My husband was a schoolteacher and we lived in a very small town. He didn’t want our children trick-or-treating and I said we had to do something special for Halloween. So, we compromised. We seldom ate dinner at a restaurant – except on Halloween evening, we had our four children dress up in costumes. We drove to another town and had dinner at a fish and chips place.  Our kids were giggling and smiling all through dinner.

Then we drove to the skating rink where, if you wore a Halloween costume you only paid half price. There were races and costume competitions (our middle daughter won first prize one year – dressed as a “good witch”). There were buckets of candy thrown onto the floor of the skating rink and only children of a certain age group were allowed to scramble after them. When our children were finally exhausted, we would leave, usually before the lights were dimmed for an older group of skaters.

As a child, I had good small-town memories of Halloween, but my husband grew up in a city and it wasn’t a holiday that he felt was safe.
So, we compromised and now Halloween remains one of our children’s favorite holidays. They are passing that glow of good memories onto their own children.

Sometimes, compromise is truly the best step forward.