Halloween

I don't get overly-excited about Halloween.  I think I've been that way my entire life.  As a kid, my parents NEVER spent money on a costume, and my mom didn't spend time or energy on making me an outfit.  So if I wanted to go Trick-or-Treating, it was usually in whatever I could piece together from around the house.  I do have a few good memories of Halloween from my youth.  Growing up in the country, I depended on my parents to drive me from home to home to gather candy.  So one year, I was able to meet up with my cousin who lived in Minneapolis.  I think I was about 7 years old.  Her mom gave us pillow cases to use as our treat receptacles.  After walking around the block, we could hardly lug the things around anymore.  I remember staying up late with my cousin, sneaking those sugary snacks throughout the night.  My cousin woke up with a chocolate "ring" around her mouth.    The last few years, we have met up with Silly and her family.  We've begun the evening with supper and then walking around their neighborhood.  It has been fun to do that with Peanut Butter.

This year, Sweet Potato and Honey Bunches announced that they did not want to go Trick-or-Treating.  In response, I suggested we all stay home, dress in costumes, and have our own little celebration.  Thankfully, the kids were all on board with this idea.

Two days before Halloween, Grandma & I painted gourds with the little ones.

The next day, everyone carved their pumpkins.  Not to be a Halloween Scrooge, but I dreaded this task.  Mostly because my kids are still pretty young to be maneuvering knives.  But with a little patience and a couple of small carving tools, this activity went very well (dare I say I actually had fun).

The morning of the 31st, the school aged kids dressed in black and orange (a uniform free day).

After dropping them off at school, I came home and whipped up these adorable little treats.

Rice Krispies shaped into candy corn.

Our after-school snack was hot apple cider, roasted pumpkin seeds and our candy corn treats.

For supper, we had Jack-O-Lantern pizza.

Then it was time to put on costumes.

Sweet Pea as Belle, Pumpkin as a Lady Bug, and Cucumber as Jasmine.

Honey Bunches as a Football Player, Gummi as a witch, and Sweet Potato as a Cowboy.

Then we waited.  And waited.  And waited.  Until finally the doorbell rang and our first customer was at the door.  Oh yeah.  I don't have any pictures of my children handing out candy, because I was trying to maintain order.  Each time the doorbell rang, all six kids would race towards the door, grab a handful of candy (dropping much of it as they made their way) and then kind of shoot it into the Trick-or-Treater's bag.  It was chaotic.  I tried to encourage a more disciplined way, but I failed.  So basically I held the door open in order that my children would not run through it in trying to pass out candy.

In between business, we attempted to watch two of our favorite movies.

"All I have is a bag full of rocks!"  Classic.  I love that movie.

This morning I asked my children if they had fun last night, even though we didn't go out.  They said they did, but all agreed that they wish we would have had more people stop by our home.  I loved our night together.  We didn't have to bundle up to go out.  We stayed in the comfort of our home, all nice and cozy.  And here's proof that we didn't miss out on anything. . . . . . .

What the kids brought home from school and a little left over from our  "passing out" bucket.

There's plenty of treats to go around (and around and around).