It's that time of the year where ghosts, ghouls, and goblins begin to take over Iowa. I've officially turned my brain into Halloween mode as the decorations are up at my house. Pumpkin carving will be taking place this weekend, Halloween parties have been put on the calendar, and all of the candy in the bowls around my house are going to help me gain the 5 pounds I've never needed.

If you aren't into Halloween or everything that is attached with it, you likely won't care about the cancellation of Halloween parties at this Iowa elementary school. Before you roll your eyes and wonder why fun is no longer allowed in 2023, it might not be as bad as you think.

School Cancels Halloween Parties

Self admittedly, when I first found this story, I rolled my eyes, and thought this was ridiculous. "How could they cancel Halloween parties, that was one of my favorite days in school when I was growing up." I also thought to myself "we just can't have fun anymore."

While The Humboldt Community School District has cancelled Halloween parties, they are still going to celebrate the fall season.

Here's Why

According to KCRG, The Humboldt Community School District Superintendent said "it is for the best interests of students." Instead of Halloween-themed events and parties, they've switched the themes and events to be fall-themed festivities. There was a newsletter sent out to parents that said "there are students who don't celebrate Halloween due to religious or cultural reasons." Supposedly there are students who don't attend school on Halloween because of this.

KCRG reports that the superintendent says "staff made the decision also for reasons beyond religions, including lost time in the classroom, families being unable to afford costumes, and some students simply not celebrating."

Opinion

I'm going to completely stay away from the religion aspect of Halloween being cancelled. To each their own and that's none of my business.

Where there is a little part of me that does understand switching to a fall-theme is for those students who can't afford a costume. I never noticed this when I was a kid in elementary school but as an adult, I can obviously tell which students have parents who are able to afford nice costumes from the kids who can't. I don't necessarily think kids care very much about how much a costume costs or if it's homemade but I can empathize with the kids who's parents can't afford one.

Imagine being one of the few kids left out because mom or dad couldn't afford a costume this year. I'm sure it's embarrassing, heartbreaking, and a torturous day when everyone shows up in a costume. These kids are watching their classmates having fun and they don't get that experience.

The school didn't take away the celebration of fall or Halloween. They just made a small change to the playbook. I'm probably in the minority on this, especially after reading some of the comments on Facebook but at the end of the day, is it really that big of a deal? The kids who want to dress up will still get to dress up and trick or treat, they can still hangout with their friends after school and celebrate however they want too. Plus there are tons of trunk or treats around the state of Iowa. If a student is dead set on wearing their costume as many times as they can, parents can bring them to one of those events.

I know there are going to be people who say that "life isn't fair" and "you're taking away Halloween from a bunch of other kids." All I'm saying is this doesn't need to be as big of a deal as people are making it. Parents are making this a bigger issue than kids ages 5-10. They're likely happy they get an excuse to have any kind of party at school. I highly doubt they care about any kind of theme, they just want a fun day at school.

Does this news stink for some kids? Sure. I'm also pretty sure they'll get over it long before the adults who are upset about this.