All Hallows' Eve
... consisted of dropping of the two larger kids (7+ and 6) at a pirates and princesses party at the local Presbytarian Church, then watching 'Monster's Inc.' while eating sugary treats and drinking chocolate milk with the smaller two (2 and 4), grandma and muerk. While the movie ran, I had to slink off to copy 'Monster Mash' from LP to a cassette so we could play it for the kids.
While I was at it, I put on 'Kung Fu Fighting', 'Doctorin' the Tardis', and 'Mahna Manha' (and a bit of dialogue from Waldorf and Statler). Apart from the 'Mash, the only track we have that's really appropriate for Halloween is 'Dead Man's Party' by Oingo Boingo, who unfortunately don't rate well in the under-10 demographic. Poop. I also put batteries in our pumpkins and ghosts, which give a nice glow off a couple of double-As, but could do with some electronics to make them flicker. I lit a couple of tea light candles too.
Picked up the big kids, got fish and chips - they didn't eat much of that, not surprisingly. At the party they played games, one of which they were blindfolded for - I asked if they were Freemasons now, but apparently they are not. Then they danced about for a bit, and then started playing Lego Harry Potter on the PC. Just when I thought we'd had all the action for tonight, there was a knock on the door from a collection of costumed neighbourhood kids.
I Sensed this could be my only opportunity to be rescued from a couple of days of sugar rush attacks from my own kids, I unloaded the whole sugar stash on these trick-or-treaters. No sooner had they left, and I'd finished congratulating myself on my cleverness, when another group of kids knocked on our door. I did check that this wasn't just the same group in different costumes - they were all a little larger than the last group. Left with no lollies, I had to hand out chocolate chip biscuits, which were well received anyway.
In previous years, we saw some trick-or-treaters about, but got no visits. This year it's been two groups of about five kids. It may be worth attempting some props next year for the visitors. I'm sure there's much fun that could be had with motion sensors and outdoor speakers.
While I was at it, I put on 'Kung Fu Fighting', 'Doctorin' the Tardis', and 'Mahna Manha' (and a bit of dialogue from Waldorf and Statler). Apart from the 'Mash, the only track we have that's really appropriate for Halloween is 'Dead Man's Party' by Oingo Boingo, who unfortunately don't rate well in the under-10 demographic. Poop. I also put batteries in our pumpkins and ghosts, which give a nice glow off a couple of double-As, but could do with some electronics to make them flicker. I lit a couple of tea light candles too.
Picked up the big kids, got fish and chips - they didn't eat much of that, not surprisingly. At the party they played games, one of which they were blindfolded for - I asked if they were Freemasons now, but apparently they are not. Then they danced about for a bit, and then started playing Lego Harry Potter on the PC. Just when I thought we'd had all the action for tonight, there was a knock on the door from a collection of costumed neighbourhood kids.
I Sensed this could be my only opportunity to be rescued from a couple of days of sugar rush attacks from my own kids, I unloaded the whole sugar stash on these trick-or-treaters. No sooner had they left, and I'd finished congratulating myself on my cleverness, when another group of kids knocked on our door. I did check that this wasn't just the same group in different costumes - they were all a little larger than the last group. Left with no lollies, I had to hand out chocolate chip biscuits, which were well received anyway.
In previous years, we saw some trick-or-treaters about, but got no visits. This year it's been two groups of about five kids. It may be worth attempting some props next year for the visitors. I'm sure there's much fun that could be had with motion sensors and outdoor speakers.