I know, I know, it's All Saints' Day now, but it was so fun I had to share. My kids dressed up and went to the carnival at our parish school Saturday night. There were all kinds of games. My youngest son's favorite was candy corn bowling--he is obsessed with bowling. He was, after all, dressed as a bowling ball! (The costume probably cost $4!) He was devastated when we returned to the game after having gone to the costume contest and they had switched out candy corn bowling for a cone ring toss game. I'll have to find one of those darn things for him. He was surprisingly good at the tossing games. I can only guess that is because he has a basketball hoop, and he has been playing catch with his dad.
Speaking of costumes...my oldest went as a "Steam punk" scientist, costing around $6 for a vest from the second hand store and a pair of spats made of white felt. The rest of the costume he already had on hand. My second son was the joker. His was the most expensive. I bought a shirt, tie, and 2 green shirts that I cut up to make Joker's green vest. It cost around $15. My third son was some sort of gaming character, costing around $10. My daughter's hippie costume cost me around $5. Her costume won second place in her category (6-8 grades). So, all in all not a bad Halloween, and everyone got to dress up as the character they wanted. They all got their pictures taken as a souvenir of the night--they were free!
Trick or treating tonight was interesting. I would say about 1 house in 10 had its porch light on, and of those on, 1 in 4 did not answer the door. It is hard to explain all that to an anxious 6yo bowling ball. His older sister wanted to go another street but he just wanted to go home. I got him to compromise, but he complain half-way round the loop home. Just so you all know...don't sit in your dark driveway in a black hooded robe if you actually want the kids to come to your house. I don't know about other people's kids, but mine don't particularly want to be scared by a complete stranger in the dark.
Oh, and one neighbor said, "And don't forget to celebrate Christmas." Huh? Does one exclude the other? Not really. Halloween is actually the Eve of All Saints' Day and has been a Christian celebration for centuries--not always with costumes and candy mind you but a celebration none-the-less. It was similar to Christmas Eve, the night before Christmas, when people get together, eat a big meal then go to midnight Mass for Christmas and open presents in the wee hours of the morning. The man's comment just struck me as rather silly. Halloween was never a celebration of witches and monsters. It is actually a way of making fun of them and contrasting the silliness of them with the wonderful lives of the holy people we call saints. Anyway, a Christian CAN celebrate both. It is perfectly legitimate and perfectly alright.
It struck me as kind of silly, too, that I was carrying about 2-3 pounds of candy in my son's sack, while at home my husband was passing out about the same amount at home. Silly custom, isn't it? But the children have such a good time, I haven't the heart to not go.
I found Ben & Jerry's site tonight and got obsessed with some of the
fun games on the site. They have a
Halloween section but I'm not sure if it will still be there tomorrow. I'm going to watch out for Thanksgiving or Christmas games. Thanks Ben & Jerry's!
Now--Don't forget to go to Mass tomorrow (today). It IS a holy day of obligation. That means all good Catholics must attend Mass. You do realize it is for your own soul's health. Jesus loves you and wants to see you there! God bless! Have a blessed All Saints Day!
