Candy used to be a treat, something you really only got in masses on Halloween, but that isnt' the case anymore. Candy is everywhere! The Post Office, the bank, someone even tried to give my kids candy at the Farmers market! seriously? How about a carrot? Festivals, parades and events dump candy on kids, and HFCS seems to be found in everything!
This year they knew what to expect for Halloween. They have seen and heard it about it all. This year the discussions began. The kids get really excited about costumes, and we had a great time creating Jakcson's skeletal system. Claire dresses up every day, so the princess costume came easy. she still considers a princess more along the lines of a leader of a land, which seems to go with her personality. This time she was determined to have a "dragging dress".
Our friend had a photo shoot at his studio, which worked out great since i didn't even get a photo of their final costumes. They each got one lolypop after the photo shoot. In the car we realized Jackson's tounge was blue. He looked in the mirror and exclaimed, "What? It isn't even REAL candy??!!"
We went to a dozen homes in our neighborhood and were excited to see so many people out enjoying the evening.
Jackson remembered how we did Halloween last year and was really excited to trade his candy away for a new toothbrush. He doesn't have a sweet tooth, and knows that candy can make him feel sick, so the idea of trading that away for something that lasts is great. Claire needed a little convincing, was the one who snuck candy, and in the end choose to give dad her candy and only one piece to the Tooth Fairy.
When the doorbell rang at 8:30 i figured the teenages were out. Instead, i opened the door to a woman who said she was trick-or-treating for her child who was asleep in the stroller. I was glad we had kids stuff like play-doh, but she responded that her child was too young for play-doh. "he's only 10 months" she explained. Too young for play-doh and little plastic bugs, but okay to eat candy?
My sister had a man come to her door, by himself, with no costume other than a sword. Really? It seems like if an adult really wants candy, they could just go buy a bag and save the hour of time going door-to-door.
What do you do for (or against) the "holiday"? Do you ever turn people away for lack of costume, being too old, or it being too late?
The kids woke up to a new toothbrush, a new book and a little toy. Jackson whispered to me, "you are really the tooth fairy, aren't you? You really give us all these toys
1 comment:
I can't believe the lady at the door with the stroller . . . or the man with the sword. Wow. Un-un-un-un. We haven't dealt with T-or-T'ers since we left the city; before then, we just left the light off.
I'm with you on all of that. Candy is inescapable at this point in history. It isn't a special treat, it is an EXPECTATION. Seriously. I h-a-t-e it. I hate that battle, I hate being steamrolled. And yet, I take them T-or-T'ing. I take them to parades.
Anyway.
We took the boys T-or-T'ing for the second year. We let them eat a few pieces the first day, then have one piece of candy each day when Squeeze got home from work. For maybe a week? And then I started getting really cranky. I finally insisted that they pick out 5 pieces and we threw the rest away. (Oh, and I also squirreled away as much as I dared the morning after, then dumped.) I want to have a better plan to put into action for next year. I am thankful that neither of them ever snuck a piece. So thankful for that.
My other complaint, at least in the town we T-or-T'ed in, is that the old folks handing out candy put WAY too much in each of their bags. Whatever happened to one piece?? I know they are trying to be "generous", but it just shows the price of cheap crap. It is so enexpensive that no one cares. And it is JUNK.
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