All Hallow’s Eve

Every year when Halloween comes and goes I always have to wonder why such a benign little celebration seems to generate so much negativity. I love Halloween. I love everything about it, from the decorations to the crafts, the history and dressing up, and most of all, pumpkins!

The pumpkins we all carved together
I don?t think you could ask for a more kid-friendly celebration. As far as I?m concerned, it?s all about the kids (or the kid in us). They get to dress up and run around and act crazy but without the adult agenda that comes with Christmas and Thanksgiving. There isn?t the obligatory family feast; instead you get a bag full of candies! Just because you asked for it!

“I a penguin!”
Its outside in your own neighbourhood so you get to greet your neighbours, enjoy the fall weather, watch your children have a blast instead of trying to ensure that they are on their best behaviour and share in all that merriment with other people who also appreciate just how much fun it is to let loose.

He’s a turtle, case you can’t figure that one out
It also showcases some pretty serious creative talent, too. Even if you?re not a creative person, or don?t enjoy getting dressed up I think everyone can appreciate the humour and thought that some people put into their costumes, their decorating, or even just the presentation of a chocolate bar. The time and effort people spend be-decking their homes and yards brings me no end of joy. Even this year when I was too tired and sick to drag out my own decorations, I still love to see what everyone else did.
Plus Halloween teaches kids a lot more than ?hey! Free candy day!? They get to be a part of their community and show some spirit, to see people give a gift just for the joy of it (because, lets face it, a lot of people feel an obligation to other gift-giving occasions but we can all opt out of Halloween without a second thought), to learn how to appreciate that gift and say thank you, to appreciate the thought and effort someone made to decorate just because you were coming by, and to understand that not everyone celebrates this holiday. Very quickly Callum learned that if the porch light was on he was welcome to come up to the door and yell ?Trick or Treat? but he was to respect that if the porch light was off he wasn?t to bother them.

Onward!
My own kids had a blast, Callum especially. He was excitedly telling everyone ?Happy Halloween?, and ?Thank you!? and ?Have a fun night?. He was picking out the houses with pumpkins and porch lights, and patiently waited for Claire. Claire was a little more wary of the whole deal, but by the end was saying ?Happy Halloween? and ?I a penguin? and shuffling up the walk to the door pretty quickly. Of course, she got a lollipop out of her treat bag so was starting to realize that this little game was pretty cool.

Not so sure…
We got an unbelievable amount of candy considering we hit up a total of about 15 houses; we only went around the block near my Grandma?s place. I think people were shovelling in the candy and were very considerate about the fact that the kids were little giving out candy they thought was best. That said, I don’t have any candy hang-ups and will even allow Claire to eat most of it. One gentleman had oranges as an option!
After we walked around the block, we took the kids to our local pumpkin trail. We were too late to walk the trail but we met up with our friends and watched the fireworks. Another great thing about Halloween, it?s the only time of year where the kids are actually still awake when the fireworks go off. We were home, and the kids in bed just slightly past their bedtime so we didn’t even mess with their schedule.

Watching the fireworks

8 Responses to “All Hallow’s Eve”

1. pogonip says:

   November 2, 2009 at 6:15 pm

   I love Halloween too–both kids’ costumes are so cute. I just love “I a penguin”. That’s a keeper.
   I had a little two year old panda bear come trick-or-treating and after I gave him his candy he opened his mouth and emitted the loudest roar I have ever heard from any kid!
2. Sole says:

   November 3, 2009 at 9:31 am

   New camera? Very cute costumes!
3. Laura says:

   November 3, 2009 at 12:32 pm

   I love this post! You’re right, Halloween is great. I am excited about next year, when Gwen will have more clue about what the heck is going on. Sounds like you guys had a lovely time! And speaking of bedtimes and fireworks – can I get a shout-out for how convenient it was to set the clocks back an hour on Halloween night? Someone was really thinking ahead there!
4. Amber says:

   November 3, 2009 at 1:07 pm

   new camera!
   I agree, it has made the transition A LOT easier… . ah, daylight savings…
5. Anonymous says:

   November 3, 2009 at 3:31 pm

   Very cute, looks like a fun time was had by all!
6. Grandma says:

   November 4, 2009 at 12:19 am

   I liked it too and ended up with 45 little darlings!!!One little girl was totally fascinated by your pumpkins !!!I wish I could have seen the fireworks but got rid of all the candy -not saying how much I ate myself!!!
7. Anonymous says:

   November 4, 2009 at 9:37 pm

   Yeah! I love fireworks!!! Claire??? not too sure about the noise!
8. Maria says:

   November 5, 2009 at 7:24 am

   Wow, you guys had fireworks? Cool. Our street does go whole hog, everyone’s one with treats for little ones and big ones too