Trick or Treat

Our family experienced a Halloween like no other. We didn't trick or treat ... well, not REALLY but we did encourage kids to come for candy!

Mom sent back a parcel from Canada, soon after her return of Halloween decorations and treats. I brought them to school and shared the decorations among colleagues and made up super treat bags for the kids in my and Jake's classes. They included skeletons, vampire teeth, witchy fingers and of course, some great Canadian treats!

So, on October 31, I carved a jack-o-lantern at school with my class (a first for all but 1 of my students)! They all got to put their hands in grab some "guts" and many got to carve with the tool mom included. After that, we roasted the seeds (another first) and most enjoyed them - I had to hand out the recipe :). Lastly, we lit it up and the kids marvelled at how it glowed. It was really special to be able to share this custom. I raffled off the jack-o-lantern at the end of the day so that one of the kids could take it home to share with her family. I also invited the kids to stop by that night for some treats if they were out.

When I arrived home from school, Jack, Jake and I got straight to work preparing our house for some visitors - we hoped! We carved another 2 pumpkins, decorated the house and put on some spooky sounds. We didn't have to wait long ... one of my students and her family and friends showed up when we were barely finished! Excitedly, Jack handed out the first treats - and lots of them!

Jacob decided to be a trickster tonight and dressed as a lawn decoration so that he could scare unsuspecting trick or treaters. Jack WAS going to dress up to hand out treats but then changed his mind and went as himself.

We didn't go out trick-or-treating because there weren't many places to go and we didn't know where they would be. We had discussed this for many days before Halloween and Jake and Jack accepted that they would let this Halloween be about giving rather than receiving. Sam, on the other hand, got together a group of friends and some costumes and went in search of lollies. In 2 and a half hours, they did find a few houses that were participating and came home with a small amount of loot.

Jack, Jake and I had a blast meeting the ghosts and ghoulies that did come out that night. We told them about Halloween at home and encouraged them to continue the fun next year. We had about 30 kids come by and it was really fun for us to see their excitement and joy over dressing up, visiting homes and getting treats. Hopefully, it will be a tradition that can continue...