3 Fa-boo Halloween Specials for the Kids

Halloween is such a fun time of year. It can also be scary for little ones. Witches, ghosts, goblins and vampires can really frighten the wee ones. So much of the holiday is less than kid friendly. For the discriminating parent, it can be difficult to choose family-friendly and fun specials for your children to watch. In this article, we'll mention three specials that can charm and delight your wee ones from the ages of 3 to 13.

First up is It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. This classic special was first aired in 1966. It features Charlie Brown, Lucy, Snoopy and the rest of the gang. The story is a tradition for many families. The story centers on Linus, Lucy's blanket-carrying, thumb-sucking baby brother. He loves Halloween. He believes that the Great Pumpkin will appear to him in the pumpkin patch and decides to keep another vigil. No one else believes in the Great Pumpkin or in Linus. They go off to hunt for elaborate costumers and engage in trick-or-treating.

Will Linus be disappointed? Will the Great Pumpkin make an appearance? Will Charlie Brown pick a decent costume? Even if you know the answers, you still want to watch it again.

My second favorite is also a nostalgia classic. It's called Garfield's Halloween Adventure. In this cartoon, everybody's favorite obese cat, Garfield goes on well, an adventure. In the morning, when he wakes up Binky the Clown is on and announces that tonight is Halloween. It is the night to go out and get candy. Garfield is not one to ignore a challenge - or his stomach so he recruits Odie, the intellectually-challenged family dog, to go out on Halloween with him.

They dress up as pirates and go trick-or-treating. They're sidetracked by a boat which leads to a scary haunted house with an ugly old man inside. Will they make it home? Will Garfield share the candy booty with Odie? You'll have to watch to find out.

The last special I love to watch with my kids is Rugrats' Halloween. Tommy, Chuckie, Phil and Lil are all dressed up for Halloween. Angelica, ever the meanie, tells them that they're going to turn into the very thing they're dressed up as. Poor Chuckie. He doesn't want to be a 'werewuff'. Who does? Phil and Lil are fine with turning into bats. They can eat scary bugs. Tommy, the vampire, takes the knowledge all in stride. The viewer knows Angelica has gone too far; but, we wonder - will the babies be able to enjoy trick-or-treating with the possibility of transformation hanging over their heads?

These Halloween specials are cute and relatively harmless. They're not too scary for the wee ones. I love to sit and watch them with my children so that if they have any questions I'm right there to answer them. Each of these specials is a part of our family's Halloween traditions and a great way to celebrate the spooky season.