Hallowe’en used to be my favourite “holiday”.
When the kids were small, we’d spend weeks making Hallowe’en crafts, decorating the house and making costumes. For years we threw a family friendly costume party with prizes for best costume, a full out buffet style feast and a myriad of games and activities for the kids.
In any case, this year I have not even so much as opened a box of decorations. Though tonight we will be carving our pumpkins as per usual, I’m not looking forward to it like I usually do. Where once I saw a fun family activity, now all I see is a big mess.
I must be losing my Hallowe’en spirit or it is just fading along with my kids’ childhoods. Our youngest is 13 now and has decided that this is her last year for “trick or treat”ing. (Of course, she said the same thing last year.)
So this year I am content to dress up like a Medieval Princess (at least there’s that) and hand out candy to the neighbourhood kids. I still get a kick out of the little ones out for their first or second time, the sheer wonder of some of them.
“What’s going on?” “Why am I dressed like Pooh?” “Who is this strange person and why are they giving me candy?” “Mommy, Daddy?!”
Next to that, fun is confusing a nine year old by insisting that they show you a trick before you give them their treat. Ha!
I guess I haven’t lost my Hallowe’en spirit just yet. I’ll know it’s gone for good when I decide to hand out pencils and stickers (like a, no doubt well intentioned, neighbour of ours) instead of good old fashioned tooth rotting candy.
Happy Hallowe’en Everyone!
I absolutely love Hallowe’en though I have noticed a decline in people’s sheer joy of it all. I remember handmade costumes, dressing up as “scary” characters, parades in schools and trick-or-treating at our neighbours to receive fresh-made caramel apples and popcorn. How I miss those times.
Hiya Kirsten – I’ve noticed the same thing, half the houses on our street were dark. Yeah, it’s not like when we were kids…no store bought costumes for us. Hope you had a good Hallowe’en all the same.
[...] last year about this time I wrote a post called Hallowe’en Spirit wherein I described my total lack of enthusiasm for what used to be one of my favourite times of [...]