Halloween is kind of a non-event around here. A lot of kids are getting more interested in the holiday (probably because of all the American shows on TV), but nobody really decorates their houses and the grocery store is the only place to get a carving pumpkin ($20 for a very small one that rotted in 2 days!). Matt likes to tell the story of how his brother Josh went trick-or-treating once when they were younger and came back with fruit, canned goods & even a pair of shoes.
Not only do people not decorate though, but many houses don't even allow trick-or-treaters to knock on their doors! Ours was one of about 4 houses on our whole street that didn't have a big sign on the door, saying, "NO TRICK-OR-TREATING! DO NOT KNOCK!" Instead, we (Liam & I) dressed up as Americans ;-) and answered the door with a big bowl of candy bars (which Liam then attempted to drop into each person's bag), wishing everyone a Happy Halloween.
Matt was off studying that night (yes, on a Saturday...we're both so ready for exams to be over!) and Julia was at Gran & Pop's (Matt's parents) house for the weekend, so earlier in the week we did a mini Halloween trick-or-treat through our house. Julia's friend Caydence was over here, and the girls picked out their favorite princess/ballerina outfits.
Liam was not game to dress-up (can't blame him when most of his options are either covered in feathers or bright pink or both), but he did let the girls put a big hat on his head. I'd made simple little Halloween bags (about the limit of my craftiness and creativity), and I'd hidden little treats behind each of the closed doors in our house. They all thought it was great fun, and as much as I always loved Halloween, our version was probably much more appropriate for 2 pre-schoolers and a toddler (and far easier to control the sugar intake as every other door had something non-edible like bubbles or stickers).
Halloween is kind of a non-event around here. A lot of kids are getting more interested in the holiday (probably because of all the American shows on TV), but nobody really decorates their houses and the grocery store is the only place to get a carving pumpkin ($20 for a very small one that rotted in 2 days!). Matt likes to tell the story of how his brother Josh went trick-or-treating once when they were younger and came back with fruit, canned goods & even a pair of shoes.
Not only do people not decorate though, but many houses don't even allow trick-or-treaters to knock on their doors! Ours was one of about 4 houses on our whole street that didn't have a big sign on the door, saying, "NO TRICK-OR-TREATING! DO NOT KNOCK!" Instead, we (Liam & I) dressed up as Americans ;-) and answered the door with a big bowl of candy bars (which Liam then attempted to drop into each person's bag), wishing everyone a Happy Halloween.
Matt was off studying that night (yes, on a Saturday...we're both so ready for exams to be over!) and Julia was at Gran & Pop's (Matt's parents) house for the weekend, so earlier in the week we did a mini Halloween trick-or-treat through our house. Julia's friend Caydence was over here, and the girls picked out their favorite princess/ballerina outfits. 
Liam was not game to dress-up (can't blame him when most of his options are either covered in feathers or bright pink or both), but he did let the girls put a big hat on his head. I'd made simple little Halloween bags (about the limit of my craftiness and creativity), and I'd hidden little treats behind each of the closed doors in our house. They all thought it was great fun, and as much as I always loved Halloween, our version was probably much more appropriate for 2 pre-schoolers and a toddler (and far easier to control the sugar intake as every other door had something non-edible like bubbles or stickers).
