we go out begging for candy like some people (non-Christians) beg for Christ mas presents on Jesus’ birthday.
Years ago, I had a cute skelton that I gave up after being convicted. My kids also know I could never go into the Halloween superstore. I could feel the evil presence so strongly in there.
Great post! My children are adults now, but I’m always interested in encouraging them and other wives and moms in their walk with the Lord. You gave biblically sound advice without judgement. I love it!
This was so good Julie! I was looking for some safe Halloween ideas for Gavin and I was on Pinterest and saw the cute witnessing candy stickers, I clicked on the photo and the next thing I knew it took me to your blog! It was coincidence! I love technology. I also love your approach to Halloween. Thanks for these great ideas!
Ahhh Sheila! You’re the sweetest and most encouraging! I ADORE YOU!
I very much agree with your article, I plan to do Halloween but without all the spookiness Fall decor is much more my style and my kids are going as their favorite TV characters (Sofia the First and Thomas the Tank engine) so nothing scary for them