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Merry Halloween!
Halloween is officially over and we have entered the spiraling vortex that is the “holiday season” - at least according the retailers.
However, in my motherly opinion, Halloween is beginning to resemble Christmas more each year. No, Skeleton Clause is not squeezing down the chimney (although he’d fit more easily) but the kids are just as … uh … “excited” about this memorable family time:
“I want to be the red ninja!”
“The red ninjas are all gone, son.”
“But, I don’t want to be the green ninja!”
“Get off of the floor and pick one or you will be Mary Poppins this year!”
Having avoided the mess on the Halloweens before, I decided we should carve real pumpkins rather than switch the lights on in the battery powered jack-o-lanterns.
So, the Thursday before Beggars Night the kids picked out pumpkin faces from the carving kit we had purchased (what’s wrong with a jack-o-lantern with crooked, uneven teeth?) and I began hacking into the tops of our carefully selected Pendleton’s Pumpkins.
Once they got past the initial “Ew!” of the pumpkin guts, the boys were digging in, plucking seeds and outlining their jack-o-lantern faces (with crayon, because I’m leery of giving my ninja-wanna-be sons sharp objects).
And in keeping with the play-it-safe theme I opted for the fake tea-lights over candles to light up the pumpkin faces.
Later we cozied up in front of the TV to watch “It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.”
The Halloween festivities continued into Friday with a school costume parade and a performance by the kindergartners singing Halloween Carols (you know, “When the Creatures Come to Town”).
The morning of Beggars Night I went all “Betty Crocker” and toasted the harvested pumpkin seeds, baked pumpkin cookies and prepared to trick-or-treat.
I spent the afternoon adding layers to my kids’ clothes so they wouldn’t freeze in their thin costumes (kind of like snow-suits in January). Fortunately, no one had to “go” by the time 6 p.m. arrived, but piling layer after layer of warm clothes on my 2-year-old daughter did nothing to save her little hands from the cold. I could read her thoughts on her face:
“Hmm. I say, “tickotwet” hold out my purple pumpkin and get candy! Best day ever!”
The gloves came off and the sprinting began.
Thankfully we made it home safely on Beggars Night; loaded with sugar and just in time to put up the Christmas tree.
Contact this contributing writer at Motherhoodcolumn@yahoo.com or facebook.com/motherhoodCTC.
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