We had taken Brycen at the end of September to the store to pick out a costume (knowing Thomas the train is what he would be), but of course they had scary masks and such in the aisle that freaked him out right away and Mike had to take him back to the car before tantrum set in. Nevermind picking it out, I just found the Thomas one and paid the $25 for it (an outrageous amount to me for a costume for a child!). I wanted him to be happy and I knew it would be challenging to get him to wear anything different so figured it being Thomas was a great encouragement/bribery tool.
So, a few weeks ago I wanted to take the kids to the campground where my parents were that weekend to participate in their trick-or-treating. I figured I had my parents as back-up, our close friends were going to be there with their kids that Brycen knows, and he loves to be outside so what better environment. The day before, I "practiced" with him by giving both kids their candy bucket and breaking out the costumes. He was definitely giddy over Thomas, but it took a lot of convincing to get him to wear it (it just sits over the shoulders, not tight or anything). I felt so victorious in the fact he actually wore it for about 5 minutes! HUGE step!
So the next afternoon, we head to the campground and when I get the costume out, he of course wants NOTHING to do with it. UGH...I was so mad I spent all this money on something to have it just sit on the table. So, off we go down the road in just his clothes with me carrying the costume. It took a few campers before he realized this was kinda cool...and he kept peering into his bucket to check out his growing pile of candy. Candy is definitely a way to Brycen's heart! About 1/4 of the way around the circle, I slowly slipped the costume over one arm first and then eventually over his head. VICTORY! He was so worried about his candy that he didn't even notice!
Above you can see Brycen and his buddy, Aiden, walking together at the campground in their Thomas costumes!
So, then came the decision of do we pressure this again on Halloween night. We decided it wasn't worth it in this crazy town of Strawberry Point. It was chilly, there were very few houses on our street with their lights on, so we decided we would teach Brycen a different tradition on Halloween night. We decided to stock up on candy and show the kids how nice it is to be the ones to give it out, not always get the candy. They had a blast watching out the big window for trick-or-treaters and would yell all the way to the door. Brycen even put some candy in bags and said "bye" with prompts from me! The only time he refused to come near the door was when someone had a mask on, which of course makes sense.
Here's to a new tradition in our house that lets our kids participate in this holiday but still makes sure that Brycen is comfortable and not overwhelmed! An adaption to our life once again, but we are all for whatever makes our children happy and teaches them the simple act of giving!
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