The Power of Halloween

So yesterday was Halloween and once again I was amazed at the creativity that goes into the holiday. I saw not only some pretty awesome costumes (cardboard army tank, anyone?) but some really cool decorations. While it’s often marketed as a holiday for the kids, adults definitely have fun too on Halloween. For example, my coworker loves Pokémon Go, and she strutted her stuff! Halloween can definitely be a great outlet of self-expression, which is very therapeutic! This is apparent in child life programs across the country, because each one does something fun for the kids on Halloween. Whether it’s a Halloween parade, doing reverse trick or treating (that’s when the people handing out candy go to the patients instead of the other way around), or a party, children reap the creative and expressive benefits of Halloween while at the hospital.

It’s also really cool to see a group of people get together to create something for Halloween. We had a decorating contest at work and there was some really awesome teamwork going on. I saw a Seuss town spring up, as well as an emoji unit. And every year there is an office that does a big pumpkin decorating contest. This time my favorite was an epic Moana-themed pumpkin. It literally towered over the competition!

Halloween is a great opportunity to get the creative juices flowing. Even I had fun creating a costume and indulging in a little sparkle! By expressing yourself, you get to show off something you are passionate about. And if you made your own costume, you can be proud of something that you created yourself! I will admit, I really wanted an excuse to wear a tutu and put stickers on my face. So I did! I had forgotten how much fun it was to dress up as a ballerina or a princess when I was a kid. What started out as a snowflake costume turned into a trip down memory lane for me! It reminded me that Halloween is a great time to work on legacy building and memory making! This is definitely an important yearly event for many people and we should give families a chance to participate, even while at the hospital.