Halloween is around the corner. Soon, the streets will be filled with children’s laughter as masked little ones run from house to house, gather treasures and filling their pillowcases with treats to be enjoyed for the rest of the holiday season. For years it has been a tradition of mine to gather with friends to watch scary movies and show off our best costumes, and while I enjoy the time spent with good friends, this has never been my favorite part of the holiday. My favorite part of Halloween has always been answering the ceaselessly-ringing doorbell and handing out candy to the ghosts, witches, superheroes, and princesses that yell “Trick or Treat!!” from the porch. Besides being absolutely adorable, I find these trick-or-treaters are also wise beyond their years. Take a moment to watch the trick-or-treaters running around your neighborhood this Halloween and you may notice that their eager little faces and over-excited laughter have something to teach you.
Embrace your playful side and re-learn how to play make-believe
What always amazes me most about Halloween is the imagination. Sticks become magic wands, buckets become cauldrons, and a little bit of face paint can morph a child into a jungle animal. When you or I get dressed for Halloween we put on a costume. When a child gets dressed for Halloween, they become a new person. The trick-or-treaters take their costumes more seriously, and yet, they have more fun than the lot of us put together. Because they know that Halloween is the ultimate game of make-believe.
This Halloween learn to embrace your playful side. Let your imagination run wild. Believe in magic, play pretend, and laugh as unabashedly as the trick-or-treaters on your street. We spend too much of our lives taking everything seriously. The best thing we can do is laugh from time to time. Let this holiday be a chance to become something totally new, and, more importantly, have fun with it.
Be the version of yourself you have always dreamed of being
I used to be a nanny and it always amazed me how early in the year kids would start mulling over their Halloween costume ideas. August would be coming to a close, the parents would be stressing about getting all the necessary school supplies, and the kids would already be weighing the merits of Wonder Woman versus those of Elsa. But it wasn’t just the costume they were debating; it was their identity. In the eyes of a child, Halloween isn’t just a day to play dress up. It’s a day to be everything you have always wanted to be.
So this Halloween, follow the lead of the trick-or-treaters and become exactly who you have always dreamed of being. Whether it’s putting on a mask or taking one off, it’s the time of year to embrace your truest self and let that version of you shine brightly. Like the trick-or-treaters, take your time to reflect and consider what it is, or rather who it is, you have
always wanted to be. Then wear that hat proudly. Because a costume doesn’t have to be a disguise. In fact, with children, it rarely is. Rather, it’s a reflection of the most authentic version of the person inside.
Connect with your inner child this Halloween
This Halloween, let’s take a page from the trick-or-treaters’ book. We were all trick-or-treaters once, and we all have a child’s wisdom hidden somewhere inside of us. I invite you to find it this Halloween. To be a little more playful. To play make believe and enjoy some unbridled laughter. To put on the costume you’ve been too afraid to wear. And to let your
costume act not as a disguise, but as a reflection of your truest self. We often associate Halloween with ghouls, zombies, and scary stories. But this Halloween I invite you to be fearless. Be as fearless as the trick-or-treaters who show up on your doorstep, bearing their hearts through their costumes, their faces flushed with laughter and joy. This Halloween, look around you and let yourself learn a thing or two from the trick-or-treaters.
