It's unreal how much fun my children (of all ages!) have at Halloween. They just love it! This year I had a Mario, a Flower Fairie, A Vampire/Devil, and a Grumpy Teenager. The girls went trick-or-treating with friends, so Mario (my youngest, J2) got his mum all to himself, which he seemed to greatly enjoy.
So we took Mario to the dorms at one of the local colleges that does a big trick or treating/haunted house production. It was amazing - 4 floors of cute freshman girls dressed up and handing out candy! My little J2 (he's 6) was the biggest flirt I''ve ever seen - and as a result he scored so much candy, he couldn't eat it all in a lifetime. My disgruntled teenager, who handed out candy at our house, was very sad he missed the opportunity to wander the girls' dorm of course...but he watched 'Dawn of the Dead' so apparently that made up for it - sorta. Teenagers are so weird.
My poor flower fairie had a great time trick or treating, but it ended up haunting her (no pun intended!). She ate so much candy while out wandering that she actually got physically sick! While it was a great lesson to my other kids that too much candy really will make you sick, she was worshiping the porcelain bowl for the better part of 1/2 an hour. Poor kid. Once she finally finished, she felt much better of course, but still...what a way to end a night!!
So besides the flirting, puking, walking, watching zombie movies, and trying to clean off tons of face make-up, it was a great night!! Talking to neighbors and fellow residents of the smallish town I live in, as well as enjoying watching other parents and kids, and chatting with them - it's just not something that happen every day. This is why I love Halloween - while some call it a pagan holiday and encourage Christians to stay away from it, I think the bigger benefit is repeatedly missed. While some like the gore and fear involved, most of us just really enjoy one of the few days of the year that we get to enjoy our community, and relate to it and others in it in a way we normally don't get to. People who wouldn't normally talk and enjoy each other get a chance to break down social walls and chat. Little people get to feel a sense of community and safety as they go to different homes and see that behind the doors, people are kind and really do enjoy the opportunity to see those costumes, smiles, and joy when they say 'trick-or treat'. So while I love all holidays, Halloween is one of my favorites.
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