I really kind of hate Halloween. I don’t like wearing costumes myself for any reason and thus, can’t imagine why anyone else would. I also hate purposely scary things, and I don’t get why anyone would want to decorate their house or yard with faux-macabre stuff like tombstones or bloody limbs sticking up out of the ground. What’s fun or decorative about dead or limbless people? Can anyone explain that to me?
But I have long ago accepted that pretty much everyone else I know (with the exception of my husband, who shares my antipathy toward Halloween) seems to really enjoy all the things I just listed – the dressing up, the skeletons hanging from their trees, etc. And that includes my kids, who have always really enjoyed the whole Halloween thing.
I don’t ever want them to feel deprived, so over the years, I’ve begrudgingly carved pumpkins, bought or created costumes for them, and taken them trick or treating. I do, however, draw the line at purchasing or displaying any decorative reminders of death, decay, terror or bodily harm around our house and yard. My kids always seem to have a great time on Halloween, even if their mother refuses to string up plastic eyeball lights or wear a witch’s hat while handing out Halloween candy. They accept my Halloween limits, just as I accept their enthusiasm for October 31.
Now that my older kids are teenagers, they kind of do their own thing on Halloween night – with my input an approval, of course. Tonight, for example, both J and E hung out with friends across town, and then J brought E home around 10 pm. J dressed up for the night, while E did not.
But the two youngest are – at 5 and 2 – just beginning their prime, parent-overseen trick or treating years, and as one would predict, they find the whole thing quite thrilling. So over the past few weeks, we decided on costumes for this year, and tonight I took C and G trick or treating with the Knoxville cousins, along with some friends over in the friends’ rather posh and very friendly neighborhood (the same one where J and E were celebrating with their own pals). Jon was happy to stay back at Casa Hickju for the evening to man the doorbell and candy bowl for any trick or treaters who came calling at our house. (As it turned out, we apparently had 20x our normal trick or treating volume this year. He said we almost ran out of candy.)
As much as I usually dislike and simply tolerate Halloween, I have to say that I actually had an awesome time tonight. Our friends’ neighborhood was perfect for kids to trick or treat, and all the children were in excellent moods. No one melted down or began whining that a seam in their costume was rubbing or their shoes were too tight. Plus, the hazy full moon was gorgeous in a clear night sky, and the weather was perfect – cool but not too cold. I’d have to say this was the most fun I’ve ever had taking any of my children to collect candy and treats on Halloween. Oh! Plus I ran into a kid about 10 or 11 years old out trick or treating in a pitch-perfect Arnold Horshack costume. How awesome is that?!
Following are a few choice photos from our Halloween 2012, AKA “The Year Katie Actually Had Fun”
Here’s middle schooler, cousin El attired as the Prom Queen, circa 1984. Betsy ordered the dress on eBay and sewed the sash herself. Loved this costume.
C originally planned to be a hotdog this year, but the hotdog costume I ordered via Amazon express shipping didn’t arrive. So at the last minute, she selected this fairy princess costume, accessorized by C herself with earmuffs and headlamp. And as for Danger Toddler, she’s the monkey you see the fairy princess hugging below. She LOVED dressing up as a monkey… And acting like a monkey all evening.
And a few more shots of Halloween Monkey Toddler.
As you can see, all that money we spent on J’s orthodontia back in middle school has really paid off.
Here are the kids about to head out for trick or treating. In addition to C, G and (very tall!) cousin El, that’s cousin M in the terrifying monster mask, and a very, very cute NC as ‘Madeline.’
So how was your Halloween? What did your children wear this year? How was the candy haul for 2012? What was the best costume you saw out and about? Inquiring minds want to know.
Also, I know that many of you living in areas hit by Sandy weren’t able to do any trick or treating last night, and Halloween was the absolute last thing on your minds. Please know that you all continue to be in my thoughts & prayers, including last night when I was lucky enough to be enjoying a carefree night of fun with my children, nieces and nephew.
Today I will be making a donation to the American Red Cross Disaster Hurricane Relief Fund on behalf of the Mamapundit reader community. I wish there were more I/we could do to help, and I pray that by October 31 next year, those of you who have had your lives turned upside down in recent days will be able to take your children out for a night of fun once again.
Love all your kiddos' (and cousin kiddos') costumes. My boys were characters out of two books so I particularly like NC's Madeline…just a perfect costume…did your sister make it or buy it?
My younger son was Percy Jackson from Percy Jackson and the Olympians and my older son was Jason Grace from the follow up series The Heroes of Olympus. But my younger son has chicken pox so the older one took two bags (one with a picture of his brother stapled to the bag) and Percy Jackson was in costume but home with me. We did not have near as many ToTers as in years when it falls on the weekend.
Your kids costumes are adorable! Not one trick or treater at our house, which is the norm.
I wish we'd get them, even tho I'm not big into the whole Halloween thing I do love seeing the kids dressed up. Other than that we stayed in. Neither of my kids (now 21 and 16) ever liked Halloween so it's not a "holiday" we celebrate.
Love the headlamp on the princess and the monkey suit!
