For years we have had a very traditional Hallowe'en. Starting mid-afternoon (often once the kids got home from school) we would:
- Gut and carve the pumpkins and turn them into jack-o-lanterns
- Frantically find the "missing" one or two things to complete each costume
- Announce some (inevitable) last minute change in plans
- Drag Daddy out to walk the neighbourhood
- Mama stayed at home to answer the door (a total of 6 kids last year!)
- Upon the return of all, the kids would combine all of their goodies and Louis would start the big "sort" into piles: potato chips, gum, chocolate bars, licorice and gummies, hard candy and miscellaneous.
- Everyone, in turn, would choose their favourite treats: 30 pieces for Claire and Cole; 20 pieces for Chloe and Caden.
- The rest was set out for "The Great Pumpkin" (err, Louis - I used to take it down to the kids at the hospital, but eventually stopped when I realized it wasn't the kids eating the candy!).
Plenty of candy was consumed and everyone was eventually wound down, washed up and off to bed. The Great Pumpkin replaced the candy with books which would be waiting on the kitchen table for the kids to receive at breakfast. They were anxious to go to sleep in order for the Great Pumpkin to arrive.
Not this year!
The older kids have deemed themselves "too old" to go out trick-or-treating and I have to agree. At 14 and 13, they are little too big to be out and about with the little ghosts and goblins. The plan for Claire is to spend the evening with the ever-present Oskar, rent some scary movies and spend the evening in front of the television scaring themselves silly; Cole is off with a couple of buddies for an evening much the same but with "better" company, is their chosen alternative. (Eek!)
To my relief, err, surprise, the younger kids were just not into it. They dress up a lot for fun, but that part of Hallowe'en no longer holds much appeal. Instead, earlier in the week they told me their plan. They wanted to choose and carve a pumpkin (one rather than four), they wanted to buy a bag of candy each (just for themselves, no sharing - but maybe a trade or two), Caden then begged me to bake an orange bundt cake (which is cooling - just waiting for some glaze). No mention of books (*sigh*) but they'll be getting them in the morning!
The candy selection:
- Claire: Tootsie Rolls
- Cole: Reese's Pieces
- Chloe: Lollipops
- Caden: Vanilla Caramels
- Family: Rockets
Adding to my relief is the fact it is unseasonably COLD, or actually, seasonably cold, we've just been spoiled. The last few years I've been able to sit outside and greet little ghouls and goblins in my big black sweater and pointy witch hat. That's not going to happen tonight. It seems to be returning to the freezing temperatures of my youth.
I enjoy these occasional periods of transition. You know, those times when the kids determine what is important to them and we rearrange our expectations to meet theirs.
Who knows what next year has in store? I just know that this low-key, family-centric celebration of the dark and spooky was perfect. Will I miss the old way? Maybe a bit. Just one more reason why I'm happy to have photos and scrapbook pages to remind me of what things were like when the kids were little. Now I'll have to make pages to remind me of this new stage. And more for the stages to come.
How will you/did you celebrate Hallowe'en?
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Speaking of Ella, don't forget to tell me the story you most want to tell to qualify to win the new Ella e-book! Leave a comment on that post.
