A gentle Halloween for ages 3 to 6: a not-scary plan

That is the whole plan. The rest of this page is the detail: what to do while it is light out, two crafts you can set up tonight with what is already in the kitchen drawer, and a three-level plan your child picks from.

The parenting press has been saying much the same thing. Today's coverage of Halloween for young children recommends funny costumes, cute decorations like pumpkins and leaves, and daytime activities. Advice from Psychology Today, CHOC and Today also says not to avoid Halloween entirely. A gentle version still counts as Halloween.

Daytime is your friend

Most of what makes Halloween feel scary to a small child happens after dark: masks, shadows, loud doorbells, big decorations that move. Move the fun earlier and much of that never comes up.

• Take a pumpkin walk around the block in the afternoon. Count every pumpkin you see and give each one a name.
• Visit a pumpkin patch or a farm stand in the morning, when it is quiet.
• Hold a costume parade in the living room at lunch. Grown-ups march too.
• Swap treats with one or two friends in the afternoon, then go home for dinner.
• Read a funny Halloween picture book after nap time, not at bedtime.

If you have a jack-o'-lantern, keep the knife work with the grown-ups. The CPSC says adults, not kids, should use carving tools, and suggests battery lights instead of candles. You can also skip carving altogether and draw the face on with a marker.

Two crafts to set up tonight

The gentle activities suggested by Psychology Today, CHOC and Today include simple crafts like paper-plate jack-o'-lanterns and construction-paper bats. Both suit ages 3 to 6, and each takes about 15 minutes.

Paper-plate jack-o'-lantern

• You need one paper plate, an orange crayon or paint, a scrap of green paper and a glue stick.
• Your child colors the plate orange. Big scribbles are fine.
• You cut three or four simple face shapes from dark paper: triangles, a circle, a wide smile. Your child picks which ones to use and glues them on.
• Glue the green scrap on top for a stem. Tape it to the front door.

Construction-paper bat

• You need one sheet of black or purple paper, scissors for you, a glue stick and two white paper circles for eyes.
• Fold the paper in half. Draw half a bat along the fold, with a round body and one wavy wing. Cut it out and open it up.
• Your child glues on the eyes and draws a smile with a white crayon. A smiling bat is not a scary bat.
• Hang it from a string in a doorway so it flies when someone walks past.

A 3-year-old will need you for most of the steps. A 5- or 6-year-old can do the gluing, the faces and some of the folding alone.

Choose your level

Let your child pick a level a few days ahead, and again on the day itself. They are allowed to change their mind. That choice is what makes the plan work.

Level 1: Halloween at home. Costume on in the afternoon. Crafts, a pumpkin snack and a living-room parade. Hand out treats with a grown-up beside them, or skip the door and watch from the window. Lights off at the usual bedtime.

Level 2: A daytime outing. Everything in Level 1, plus one outing before dark. A pumpkin walk, a farm stand or a daytime event in your town. Home for dinner.

Level 3: A few houses at dusk. Everything in Level 2, plus a short trick-or-treat walk holding a grown-up's hand. Pick three to five houses you know, with friendly decorations. Turn around at any house that looks like too much. Home while it is still early.

Keep a familiar Plan B costume ready, such as pajamas with paper ears, so a scratchy or too-big costume does not end the night. The advice from Psychology Today, CHOC and Today includes letting a child opt out, so if your child says "home", go home without a fuss.

If your child seems very frightened, or the worry lasts well past Halloween, mention it to your pediatrician.

Talk about it

• "Which level feels right for you today: one, two or three?"
• "What should we name this pumpkin?"
• "Is that a real bat or a pretend bat? How do you know?"
• "What would help you feel brave: holding my hand or holding the flashlight?"
• "What was your favorite part of Halloween today?"

More from Storytime Crayons

For a quiet afternoon before the costume parade, print our free coloring pages of a smiling pumpkin, a friendly ghost and a sleepy owl.