trick or treat
Trick or treat? That is the question. Is it just a trick of candy manufacturers and costume makers to empty our wallets or is it a treat for the children (and adults!) to dress up and go door to door?
I had the pleasure of staying in my warm home on Halloween night to give out candy to those ghouls, goblins, superheros, monkeys, princesses, ninja's and cowboys that braved the chill to ring the doorbell. I saw all sorts of costumes ranging from teenage girls in their pajamas, teenage boys in their street clothes(?), store-bought costumes, intricate homemade ones and any combination in between.
Parents carried their young children door to door or pulled them along in wagons. They often saw other neighbors and stopped to chat while their kids ran ahead. I saw many parents who joined in the costume fun. I saw the Hulk, a few witches, and my neighbor dressed as a pink bunny from the movie A Christmas Story.
Halloween at our house consisted of last minute costume preparation the day before that included a few trips to our local home improvement store and a few other stops along the way. We pulled together a scuba diver, a hippie, Little Red Riding Hood and an Ewok. Red riding hood and the Ewok were recycled and it was fun to see my daughter running through the hood in the red cloak my mom made for me back in the day when I went door to door hunting for candy. This was also Mason's first year going door to door asking for something he can't seem to live without. :)
We spent an exorbitant amount of money on candy! Wow! Did my parents spend that much back in the day? We purchased glasses and a wig to finish off our hippie look and unfortunately the wig was falling apart before he even walked out the door.
We don't decorate much for halloween, just a few pumpkins and some multi-color corn stalks. Our pumpkins were free because they came out of our garden this year and the leaves scattered on the ground were gifts from our trees.
I tried to talk the kids into family movie night this year instead of trick or treating. I tried to lure them with the idea of family togetherness, popcorn and their favorite candy. Who wouldn't want to miss that?! They all looked at me like I had two heads; hence the last minute costume prep.
So trick or treat? I am a halloween scrooge. Not really my cup of tea. So I thought when I started this post that the answer would be trick. However, all the scariness of halloween aside, it was a great time to be part of the community and share something with the neighbors. I enjoyed seeing the creativity of most costumes and was surprised by all the 'thank you's' that were said. My kids obviously enjoyed it and the weather could certainly have been worse. This year halloween was a treat!
I had the pleasure of staying in my warm home on Halloween night to give out candy to those ghouls, goblins, superheros, monkeys, princesses, ninja's and cowboys that braved the chill to ring the doorbell. I saw all sorts of costumes ranging from teenage girls in their pajamas, teenage boys in their street clothes(?), store-bought costumes, intricate homemade ones and any combination in between.
Parents carried their young children door to door or pulled them along in wagons. They often saw other neighbors and stopped to chat while their kids ran ahead. I saw many parents who joined in the costume fun. I saw the Hulk, a few witches, and my neighbor dressed as a pink bunny from the movie A Christmas Story.
Halloween at our house consisted of last minute costume preparation the day before that included a few trips to our local home improvement store and a few other stops along the way. We pulled together a scuba diver, a hippie, Little Red Riding Hood and an Ewok. Red riding hood and the Ewok were recycled and it was fun to see my daughter running through the hood in the red cloak my mom made for me back in the day when I went door to door hunting for candy. This was also Mason's first year going door to door asking for something he can't seem to live without. :)
We spent an exorbitant amount of money on candy! Wow! Did my parents spend that much back in the day? We purchased glasses and a wig to finish off our hippie look and unfortunately the wig was falling apart before he even walked out the door.
We don't decorate much for halloween, just a few pumpkins and some multi-color corn stalks. Our pumpkins were free because they came out of our garden this year and the leaves scattered on the ground were gifts from our trees.
I tried to talk the kids into family movie night this year instead of trick or treating. I tried to lure them with the idea of family togetherness, popcorn and their favorite candy. Who wouldn't want to miss that?! They all looked at me like I had two heads; hence the last minute costume prep.
So trick or treat? I am a halloween scrooge. Not really my cup of tea. So I thought when I started this post that the answer would be trick. However, all the scariness of halloween aside, it was a great time to be part of the community and share something with the neighbors. I enjoyed seeing the creativity of most costumes and was surprised by all the 'thank you's' that were said. My kids obviously enjoyed it and the weather could certainly have been worse. This year halloween was a treat!
Love their outfits. This was our first year we didn't go out. Only because I would have gotten the same "2 heads" look from people since my youngest is almost 13! We took a walk down memory lane though and I was thrilled with the memories my kids have from the past years.
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