This year, we followed the stores' lead and celebrated Halloween early and often.
Our first big Halloween outing was to Savage Mill on October 17. They had trick or treating at the stores and pumpkin painting at the Ram's Head Tavern. We hadn't signed up ahead of time for the pumpkin painting so we didn't get to do that. We had fun none the less.
A week later, a local grocery store had trick or treating. My daughter went and got many snacks and a little pumpkin to paint. It's on our front porch now! They also had a drawing for a five dollar gift certificate which we won the next week. Double win!
On the Thursday before Halloween (the 29th), my children went to Main Street in Laurel where the businesses were giving out candy. Halloween was on a Saturday this year and most of them would have been closed. As it turns out, a great many of them didn't participate anyway. The kids in the street exchanged info on which businesses were open.
On Halloween, the kids went to religious education where they had a "dress as a saint day" for the kindergartners and the first graders. My daughter was a happy participant, choosing Saint Lucy for her costume. She wore a crown of candles, a popular tradition in the north countries of Europe, along with a white costume to represent her virginity and a red sash for her martyrdom.
My daughter was chosen to carry a sign, which was more visible when they made a u-turn around the chapel and came back down past the cheering crowd.
Her sign has Saint John Chrysostom.
In the evening, all the children went out trick or treating. We had Rapunzel, a gnome (or possibly a North Pole elf), and a Minecraft creeper.
I stayed home and gave out candy. I can report that three out of four teenagers actual make an effort to dress up. One guy in the quartet of teenagers wore a store-insignia hoodie, so maybe he was trying to be a store employee? I don't think they wear hoodies. The other guy had a plain black hoodie but had a scary mask on his head (not over his face, mind you, but pushed up on his forehead--I give him partial credit). The girls were dressed up--maybe they were on a double-date. They all had the classic bag...a pillow case.
I tried to keep track of how many visitors we had by eating one piece of candy for every trick-or-treater. I should have stopped at twenty.
Being dutiful parents, we screened the goodies that came back. Here's the best and worst they got...
Our first big Halloween outing was to Savage Mill on October 17. They had trick or treating at the stores and pumpkin painting at the Ram's Head Tavern. We hadn't signed up ahead of time for the pumpkin painting so we didn't get to do that. We had fun none the less.
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| Going to the mill! |
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| Minecraft creeper and Rapunzel |
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| A big hug! |
A week later, a local grocery store had trick or treating. My daughter went and got many snacks and a little pumpkin to paint. It's on our front porch now! They also had a drawing for a five dollar gift certificate which we won the next week. Double win!
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| Getting a snack |
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| Pumpkin painting |
On the Thursday before Halloween (the 29th), my children went to Main Street in Laurel where the businesses were giving out candy. Halloween was on a Saturday this year and most of them would have been closed. As it turns out, a great many of them didn't participate anyway. The kids in the street exchanged info on which businesses were open.
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| Getting ready for Main Street |
On Halloween, the kids went to religious education where they had a "dress as a saint day" for the kindergartners and the first graders. My daughter was a happy participant, choosing Saint Lucy for her costume. She wore a crown of candles, a popular tradition in the north countries of Europe, along with a white costume to represent her virginity and a red sash for her martyrdom.
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| Getting ready at home |
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| Her brother waiting for the parade to come by |
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| The beginning of the parade |
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| More of the parade |
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| Still no Saint Lucy |
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| There she is! |
My daughter was chosen to carry a sign, which was more visible when they made a u-turn around the chapel and came back down past the cheering crowd.
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| Return of the saints |
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| Saint Lucy again! |
Her sign has Saint John Chrysostom.
In the evening, all the children went out trick or treating. We had Rapunzel, a gnome (or possibly a North Pole elf), and a Minecraft creeper.
 |
| Ready for door-to-door collecting |
I stayed home and gave out candy. I can report that three out of four teenagers actual make an effort to dress up. One guy in the quartet of teenagers wore a store-insignia hoodie, so maybe he was trying to be a store employee? I don't think they wear hoodies. The other guy had a plain black hoodie but had a scary mask on his head (not over his face, mind you, but pushed up on his forehead--I give him partial credit). The girls were dressed up--maybe they were on a double-date. They all had the classic bag...a pillow case.
I tried to keep track of how many visitors we had by eating one piece of candy for every trick-or-treater. I should have stopped at twenty.
Being dutiful parents, we screened the goodies that came back. Here's the best and worst they got...
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| Full-size Snickers bar in a cardboard decorative box! |
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| One individually-wrapped Life Saver |
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