I'm like you with Halloween; we just have some decorative pumpkins and jack-o-laterns and I sprinkled some rubber mice on the stairs. Sadly, my older son, who is 16 could not go to a friend's house where there was a small party because he had an important test today and two tomorrow. I hope I'm not "that" parent, but I am disappointed in those teachers for not cutting the kids any slack. My younger son (13) helped out a friend's haunted house. It's quite an event – they have a 100+ year old Victorian in an old neighborhood with lots of foot traffic and really do it up. It was a pleasant, low-key evening, but I did have a pang for when my kids were little (your younger kids' ages) when the doorbell would ring and the little kids would yell (or be prompted to yell) "Trick or Treat!" and the be so amazed that they were getting candy. You only get a few of those wonderful years.
I have enjoyed Halloween so much more since moving from New England, where it's always too darned cold to be fun for dragging kids around. Many years, their adorable costumes were covered with coats. Now my kids are grown, and my new grandson, a.k.a. The Cuddly Lion, had fun watching the bigger kids come and go up the porch steps. Next year, he'll be walking…look out.
I love the headlamp princess, and I could just eat that monkey up. NC is totally adorable, and of course the bigger kids are great. You have a wonderful family.
I live in Maine and have been doing Halloween with a kid or two since 2003. In that time, we have had I think ONE Halloween that required coats–this year was incredibly balmy. Climate change indeed; I can definitely remember the annual fight with my mom about getting a coat on under my costume.
Just a side note comment: I notice you regularly comment on your niece's height… As a formerly tall kid, most tall kids HATE when people comment on their height – especially girls. You may not know that since you are not tall so I thought I would share that with you.
This year none of us dressed up, my mum went out for the evening with friends and my brother had a music lesson which my dad had to take him to so I 'manned the door'… Our road is a dead-end road so we normally have 1 or 2 trick-or-treaters (or carol singers if its christmas)… This year we had 9! With the person who said about you always commenting on your nieces height.. I completely agree! I'm 6 foot and I'd rather not always be told how tall I am, as its bad enough living it, rather than knowing other people notice it. While I do like being tall sometimes, it is a hard thing if all your friends are so much shorter than you that you're always looking down on them. Other than being tall, does your niece have other qualities you admire and could comment on?
@Beatrice – Nope. The ONLY thing I admire about her is her height.
I kid! I kid!
Katie
We are THAT neighborhood everyone comes to Halloween night. We are in a rural area that makes trick or treating difficult. We live in a newer subdivision right next to the K-6th school so all the parents bring their kids here to trick or treat. I buy 300+ pieces of candy every year, give each kid one or two pieces, and run out by the end of the night. Everyone has a blast: people decorate, have cook outs (we live near Gulf Shores Alabama so it's in the 70's), and sit in their driveways handing out candy. You don't even bother staying inside because there are soooo many kids.
I got sick with pneumonia and wasn't able to work for a week so my kids had to make their own costumes. And I don't sew and I don't have crafty stuff just hanging around. They had to get really creative with very little to work with LOL. My 9 year old was a zombie skateboarder and my 7 year old daughter was a black cat.
Our city moved trick or treating to Saturday in a burst of unnecessary pre-planning on Monday. It does mean I haven't yet bought my candy!
I didn't particularly like dressing up, ever, though I did like getting candy. I hate dressing up as an adult, but have always loved handing out candy and seeing all the kids (lordy, could I sound more elderly?) Husband loves to go around with the kids, so it all works out beautifully. But we don't decorate other than lighting up our carved pumpkin for that evening. I can barely get Christmas lights up, I don't need any extra decorating obligations, especially not black plastic. :-p
6 year old daughter was a vampire, with lots of purple facepaint as that's her favorite color. 12 year old son was where's Waldo red duct tape on white shirt with Santa hat and white duct tape for extra stripe on hat all things we had already and black pipe cleaner glasses and teen son wore scary mask we already had. Spent no money at all on costumes. We always save any we do buy and van adapt to whatever is needed in later years.
My son was Captain America, a handsome and popular choice. Best outfit of the night goes to Wednesday Addams, right down to the pigtails and black roses.
My 6 year old's birthday is today, November 1st, and so there has always been an uncomfortable relationship with Halloween since his arrival. On Halloween, I am invariably baking and frosting 36 cupcakes for school, making a board with pictures showing what he's been up to during his years (it's a Montessori thing); don't have the time or energy for carving pumpkins.
We live in an older neighborhood (the lady across the street celebrated her 98th birthday on Halloween), and we had only 5 trick or treaters. Ever the concerned host, despite my reassurances, my husband ran out and bought 3 more boxes of treat in addition to the 3 we already had… I've got to get rid of it without anyone realizing…
I do have to say though, that my resourceful 9 year old had me laughing. For a couple of weeks she was strategizing about her costume, begging to sew something (we don't have a sewing machine). Finally, she begged for a paper bag, which she expertly painted, and, combined with a set of scrubs and black boots, went out as Frankenstein. She looked quite good! The boy went as a devil, in a beautiful cape and headgear sewn by grandma when he was 2 (thank goodness it still fits!); it's the 3rd year he's worn it, but with all the other costumes he has, he's forgotten… (photographic evidence doesn't lie…).
I don't really like Halloween, although I took my 10-year-old trick or treating. He went as The Scream (I must admit, the mask was kind of cool.)
Next year, he wants to go as The Dude. I'm thinking of a coffee can labeled "Donny" to collect the candy.