Our Hallowe’en Was Great

We had a fun Hallowe’en, though we didn’t really do much. We got home and the boys put on their costumes one at a time: first ninja-boy got dressed while the other one manned the candy bowl at the front door, and then ninja-boy manned the candy bowl while ghost boy tried on his ghost costume, got mad at it, and decided to change into the astronaut jumpsuit I found at a yard sale the other day (for 50 cents!). I pulled on jeans and a white shirt with my full-coverage white apron and chef’s hat, and grabbed my largest rolling pin and a scrub-brush. (Chief cook and bottle washer, you know.)

Then we turned off the front porch light and walked south down one side of our block, crossed the street and walked north up the other side of the street, crossed again, and walked south back down to our house. The kids were tiring by that point, and ninja-boy needed a potty break, so we went inside, turned on the porch light, and started passing out treats again.

I carved the boys’ pumpkins and set them out on the porch while they manned the candy bowl. We ran out of candy and had to hand out granola bars. I bet the late-comer kids were a bit disappointed — but I bet their parents liked me!

It amazed me how many people don’t seem to pay attention to the rules of Hallowe’en anymore. When I was a kid, if you didn’t want trick-or-treaters, you turned off your porch light. That way, kids knew you were not participating. I can’t tell you how many door-bells my kids rang in vain. And when I was a kid, parents waited on the sidewalk and reminded their kids to stay off the grass and to say “thank-you.” Now the grown-ups are tromping through the grass with the kids and forgetting to say “thank-you” themselves!  It’s a funny old world. Of course, I realize that I am ancient (I’m over 30, after all), and therefore not to be trusted or treated with respect. And also my memory is a bit unreliable. But what happened to the rules?

Anyway, rules or no, we had a fun time and the kids were happy. And that was the whole point of doing Hallowe’en this year. Success!

Tags: hallowe'en, holidays, social rules