Halloween 2013

Halloween 2013.....finished! Is there a word for 'Scrooge' in relation to Halloween? If so, I feel like it could apply to me this year. Not because I didn't celebrate, but because, for the first time that I can ever remember, I was glad to see the end of Halloween. ?!?!?! Maybe things were just spread out and hectic and frazzled and intense and ..... whatever else. All those words and more seemed to apply this year, and I think I got a little burned out. Before the burnout, however, we had a helluva good time (pun fully intended).

 Annual Pumpkin Carving Party at The Swedish Chef's House

Every year my dear friend, The Swedish Chef (and her husband, and their two kids) have a big pumpkin-carving-in-full-costume-followed-by-chili-dinner party. It usually ends up with younger kids playing, older kids doing a marginal amount of pumpkin-related work, and adults swearing (mostly good-natured) while elbow-deep in pumpkin guts. No exception this year!

 

 

 

Halloween Run

Later that evening, in a bout of sheer madness, Big Chief and I took part in a 5k run through town. I would like to point out that I was NOT responsible for this face paint, and feel I didn't look so much 'zombie' as 'a fairly odd attempt at old'. I know this for a fact because I did theatre makeup all through high school and university, and....well, whatever. We ran through the town centre at 10:30 in the evening, fully make-up'ed, Halloween-themed music following us, rushing up to the windows of restaurants and bars to bang on the glass and shout/roar/scream at the patrons inside before running off to the next victims. So. Damn. Fun.

Halloween Party

 The next day (thank Heavens for the extra hour of sleep at the end of Daylight Savings!) it was all-hands-on-deck to get things ready for our own Halloween party. It's something of a tradition now, and although it ends up being (nearly) the same food and decorations every year, we enjoy it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Trick-or-Treat

Halloween really isn't 'done' here, so our kids haven't had the chance to truly trick-or-treat before. But there's one neighborhood here that gets into the spirit, so we went along this year. We got there a little late and there weren't as many houses participating this year, so the monsters got to experience a pitifully lame evening by American standards. But they were bouncing along, screaming with excitement, loving it all, and were amazingly happy. Score!

By the way, I HIGHLY recommend that when your children grow out of one size of clothes, or the adults clear out old clothes, you keep aside a few items to rip-and-drip for Halloween. We had the EASIEST time with costumes this year because it cost me a bottle of fake blood and some time with a pair of scissors. Ok, the fake bolt through the head (which looked much more blended in person than the flash from a camera makes look in pictures), but a girl can't be entirely sensible when it comes to Halloween. I little bit of cash has to be splashed in the name of fun. Seriously, though, ripped old clothes, face paint already lying around the house, and a bottle of blood. Halloween done and dusted!

Beware, though, of too much celebrating Halloween. My darling daughter (all of three years old) asked, as I was starting to watch an episode of Downton Abbey, 'Oh Mommy, does this show have blood too? It's all fake, you know, so it's okay and you don't have to be scared. So does it have blood?' Um, no honey, Downton Abbey isn't the kind with blood. Maybe it's time to dial down a few of the other things though, at least until you're in bed at night. Oops.

Until next year........