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For the youngest, Halloween can be fun without the fright

When you’re a kid, Halloween is all about fun – dressing up in your scariest costume, spending hours going from house to house collecting candy and hunting for that one house everyone talks about in hushed tones ... the house that gives away the holy grail – full-size candy bars.

But it can also be pretty scary if you’re little.

The dark, scary costumes, fake blood – all that stuff that for older kids and adults makes the night fun – can be too much for little ones.

“We don’t really trick-or-treat, just because there are people out there we don’t really know ... it’s kind of scary,” said Allison Hendricks of Farmington who is mom to Hunter, 5, and Evelyn, 9 months. “You just don’t know; it’s the fear of the unknown, I guess. And not knowing people, I just get kind of afraid for him (Hunter).”

The family prefers to keep its Halloween fun to parties and gatherings for now.

“We try to do Halloween at church, and it’s a little bit less scary,” Hendricks said. “We just let him go play with his friends; there’s actually a little carnival-type thing. And they all dress up and do that, and it’s a little safer. We know the people he’s going to be surrounded with.”

Durangoan Lauren Thompson, mom of Pace, 6; Gillie, 4; and Fira, 2, said her family also prefers to keep it close to home while the kids are young.

“I don’t want to see blood or guts or anything gory,” she said, adding that also applies to her kids’ costumes.

“For my kids, we focus on animals and characters they like,” she said. “At least at this age, I don’t want them being frightening or violent. So Pace is going to be a raccoon superhero.”

Alternatives to traditional trick-or-treating

If your kiddos are still just a little too young for hitting the pavement in the hunt for all things sugar, there are at least two kid-friendly activities being held in the days leading up to and on Halloween.

The first, Three Springs’ 10th annual Fall Festival, will be held Saturday at Three Springs Plaza.

Kids can get in a little daytime trick-or-treating while checking out a petting zoo, pumpkin patch and other Halloween fun.

And on the big day, families can head downtown for the annual Children’s Trick-or-Treat, where about 100 Durango businesses will be flinging open their doors to all the little ghosts and goblins who are 10 and younger, in costume and accompanied by an adult. This event is free and runs from 4 to 6 p.m., so the littlest trick-or-treaters can get home before dark.

Tim Walsworth, executive director of the Business Improvement District, said that the downtown trick-or-treating is generally a pretty good time for little ones to get candy without having to brave the dark. And while there may be some scary costumes, the vibe is fun and friendly.

“What BID does is we encourage the merchants who are giving out the candy to dress up in costumes, so some of them might be a little scary,” he said. “I think the chances of a kid being frightened are way less; our event’s during when it’s light, so that’s a part of it – it’s not dark. No one is jumping out from behind the bushes to give you a little fright, and it’s all pretty good family-friendly fun with those couple of little caveats.”

For a list of participating businesses, visit downtowndurango.org and scroll down to the “Children’s Halloween in Downtown Durango” tab to get to the link.

katie@durangoherald.com

If you go

Three Springs 10th annual Fall Festival

11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Three Springs Plaza. Get dressed up in your Halloween costume and enjoy a great day out for the family filled with activities including live music, trick-or-treating, face painting, a petting zoo, concession stands and a fitness monster mash fun run. The entire family is welcome, and there will be events for the kiddos, as well as lots of great entertainment, food and more.

Children’s Halloween in downtown Durango

Little ones can dress up and go trick-or-treating at nearly 100 of downtown Durango businesses. The event will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday (Halloween). It is free for kids 10 and younger who are in costume and are accompanied by an adult.



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