Accidental Halloweeners

We don’t do Halloween. 

As in, we don’t decorate our house, we don’t get outfits ready for the big day, I don’t encourage my children to knock on the doors of strangers and request lollies and food. I don’t allow my children to eat bags of lollies and chocolates and chips and junk food just because of the traditions of others.

Except for this year when it happened.

Mr H took the dog for a walk and came home telling the girls and I to come and take a look at a house in our street, it was all decorated for Halloween. We stood out the front, just like we do at Christmas when we drive around to see the Christmas lights. Mr H told me he had said hello to the owners a few weeks ago and that she was American.

I felt sorry for her, the effort was wonderful and yet, in our area, there were no little trick or treaters walking the street. We have witches outfits in the dress up box from Popps’ Witches Ball party two years ago, so I told the girls to run inside and get them on and they could come back across the road and ring the bell.

Mr H introduced himself again and the American lady was apparently bouncing with excitement saying “YOU ARE MY FIRST CHILDREN”. 

Not sure if she realised that she was the first Halloween Trick or Treating experience for our entire family.

Before they got the three houses back to ours, the girls ran into a group of kids walking the streets who told them which houses in our area are joining in. They then spent the next two hours walking the streets, because it is quite a trek to get to the few houses taking part. They met others in their travels and they saw kids from school, Mr H met some people in our street that we have never chatted with before. Doors opened as the girls walked past, with people wanting to be friendly and all Halloweeny.

They walked in the door at 8.30pm, thrilled with their loot and bitterly sad when I told them to choose one item that they can have tomorrow and the rest is going away.

All up, they regarded going for a two hour walk in a witches costume one of the best things to ever happen.

Maybe we were already in the mood for some Halloween embracing after I spent last week on a freelance project thinking about Halloween foods. (You can see my little video over here if you feel like it). But today, I think we accidentally embraced Halloween and all its shonky commercialism and its bags of sugar and we came out of it with a new way of thinking. One where walking the streets of your neighbourhood, having some fun, being social and getting a pretty big walk in were all part of the process.

And I think we will have some streamers hanging from our letterbox next year.