Hosting a Halloween/Light Party

It’s that time of year again. Halloween is just around the corner, and you may be wondering what to do about it as a Christian household. This year we’re suggesting a great response would be to act as a thermostat, not a thermometer. Set the tone of how you want Halloween to be viewed on your street rather than simply react to what others are doing.

According to statista.com1 UK retail expenditure on Halloween products has doubled since 2013 and in 2019 reached over £470m. Halloween is now seriously big business in the UK. This is evidenced by the fact that almost every shop window during October is adorned with spider webs, grave stones and skeletons. But being big business is no reason to get involved. However, we have a decision to make; how will my family respond to this increasingly popular festival which is dominated by ghosts, gory figures and things I don’t want my children exposed to?

A good way to think about any big choice a Christian must make is to think of there being only three responses: accept, reject and redeem.

1. To accept Halloween in its current form, with its glorification of ghost, gore and more hardly seems appropriate. Especially as at any other time of year we would encourage our children to not get involved with these things.
2. To reject Halloween in its current form is difficult. You may find your favourite brand adapting their packaging to adopt a more scary tone during his season. It’s not easy or even desirable to avoid the festival entirely. Don’t we want to take this opportunity to talk about this subject with our children rather than gloss over it?
3. To redeem Halloween would be to mimic the approach many Christians already take with Christmas and Easter. We acknowledge that whilst the world around us goes nutty for Father Christmas and the Easter Bunny – that’s not what Christmas or Easter are about for us. To celebrate Christ’s victory over death and to remind ourselves that He is the Light who came into the darkness seems entirely appropriate.

Why not redeem the season, for your family and for your friends? Halloween a brilliant time to reach out to your friends and neighbours with the good news of Jesus. Many people (not just Christians) look for an alternative to the gory Halloween parties – so why not host a Light Party on your street?

Here on Parent Portal we have collected a whole variety of resources that we think you’ll love to help you host a brilliant Light Party in your own home.