Halloween Scrooge
This year they are starting EVEN EARLIER! A year has gone by, and I still feel the exact same way...
And besides...I ate all the mini chocolate bars we bought. I guess I better start running the water to wash off the egg from the front door. sigh
10 comments:
It is an interesting society we live in. We spend 364 days of the year training up our children not to talk to strangers or accept candy from them. Then for that one other day of each year we push them right into the houses of the same complete strangers and let them take all that unknown candy they were supposed to reject the rest of the year. No wonder kids are easily confused by us adults.
Well. We had a fab time.
The boys were adorable.
Ben told everyone, "And a happy Halloween to you too!" Whether they said happy Halloween to him or not. It was so funny.
Some guy at BP's walked right by the boys in their cute little costumes as we were coming in the door and then came back in to give them each a toonie for the crane game in the foyer.
We got to pop in on lots of our friends and neighbors and even get some hugs from a bunch of them.
The scary strangers were all super nice, and Ben got to practice his manners.
Ben and Sam had a fab time at Ben's preschool party today, and I got to enjoy some adorable little toddlers singing pumpkin songs.
The boys had fun in the backyard raking leaves with Glen to make giant leaf filled garbage bad jack-o-lanterns.
I got to take pictures of the whole thing, and no one looked at me crazy. And I got taken out for supper with my best guys.
All in all, a really fun family day for all of us. You're missing out Scrooge. Maybe next year you should come with us. I'll dress you up as Snow White. I saw a really great way to make an easy Snow White costume today. The boys can be your dwarfs.
Bag. Not bad. (Not bad at all.)
Would snow white get free mini chocolate bars? I seem to be all out.
By the way...your boys were cute. Very cute. It was worth coming out of hiding just to see that little bee buzzing around.
To Becky: I am glad you and your family had a great time. I had some very cute kids at my door too. It is all fun but to me it is just a bit illogical is all. I just never grasped the whole concept but it is fun for the kids. I remember trying to explain North American Halloween in a couple of Asian countries I used to live in and the reactions were pretty hilarious. Most people thought I was making it up, some were horrified because they saw it as begging and were shocked that even in wealthy NA we had to use our children to beg. It was sure hard to explain. haha
I agree with you about the double message sent to kids. And though I am sure many would argue about the careful supervision of their precious children, the majority of the kids I saw walking down my street were without any adult.
It's sort of like telling them to never get in a car with strangers and then one day a year banning all the school buses and telling them to hitchhike to school.
BUT, that being said...for the kids it's all about fun and candy. And I do understand the pull for candy. I underderstand it all too well. sigh.
LOL. You two. Make me laugh.
I never had any trouble distinguishing between Halloween behavior and regular behavior. And those carefully supervised children? Are probably carefully supervised every day. Because they're little. The older ones? The ones that don't want their parents following them around anymore? Probably don't have their parents following them to school or the mall or wherever else they feel like going. I didn't see any unsupervised kids that weren't in rather large (and boisterous) groups. And if you did... Then those kids are probably the ones who go unsupervised on a daily basis, and there's a much bigger problem than wandering the streets on Halloween.
Not to get in a big debate or anything, but I honestly don't see kids confused or putting themselves in danger because of Halloween. (Unless they are already that way on every other day of the year.) I don't know any parents who would send their kids out into danger, free candy or not. Most parents take steps to make sure their kids are safe, and their kids understand that. I know I did.
What about the kids selling chocolates door to door? Isn't that dangerous? (I would say MORE dangerous since I have seen many of them alone, and it wasn't at times when there were crowds of people walking from house to house.) Or what about all the little paper deliverers? Walking right up to people's houses? Alone?
I have some objections to Halloween too. Don't get me wrong. But the trick or treating? It's a tradition. A fun one. And generally a pretty safe one. If it wasn't, there wouldn't be as many parents allowing their children to participate.
Come on girls. "Pushing them right into the houses of the same complete strangers?" Into the houses? And I believe that you saw kids walking down the street without any adults, but if you look out your window again today, you'll see the same thing. Walking home from school, delivering papers, selling candy, riding bikes, etc, etc.
I'm sorry if I sound offended. I guess I am a little offended. You make it sound like parents don't think about these things and send our "precious children" out without any checks or safety measures. I went trick or treating as a child and my parents had very strict rules to make sure we were safe, and you can be sure most of the kids you saw out there have many of the same rules.
One more thing. (Sorry. Can't help myself. I still love you.)
It's not a double message. It's a special circumstance. Kids get that. Christmas is special. What kid goes away from Christmas and thinks, "Presents every day!" Vacations are special. No kid hits summer vacation and thinks, "I never have to go to school again!" Kids aren't so dumb that they can't understand special events. Sheesh.
(And if they are that dumb, like Ben, then they are three years old, like Ben, and their mommies and daddies would never leave them alone at a park to be approached by a stranger with candy and an open van door.)
Hey. I bought the last box of tiny Mars bars at Superstore tonight. When you get home you should come over and we'll eat some together.
becky are you expecting quadruplets (I believe there were 7 dwarfs, if you plan to be ready for next halloween). as for the candy, i ate most of it. as for the tradition, well it sounds like fun but don't forget who invented it!!! i feel a sermon coming on. harv, my chain reference please...
anon.
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