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

Giving Thanks

I’ve come to the conclusion that I am not a big family meal sort of girl. At least, I’m not the host-and-cook a big family meal sort of girl. I get absolutely no joy out of cooking. I mean zip. Zero. Nada. All that peeling and prepping and cleaning only to what? Spend the next two days cleaning up from it? All that for a roasted bird that I don’t even eat.
Once the guests arrive I typically forget to offer them a drink. I’ll forget to set out a main ingredient in the meal. I’ll forget to bring out the birthday cake (seriously, I forgot to do that at Callum’s afternoon party).
I think the biggest reason I hate hosting a big meal is because I’m not a real food person. I could happily eat mediocre food for the rest of my life and not care. It doesn’t have to be spectacular, all it has to do is keep me from starving to death. That’s all I ask. In fact, I would even go so far as to suggest that I prefer boring food. I could have something in a tomato sauce everyday. Add in some cheese and I’m yours for life. I am that person who would eat the pot of chili every day for a week because it meant that I only had to cook one meal.
So, it’s not that I have anything against the family meal. I’m all about family and spending time together. Even more so when someone else does the cooking. It’s just that quality time can be spent over a take-out pizza without the dishes.
Yet I enjoy setting a nice table. If you want to cook, I’ll come over and set the table. I might even make a center piece. oh! And napkin rings!
I also enjoy giving out a Thank You gift to people who come to my parties. I seldom throw a party making putting together a Thank You gift much more reasonable, but it is even more acceptable when it’s a kid birthday party.
As a party favour at Callum’s little shin-dig we gave out Haunted Halloween Gingerbread House Kits that the kids and I made. This was in lieu of a loot bag which I think is becoming a thing of the past. It seems most parents hate the loot bags, and are opting instead to do some really creative alternatives. Both Angela and Michelle had some fantastic ideas this year that I am so stealing as my kids get older.

Anyway, this kit looks exactly like the kit Michaels sells (unintentionally), except with that home-made charm which likely means the walls don’t line up with the roof.

I was really proud of these little boxes. Each box contains the gingerbread house pieces, some black food coloring, candies, little gingerbread skeleton dudes and gravestones, instructions, and chocolate windows. So much fun to put together and with the exception of the candies and food coloring, the kids and I made it all ourselves!
The little pumpkins on the box are those foam forms you can buy and I cut out random shapes that Callum glued onto the pumpkins. He was pretty picky about the exact placement of eyes and mouths and wouldn’t veer from that. Something I wasn’t expecting from a 3-year old and I’ll be honest, I was a bit disappointed. I was so hoping to see random eyes in the middle of that pumpkin’s forehead. There are, however, little eyes glued underneath big eyes…

Here is our house after Gwen realized that the fence? MADE OF CANDY. You should see it now… a sad little run-down shack with no windows and only half a door.
It of course still houses a secret gingerbread baby inside its walls, as all gingerbread houses must.