To Trick or Treat? Talking to Your Kids About Halloween
One October 31st, we were in the supermarket when a lovely teenager in a harmless Dorothy-from-The-Wizard-of-Oz costume walked down our aisle. On seeing her, my 5-year-old yelled out passionately:
“Mum! That lady worships Satan!”
I could’ve died.
I’m not sure where she got this from—I promise you I never told her that everyone who dresses up for Halloween worships Satan—but clearly, some Halloween conversations were in order.
Talking to our kids about Halloween began for us when they started school. Before that, when Halloween costumes went up in shops, it was just:
“Yes, these costumes are yucky, but it’s just material. You can just look at something in the shop that is nice. We don’t need to be scared of these things because we have God, who is big and strong—and these costumes are just fabric.”
I never wanted to make a big deal about scary costumes, and I figured I was at least teaching my kids: when you see something that’s not nice, look away.
But one of my favourite stories is when I was with my 3-year-old nephew and he saw a harmless pumpkin in the fruit and vege section of the supermarket. He came over, grabbed my hand, pointed at it, and in a whisper said:
“Aunty Yivvy, that pumpkin is Hayoween.”
I didn’t realise the kids had taken it upon themselves not to look at even culpably innocent pumpkins.
By 5, they were hearing a lot more about Halloween from their friends at school, and so we knew we needed to start having more thorough conversations.
Prior to this, Josh and I had already decided that Halloween was a no for our family. We did a bit of research on its origins, but for us, it was more about what it looks like today—people dressing up as witches, ghosts, and zombies. While it might be in the name of “fun,” we know these things are in fact very real.
I know Christians aren’t all on the same page with this one—but to me the scripture that was always in my mind was:
“What do the sons of light have to do with the sons of darkness?”
Did I think if my kids put on a witch costume, they would instantly be possessed? No. But why go there? If they’re going to dress up, they can be Captain America—virtuous and heroic… albeit fictional.
We didn’t want to use ‘trick or treat’ night as a night where we shut the curtains and put up a ‘don’t knock here’ sign, we wanted to make it fun for the kids. Some say Halloween is a twist of ‘All Saints Day’ a day to remember those heroes of faith who have gone before us, a day to remember that we will not live forever, that everyday counts, and that living for what is eternal is most important.
Amongst it all we talk and ask questions about Halloween. Here are some things we shared with our kids:
- There is a God, and there is the devil. When we celebrate the birth of Jesus, go to church, and meet together for things like Christmas and Easter, we are celebrating God and everything He’s done for us.
Mostly without realising it, when people celebrate Halloween, they are celebrating—and making light of—things that are evil: witches, ghosts, zombies.
This is why, as a family, we do not celebrate Halloween. We don’t dress up, go to Halloween parties, or watch anything that celebrates Halloween. - When they were older, we started to explain to them about demons and evil spirits. Our intention wasn’t to scare them, but to teach them that the spiritual realm is real.
- We shared how Halloween is nothing to be afraid of because God is all-powerful. Jesus cast out many spirits and has given us authority to do the same.
God is more powerful than the devil and evil. The devil always comes at us looking big and scary, like Goliath did to David. He tries to intimidate us, but like David, we have nothing to fear.
Goliath was taken down by a small stone—we also can take down giants simply by speaking scripture and trusting in the Lord. - We explained that most kids and parents have no idea about evil spirits or God, and they need our compassion, not our judgment. Halloween is also a great opportunity to teach your kids how to respond to people who have different worldviews.
- We pray for people we see “trick or treating”—that they will come to know how much Jesus loves them.
- No one comes to our door because we live rurally, but if people come to yours, you could get your kids to help you invite them to church—with a card tied to some chocolate.
At the end of the day, our goal as a family isn’t to avoid Halloween – it’s to use it to teach our kids about God and evil and what really matters in life – and hopefully along the way make some great memories. Your family may feel completely differently and that’s totally fine! There is no one way to do this, but hopefully, regardless of what your family does, you’re able to have some great conversations and shape your children’s understanding of Halloween.