Tips for a Sensory Friendly Halloween
Halloween can be an exciting and stressful time of year for families. With the pressure of figuring out a Halloween costume, arranging trick-or-treat plans, and setting up Halloween decorations, the month of October can quickly slip away. If anyone in your family has sensory processing differences, consider these 5 tips this fall to promote a sensory friendly Halloween!
1. Pick costumes that are tested for comfort
Consider the potential weather on Halloween night and plan ahead for adjustments that can be made for warmer/colder weather. Be sure to wear the costume around the house for a few hours to ensure movement and daily activities such as eating are not restricted. For young children who will be wearing their costumes to school, make sure they know how to get in and out of it for toileting. For children that are sensitive to tactile input, try simple costumes that are soft on the skin and not too bulky. T-shirt costumes are one of my favorite ways to have a unique, comfortable costume that can easily be layered to accommodate for colder weather.
2. Try a practice route of the houses that you plan to visit while trick-or-treating
Practice wearing the costume to get comfortable walking for extended periods of time and to allow for any adjustments to unexpected discomfort to be made before the night of Halloween. A practice run also allows you to check which houses have overwhelming decorations so you can plan ahead with your child to skip those houses. If they have siblings or other members of the group who want to visit that house, have a plan to wait at the end of the driveway with you or another trusted adult while their trick-or-treat partners go to that house.
3. Have an emergency backup plan or exit strategy if trick-or-treating becomes too overwhelming
If you’re taking multiple children out trick-or-treating and are unable to abort the mission, consider having a trusted adult on call to come and pick them up in the car or on foot to bring them home if they become overwhelmed or exhausted while trick-or-treating. Sometimes just the knowledge of having an escape route is enough to help trick-or-treating feel manageable.
4. Try going out early to beat the crowds
If it’s possible, try to take any sensory sensitive children trick-or-treating early when it’s calmer and quieter or maybe even still light out.
5. Considered trick-or-treating alternatives
If trick-or-treating is just too overwhelming for your child or your family, create an alternative. Try staying home and handing out candy or having your own mini-Halloween party with preferred treats and activities like Halloween themed coloring or word searches. Try driving to visit loved ones such as grandparents, aunts and uncles, or family friends to trick-or-treat at their homes. The familiar environments with breaks between each house can help maintain regulation and prevent sensory overwhelm.
These ideas may seem simple, but in the moment when energy is running high on Halloween, it can be overwhelming and stressful, leading to sensory meltdowns. It’s hard to enable problem solving skills when you have an overwhelmed child and potentially other children who are trying to have a fun night. Having a plan with your child beforehand allows everyone to be prepared and mitigate the feeling of being left out of the Halloween festivities.
It’s never too early to start planning to promote sensory success! Before we know it, we’ll be in a mad dash through the holiday season and there can be added stress during the holidays for individuals with sensory processing challenges. For tips on how to accommodate sensory processing needs during the holiday season, read our blog here.