Whether or not you choose to participate in Halloween, your kids will be aware of the holiday. Our secular society loves this holiday because it means big sales for the stores. Costumes, candy, and eerie decorations fly off the shelves in October.  Is there a way we can tie Jesus into this somewhat demonic holiday?

Yes! Let’s talk about pumpkins:

• Take your kids to pick out their own pumpkins from the grocery store or pumpkin patch, and bring the pumpkins home. Tell your kids that just like they picked out a pumpkin to be their own, God picked them out to belong to Him.
• Have a pumpkin carving party with your kids. When my kids were young they used pumpkin carving knives that were safe for kids to use. As you help them scoop out the pulp and clean the inside, talk about how Jesus cleans us on the inside by forgiving our sins.
• Once the pumpkin is cleaned and carved with a happy face, place a candle inside and light the pumpkin. Just as the pumpkin glows from the light of a candle, our lives can glow with the light of Jesus.

This mini-lesson about pumpkins and Jesus is told in my colorful board book My Happy Pumpkin by Zonderkidz.  No matter how dark the world is, Jesus is the light that always shines.

Crystal