Last Halloween, my daughter was merely two and a half weeks old and NYC was, as we New Yorkers would say, BRICK! My nephew was also too young last year for us to really do anything. (He was only 5 months at the time.) My sisters and I have always been fond of this holiday. Growing up, we always made it a thing to keep up with Freeform's (channel on t.v. for those that do not understand) 31 days of Halloween, dressing up every year, and doing activities like visiting haunted houses, to celebrate. Thus, although our newborn babies were too young at the time to really do any activities with them, we were not going to just sit and let the holiday go by without us doing something to celebrate. What we did last year was that, we dressed up the babies as little monsters and got together at a local bar and restaurant by my sister's house. My father also showed up to the restaurant and we took a couple pictures for memories sake. (I can't emphasize enough how much my dad LOVES taking pictures with his grandkids whenever he gets to see them!)
This year, however, they are both 1 year old and able to walk. Although, they still aren't aware of what is going on around them or able to understand the holiday, my sister and I wanted to make it a little more special for them. During the weekend before Halloween, my sister and I took the babies to Governor's Island for the first time. Despite the windy frigid weather, the babies enjoyed running around the pumpkin patch after each other. I swear, they were so excited and happy to be out together, it's like they were numb to the cold weather.
On the day of Halloween, my sister and I also wanted to make sure we allowed the babies to spend the holiday together. In my daughter's case, her daycare took on the job of making the beginning half of her day eventful and full of Halloween spirit. The daycare got her dressed in her Baby Chef costume and had a whole party with treats and goodies. They even had her do an adorable arts & crafts project of the word, BOO using her footprints. Once the day got warmer and the sun came out, the daycare also took them out around the block to trick or treat! They even had her do an adorable arts & crafts project of the word, BOO using her footprints. (*See image below) Once the day got warmer and the sun came out, the daycare also took them out around their block to trick-or-treat!
The forecast in NYC, unlike most Halloween days in the past, was beautiful. The sun was shining, it was perfect weather to show off your costume. Most times in NYC, it's very hard to do this because you have to cover up with jackets and sweaters due to the cold weather. Today was perfect for the holiday. Yet, we decided to take the kids to an indoor event (which was free by the way!) where they provided a magic show, a parade, bouncy houses, balloon animals, cotton candy, and goody bags. I must admit, I was skeptical about taking my daughter out door-to-door trick or treating. Although, the area I would've taken her would've been a good neighborhood, I still felt it wouldn't be something age appropriate for her just yet. As I mentioned before, my daughter is too young to understand what is going on therefore, why risk her safety? On top of that, she doesn't even eat candy yet so, really what's the point? I figured taking her to this event where she would be in a safe environment (even though she still couldn't play much because of her being too young) would be more beneficial. At the event she was able to run around, watch other kids play, eat cotton candy, and got an animal balloon. Most importantly, she got the chance to share this holiday with her cousin, who she adores!
*I used an easy to follow Family Flinstones Costumes DIY guide to make our costumes. Click here for the link if you'd like to check it out!
As we made our way out of the event, the sky was turning dark and it already was beginning to get brisk as a normal October day was supposed to be. We decided to have dinner at a nearby burger bar that I love (my husband not as much) and headed straight home right after.
Overall, I am happy with how I celebrated this year with my daughter and I can't wait for her to get older so, we can do more traditional Halloween activities. Until then we'll just have to keep it safe and baby friendly...
...Sew This is Life!
*I'd really love to hear what you did with your children and what are your traditions for Halloween. Especially if you have any tips on activities I can try doing with my baby, please don't hesitate to leave a comment!