Happy Recovery From Hauloween

There's something magical about seeing scores of little people running around with treat bags in a town where barely anyone walks the streets and people don't really seem to know each other anymore.

Halloween is one of the only holidays where neighbors greet neighbors, people laugh as they pass each other, and every adult smiles wistfully as the see the next generation of superheroes, princesses, punk rockers, and monster run by. I know many people see Halloween as a dark, pagan holiday, but in our sleepy little town, it's a bright opportunity to feel connected to your community and to each other.

We started our festivities with the local No Scare Fair, which is a fundraiser for several area charities and is run by Willing Hands. The organizers decorate many booths in different Halloween themes and then have adults and teens dress up to hand out the candy. My kiddos were in candy heaven as we made our way down Candy Lane. After the "trick or treating," families are invited to play games, make crafts, or watch a puppet show.

However, we knew we had many stops to make so we headed out to see family and friends before doing some serious trick or treating. While you get the most candy at the No Scare Fair, Aunt Jean's house is a close runner up in terms of pure volume -- and she gets points for creativity. In years past the kids have gotten packs of Ramen noodles, boxes of Halloween themed cereal, and gobs of chocolate. This year she had to tone it down a little, but the kids still walked away with Halloween-themed mac & cheese, popcorn balls, gummy treats, snowballs, individual bags of goldfish, bananas, and the aforementioned gobs of candy and chocolate.

Grandma's house was our last stop before heading back to the house so that Bella and I could hand out candy and the boys could do more trick or treating. My mom is not one to fill kids' bags with candy, but she's also a thoughtful treat giver. The kids got Halloween-themed light up wands and flashlights, blinking necklaces, puzzles, pencils, cups, activity and coloring books, erasers, and stamps. Bella also got a mini-Pooh snowglobe that glows in reds, blues, and yellows.

We were content to come back home and watch the Halloweentown series (Javi's choice), but Ms. Bella was not finished. The whole way home she cried to keep trick or treating, so I had to take her around our neighborhood as well. Then she agreed to hand out candy and both kids loved handing out the treats and talking to all the trick or treaters. We've decided that next year we'll decorate our front yard and scare our trick or treaters rather than walk all over creation. It was Javi's idea. :)

Unfortunately, Halloween didn't leave us without a reminder that too much is too much. Javi woke up sick this morning and has had to use the throw-up bowl at least three times already. I'm hopeful that this is the result of candy overload and not more sickness. I'm focusing on Halloween's bright spots today!