Halloween 2012 Thoughts
1
November
Halloween Cuties!
Last night I went trick-or-treating with the kids for the first time. Last year I went collecting cans for the local food bank and he came along and got some candy, but this is the first time we went out with the intent to get candy. We had a lot of fun and the kids seemed to quite enjoy it. We stuck to our street and managed to go up our side of the street for two blocks before they ran out. We were probably out there for about 90 minutes and I’m -impressed with the amount of candy they picked up.
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- I love the community building aspect of Halloween. I love getting to meet my neighbours, seeing who lives where, and getting a better idea of those on my street. I got to talk to people I would otherwise never have the chance, and when people open their doors you often get a quick glimpse at a tiny slice of their life: their entrance way, part of the living room, what is on TV, maybe into the kitchen. Last night gave me a much better idea of the makeup of my neighbourhood.
- I love the pride I felt in the adorableness of my children and the constant reaffirmation that they really are super cute. :)
- I love seeing all the other cute little kids running around.
- I found it interesting the different smells that wafted out of houses when doors were opened: cooking, old people, cigarette, incense, air-fresheners.
- Do you let your kids walk across lawns between houses? Growing up I was taught this was disrespectful, and most people didn’t even have lawns where I grew up, and as a result I do the same with my kids. We walk up and down each driveway or front walk from sidewalk to front door. This is a hugely circuitous route, and kids were quickly passing us as they ran from house to house across the lawns, but what I was taught as a kid has stuck.
- As a kid I was always beyond excited when I’d get a can of pop or a full chocolate bar and it was neat to see that some people still do that.
- We didn’t get any homemade treats, but one really nice old man gave us apples because of the age of our children. Do you let your kids eats home-baked treats or things like popcorn or treats that have been packaged by hand?
- My kids are too small to eat a lot of candy, so most of it’ll probably come to us. You know, as a candy tax. :) How do you ensure the kids don’t eat too much candy while still letting them enjoy the spoils of Halloween? Growing up we’d split it up into the various major candy groups, put it in ice cream buckets and into the deep-freeze. This ensured we’d have candy until sometime after Christmas, occasionally until Easter. (We used to get A LOT of candy)
- Going trick-or-treating with the kids meant not being able to sit by the door and hand out candy all night, something I enjoy doing because I love getting to see all the amazing costumes.
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My mummy costume
Yesterday I dressed up. It was the first time in years and I loved it. I loved really getting into the spirit of it. It always makes me a little disappointed when parents are going around with their little ones and they didn’t put in any effort to get into the spirit as well. Apparently others thought the same because I would get extra treats from some houses because they were impressed I dressed up as well. C’mon parents, get into the spirit and dress up with your kids. Especially if they are little and you are going up to each door with them. Your kids will also appreciate the effort.
- I also wore my costume to work. I was one of a handful that actually put some effort into a full costume (not just a mask, hat, or wig), which was kind of sad considering we have over 100 employees and 4-500 students. But I figure go big or go home, and I went all out. :D
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I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable halloween!
Husband, Father, Apprentice of Divinity, IT Professional, Bass Player, Hunter, Vegetable Gardener, Twisted Christian.
