Halloween Love/Hate

Tom and I are not Halloween people. We just don't get excited about scary movies, creepy costumes, cheap decorations, pumpkin guts, fog machines, masks, children in the streets after dark, standing at strangers' doors, asking for candy they can't eat. On a school night. Ugh. I could go on... No offense to our friends and family who LOVE everything about October 31st. It's just not our thing.


But we happen to live in a little village that likes to celebrate big. That means a Children's Parade the weekend before and a Trick-or-Treat event from 6-8pm the night of. We participate in both -- with minimal effort -- for the sake of the kids. Ha! We have a huge dress-up closet off the playroom, so Bleu and Ollie usually decide what to wear (if anything) right before leaving the house. That's how they roll. Buby puts more thought into his costume, usually ordering a new one each year. We walk with friends the first hour and then pass out mini pretzels. (I know, FUN!) 

 

All three of my kiddos willingly trade in their trick-or-treat bags for gift baskets that I assemble myself. In fact, they can't wait to do the trade. I send all the artificial crap to Tom's office (making him very popular the next day!), and the kids get to keep any pencils, stickers, graham crackers or pretzels they've collected. They go to bed happy... and so do I. 

This year Ollie dressed as Mo Doodle (circa 2008) around the house all week. He was a pirate for the parade and then chose not to wear any costume on Halloween night. I presented several options to which he said "no thanks." I don't particularly like dressing up myself, so I wouldn't force it on anyone. Bleu wanted to be a "Mommy" with a purse and a stroller. Buby was the Pokéman Mudkip.  

It's unfortunate that my least favorite holiday falls during my most favorite season, but as I upload photos from last week I'm realizing that Halloween is not totally without its charms. It turns out that I love running through pumpkin patches with the kids, roasting seeds for their teachers, watching Bleu make "ghost" cookies for her girlfriends, and seeing Buby's rock pumpkin on the front porch.