Fall and Halloween are an exciting times with lots of fun activities to participate in. It’s also always a reminder of the upcoming holiday season and the need to pace ourselves. In this post I hope some of these tips and tools will help you fully enjoy this time with your family and friends.

Dressing up/Trick-or-Treating – If I’m handing out candy I always dress up or at least throw a wig on for fun. One thing that can make handing out candy easier is if you make it a two person job. One person holds the candy bowl while the other person grabs the candy, bends down and puts it in the kiddos bags. Remember that you can refill your candy bowl between trick-or-treaters instead of filling it all the way full. It makes it easier to move the candy bowl around. If you’re taking a child trick-or-treating then you’re probably mostly concerned with being safe, staying warm and physical comfort. Defiantly wear comfy walking shoes and consider using glow light sticks/glow jewelry, reflective tape or flashlights for added visibility. Continue reading for ideas on how to stay warm. For comfortable costume ideas, check out my previous post, Fibro Feelings – Comfy Halloween Fun. If you’re dressing up using costume makeup, be sure to test the product on your skin first to avoid an allergic/sensitivity reaction during your day/night of fun.

Bonfires/Hayrides – The biggest issues here are temperature, allergies and physical comfort. If you know allergies are an issue for you, be sure to take an allergy medicine before you arrive at the event so it has time to kick in. Also, consider wearing a scarf loosely over your nose/mouth to help block you from breathing more of the allergens in. If the hayride is during the daytime, consider wearing sunglasses for the same reason. Bonfire smoke can be aggravating to anybody, so try to stay on the side of the fire that the wind is coming from. If you have a comfy, portable chair of your own, bring it so you know you’ll have a comfortable choice. To stay warm in both of these situations wear lots of layers, gloves/Fingered/Convertible Mittens, hats, warm coats and consider using hand warmers/feet warmers. To help keep your core temperate up, bring a thermos of warm apple cider, tea or hot chocolate to sip on. Since hayrides can be bumpy/jarring you may want to wear a ThermaCare-type back heat wrap to ease your muscles.

Pumpkin Patch/Apple Orchard/Corn Maze – Often times this requires walking on very uneven ground in a patch/orchard, so make sure you wear shoes with good support that you don’t mind getting dirty. You might also want to wear ankle braces if you have a ascendancy to roll your ankle. I like going to the patch/orchard early in the month because it is usually a little less crowded. By planning to go earlier it also gives me the flexibility to still go on a day that has nice weather if I need to postpone it. In the past I’ve waited until two weeks before Halloween and ended up having to go on a rainy day, which is much less fun! Try to bring someone with you who can do the heavy lifting of the pumpkins, apple bushels or cider. Also use the tips & tools above for allergen and temperature control.

What’re your tips & tools for Halloween activities?

Just looking at this makes me want a mug of hot apple cider!*

*Image Credit: from www.flickr.com by St0rmz.