Remember those Halloween costumes from the 80’s?

The ones with a slit for a mouth that temped you to stick your tongue through, yet would slice the tip right off if you weren’t careful?  Those dreadful plastic smocks that you wore over your sweatshirts and sweatpants (because mom didn’t want you to freeze to death in the late October chill).  The “costume” was printed on the smock. I was a Cabbage Patch Doll, a Smurf, and I believe, a Care Bear in those wretched things before I moved on to a kinder, gentler costume. Okay, only the fabric was kinder and gentler.

When our son’s first Halloween rolled around, I was determined he wouldn’t suffer the same plastic fate.  I wanted him to have happy costume memories.  Ones that were filled with Pottery Barn Kids images.  Ones that didn’t involve stitches to the end of his tongue.  So of course, we ponied up the cash to purchase the most adorable turtle costume ever laid eyes on.  The following year I snagged a cozy monkey costume from Old Navy, complete with a banana sticking out of the pocket.  Both were warm, soft, and injury free.  I was happy he was adorable and he was happy he had candy. 

Then I turned into a bad parent.  The kind of parent who forgets Halloween is even on the calendar.  I mean, we aren’t big into decorating for the holiday at our place.  I throw a few pumpkins on the porch and call it good.  I am more a Christmas kind of gal. Somehow on our son’s third Halloween, we were taken by surprise. What’s worse, this year he knew it was coming.  We couldn’t lock the door and pretend it wasn’t happening. 

What’s a mom to do? 

I scavenged his closet for ideas, stumbled across his Detroit Tigers jersey and cap.  Add in a blue pair of sweatpants pulled up to the knee, knee socks and a baseball glove-bam! Instant costume! Not to be caught in the same position the next Halloween, I ordered a fancy Buzz Lightyear costume in June.  Yes, June.  What? I was not about to be bad mom two years running.  He adored the Buzz costume.  For nearly one year after the last piece of sticky candy disappeared from the house, he still strapped on those wings to fly around and be Buzz.  Worth every penny. 

Last year, he decided (through some prompting) to be Freddie the Falcon from BGSU.  In the beginning I thought it would be easy-peasy.  Brown sweatshirt jacket, brown sweatpants, his jersey, a pair of orange shorts, and some homemade wings and a tail. 

Granted, he was adorable, looked much like the Freddie I remember from my college years, and shook a tail feather with the best of them.  But if I ever run into a brown piece of felt again, it will be too soon!

So, this month we asked our now kindergartner what he would like to be for Halloween.  We were saying silent prayers to the costume gods that it would be cheap, require no crafting, and be easy to put on.  In his closet now hangs “The Amazing Spiderman” costume. Two seconds to slip it over his little self and he is transformed. 

He is happy.  We are happy.  Life is grand.  Now, if someone can help me convince him we don’t need to carve the guts out of a pumpkin, this Halloween will be perfect. (oh, and make sure to give this Amazing Spiderman some Kit-Kats, his momma really loves them)

Jennifer is the author of Midwestern Momma. Lover of family, bright colors, loud music and photography. Disliker of broccoli, storms and muddy March days. Get in touch with Jennifer via e-mail or follow along on her social sites.

Sara Beth Photography

Halloween is a pretty big deal at my house. The kids start planning their (multiple) costume changes in mid-September. We decorate the house on October 1st – inside and outside. And on Halloween we have a big party complete with homemade chili, pumpkin cheesecake and, of course, trick-or-treating.

Ah, trick-or-treating. The best part of any Halloween celebration – at least when there’s incredible amounts of chocolate involved. Somehow in my house, certain chocolate candy bars suspiciously disappear. What they don’t know won’t hurt them, right?

Up until last year trick-or-treat was easy. It was a no-brainer. I went to our local big box bulk food store and bought three or four giant bags of candy and that was that. The kids came home with overflowing plastic pumpkins and we dumped it all in a big bowl and they ate what they wanted. By the middle of November only the “undesirable” candy was left in the bowl…a few random suckers and maybe one or two of those orange Tootsie Rolls.

I made a very conscious effort last year to make sure that Halloween wasn’t a day of drama and tears for my daughter. She knows what she can and can’t eat – any candy with peanuts or tree nuts – but it was still difficult for her. She also can’t eat candy that was processed in a plant that processes peanuts or tree nuts. This basically means all chocolate candy is off limits even if it doesn’t include peanuts. And, surprisingly many brands of candy corn are off limits as well.

You can imagine how this might put a damper on trick-or-treating. 

And as I feared, the tears still flowed on Halloween night. I had to tell my daughter “no” over and over again. No, you can’t have plain M&Ms, or Kit Kats, or Three Musketeers. No you can’t have plain chocolate bars. They all pose a risk that we aren’t willing to take.

I had to essentially confiscate her entire bag of goodies from trick-or-treating. I took her sister’s bag of candy too and then I created two bowls. One bowl was peanut-free – all the Starburst, suckers, and nut-free candy went there. I told my daughter this was her bowl and no one else could touch it. The rest of the “off limits” candy went into another bowl.

But what I can do is make sure she doesn’t feel as if she’s being singled out because of her food allergies. In fact, I can make sure that any child who rings my doorbell at Halloween this year is able to enjoy their treats. This year I’m going to have two bowls of candy for trick-or-treaters at my house – one will be completely nut-free for those kids who have those specific food allergies. It’s a small step, but as a food allergy mom I think it’s a necessary step.

Kids with food allergies aren’t different, they’re special. As parents it’s our job to let them know how special they are. And this year, at my house, food allergies won’t be scaring anyone at Halloween.

Traci was born and raised in Toledo, and now lives in Sylvania with her husband and two daughters. She's been blogging at The View from my Fishbowl since September 2005 – writing about life as she sees it from her "fishbowl." Get in touch with Traci via her social media links