Halloween is Almost Here!
Halloween is quickly approaching! Halloween, with its costumes, candy, and parties, is a beloved holiday for many children. However, for those with sensory sensitivities, the traditional trick-or-treating experience can be overwhelming.
The sounds, sights, and surprises of the night can lead to anxiety and discomfort. However, there are plenty of fun alternatives so kids of all abilities can participate in Halloween festivities!
In this blog post, we’ll explore sensory-friendly alternatives to trick-or-treating that provide a safe and enjoyable Halloween experience. These alternatives can be tailored to suit the unique needs of children with sensory challenges, ensuring that every child can participate in the Halloween fun!
Alternatives to Trick-or-Treating
Sensory-Friendly Halloween Gatherings
Host a sensory-friendly Halloween gathering within your community. Create an environment with soft lighting, quiet corners, and sensory tools. Offer activities like Halloween-themed crafts, games, and a costume contest, allowing children to celebrate without the sensory overload.
If larger groups are too overstimulating, invite a few family members, friends, or kids from the neighborhood over for a small playdate.
Encourage peer interaction in a small, controlled setting, allowing children to explore sensory activities together while wearing their costumes.
Trunk-or-Treat Events
Trunk-or-treat events are often held in parking lots, where car trunks are decorated, and children go from car to car collecting treats in a controlled and well-lit environment. This setting can be less overwhelming for children who find traditional neighborhood trick-or-treating challenging.
Check online to see what local organizations and businesses are holding trunk-or-treats in the weeks leading up to Halloween.
Pumpkin Decorating
Host pumpkin decorating workshops where children can express their creativity without the pressure of traditional carving.
Offer a variety of decorating materials, from different paints to stickers.
While carving pumpkins is not a suitable activity for some kids, adults can help kids scoop out the pumpkin’s seeds as fun sensory activity!
Jack-o-Lantern Sensory Bags
Jack-o-Lantern sensory bags are another fun way for kids to engage with the different senses. If you plan on carving a pumpkin, keep the pumpkin guts and add it to a ziplock bag. Tape the bag up with packing tape, and draw a jack-o-lantern face on the bag.
Your child will love exploring the gooey texture and seeds!
However, you don’t need to carve a pumpkin to create a sensory bag. Add a few squirts of hair gel into a zip lock bag. Add orange food coloring, and one or two textures to the bag. This could be an item you have already in the house, such as craft beads, gems, sprinkles, or pom poms. For added fun, add glitter or sparkles to the bag. Make sure to tape the bag and add a pumpkin design with a sharpie!
Glow-in-the-Dark Sensory Play
Create a sensory-friendly space with glow-in-the-dark toys and materials. Children can explore this space using their sense of touch and sight, providing a unique sensory experience while embracing the Halloween theme.
Use glow-in-the-dark slime, foam, or water beads. Kids can also play with glow in the dark toys or figures to add to the fun.
Sensory Scavenger Hunts
Organize a sensory-friendly scavenger hunt with tactile and auditory clues. Utilize a familiar area, like a backyard or living room. Hide objects such as their favorite snack treat or candy, small Halloween sensory toys like fidgets or pop toys, stickers, and seasonal items such as mini pumpkins.
Children can search for hidden Halloween-themed objects while exploring different textures and sounds. This activity promotes sensory exploration in a structured setting.
Halloween Themed Sensory Bins
Creating a sensory bin is a fun way for your child to engage with their senses. A sensory bin is a container filled with different items, textures, materials, and even smells that a child can explore and interact with. A Halloween themed bin is a great way for kids to engage with seasonal items, in a controlled and contained way!
In your bin, you may use dry rice, pasta, beans, or sand. Use Halloween themed colors, such as orange, purple, green, and red! You may add different objects such as decorative leaves, mini pumpkins, and gourds.
Many dollar stores and craft stores will have small Halloween trinkets that can be added to the bin. This includes felt or puffy stickers, tiny textured pumpkins, pom poms, googly eyes, and more.
You can even add a seasonal smell by sprinkling cinnamon or adding cinnamon sticks to the bin!
What you choose to include in the sensory bin can be tailored to the child’s needs. The creativity of your bin is endless!
Let's Make Halloween Inclusive!
Halloween should be an inclusive and enjoyable experience for every child. By providing a variety of sensory-friendly alternatives to traditional trick-or-treating, we can ensure that children with sensory sensitivities can actively participate in the festivities.
We hope that these sensory-friendly Halloween alternatives inspire you to create a Halloween celebration that caters to the diverse sensory needs of children, making it a truly spooktacular and therapeutic Halloween for all!
Happy Halloween!
