Paging Fun Mums' eight tips for a scare-free Halloween.

Halloween is just around the corner and our kids could not be more excited if they tried! We’ve been taking part in Halloween traditions since our kids were little and it’s awesome to see more and more families getting involved each year. I mean who doesn’t love to dress up and have some spooky fun?!

With Halloween growing more and more popular in Australia, it’s important that we make it fun for our kids but we of course also want them to stay safe. That doesn’t just mean keeping them safe on the street, it also means keeping them safe from nightmares and ensuring their Halloween memories are happy ones.

That’s why we’ve put together some ideas for those families who would like to get involved in this tradition without scaring their kids – basically helping to create a ‘Scare-Free Halloween’.

Here are our top tips:

• First things first – learn about the past history of the Halloween traditions (you will find that although it’s hugely popular in the USA, the tradition did not in fact start there – it has Celtic roots). The modern version of Halloween is all about getting communities and neighbourhoods together with ‘trick or treating’ activities and social gatherings.
• Encourage your kids that they don’t have to dress up as something scary … any costume can be fun! One year we encouraged our kids to create a character with a blend of super-powers. They used dress-ups that we had around the house and even wrote a back story.

• ‘De-spook’ the scary myths by visiting houses that are decorated in the Halloween spirit during the daytime to demonstrate that it is all make-believe. A simple visit to your local shopping centre will also offer you a chance to look at all the dress-ups and understand they’re just masks and props.
• Watch some child-friendly Halloween themed shows or movies! There are so many to choose from nowadays – our pick would be Hotel Transylvania 3. This family-friendly movie has just been released to Digital and is a great way to de-spook a lot of the 'Monster' characters, from Count Dracula (voiced by Adam Sandler) to Frankenstein (Kevin James). It's the perfect fit!
• Plan a party or organise a group to go trick or treating with! This is a great way to stay safe with extra adult supervision whilst on your neighbourhood walk or stay at home and have an adult monitor the trick-or-treaters for kid-approved costumes.
• Letter bomb your neighbours in the days leading up to Halloween. This is a great way to let them know you and your family plan to take part in some Halloween celebrations ahead of time – giving them the option to get involved or not. Some people drop a balloon off with the note asking them to place it out the front if they plan to take part or some people simply ask that they leave their front lights on so the neighbourhood knows to knock or not!

• Be sure to make some family rules to keep your kids safe. We always accompany our kids trick or treating (we wouldn’t want to miss out on the FUN). We also have a rule that we get to sort out their ‘treats’ – anything we don’t deem an appropriate treat is removed. Some examples would include any loose lollies that aren’t individually wrapped or age-appropriate treats (my kids aren’t allowed chewing gum, for example).
• Get involved. Decorate your house together, carve a pumpkin and plan some fun costumes! It doesn’t have to cost the earth, in fact, you can find lots of cool Halloween crafts and activities over on our website here.

We hope these tips help you and your family in creating FUN Halloween memories with your kids! And if you choose to not partake in the Halloween ‘trick or treating’, maybe plan a fun movie night with the kids instead.

Jen & Lou x

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Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation is now available on Digital. For extra info, visit their Facebook and follow the Monster fun.