Halloween !!!!

Halloween this year was the best!! We had just warm weather that we didn't have to worry about our kids freezing in their outfits. The temperature was in the mid 70ºF (22ºC) which was almost record high for this time of the year.

Greg at the Kindergarten Halloween Parade

The kids packed their costumes into their school bag and later they had a Halloween Parade. I had to go twice as the Kindergarten and the 1-4th Grades had 2 separate parades. The Kindergarten start their Parade 1 hour earlier and Greg's class was the last to come out. He looked so cute in his fireman outfit. It was a long parade as they have 16 Kindergarten classes.

Not realizing how long the parade would take, I had to rush home and grab supplies as I was volunteering for Gilly's class party. I got back to school in time to sign up at the office then waited for the parade to start. Gilly with her usual bubbly self was smiling and having a fun time with her friends.

Gilly with her classmate

A few moms and I had volunteered for the Halloween party. I was hoping to do the tattoos but that activity was quickly grabbed by one smart mom. I decided that I would get some toilet rolls and let the kids play the "Wrap the Mummy" game. Oh boy.. they sure had fun. They used 9 rolls of toilet rolls for 24 kids. I got them into groups of 4 and there were some arguements on who was to be the honored mummy. One girl almost cried as she didnt' get to be a mummy. I whispered to her "it was more fun to wrap the mummy as you can try to wrap them as tight as you can." By the end of the game, she came smiling to tell me she sure had fun wrapping. We gave all of them a little "prize".

Mummy all wrapped up

Mummy revealed!

I'm glad the kids had fun with the game and they had a fun with the other activities. My only issue this year was the "NO FOOD, ONLY TRINKETS" rule that was adopted by the Parent Board. One mom said that new rule was doing us a favor which I thought was nonsense as trinkets are more expensive especially with this economy of ours. Now.. dont' tell me its a healthy rule and that I'm unhealthy. I dont' dump a big bag of candy every year... I usually would have 1 or 2 pieces of candy or fruit loops plus a few sticker, pencils and tattoos... But to say NO CANDY is just too much. We as parents have to teach our kids how to balance our lives.. and that includes its ok to have candy.. but not too much candy. Gilly's class ended up with only 2 treat bags as the teacher had to confisicate alot of treatbags with 1 piece of candy in it compared the the 15 bags they use to get. Now.. that is really taking the fun out of Halloween.

Gilly helping another group.

Gilly got to come home with me after the party and we went to pick up Greg from a friend's house. She was nice to babysit Greg while I was at Gilly's class. We came home and they got to rest abit and by then Daddy was home. At 4.30 pm the kids were begging to start the "Trick or Treat". We loaded the wagon with flashlights, extra shopping bag and drinking water. We met up with some friends and proceeded ... until 7.00 pm. As the weather was awesomely warm, we didn't rush to get home to get out of the frigid cold. They kids had so much fun and was amaze at how much candy they collected. They were excited as they got to see alot of their schoolmates as kids in the neighborhood would go to the same school.

The witch and the fireman

We usually have extra shopping bags as the kids would complain after sometime that their pumpkin is heavy. Don't gasp at the amount of candy we collect. We usually separate the chocolates from the candy then send them to the village hall. They have collection centers for donations which would be sent to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. That way, I do not feel its a waste of time going Trick or Treating and the kids are happy they are doing something good. They know their candy is being put to good use. As for the chocolates, I usually send them with Daddy to work. So.. do I have any sugar overload problems??? NOOOOOOOO..

Btw, if some of you notice.. my kids are wearing the same outfit they did last year. I'm so proud of Gilly and Greg. They told me that because they could still fit into last year's outfit, they didn't want to wear the same ones.. and that way, we can save money. I'm glad that my goal in teaching my kids the value of money has somehow worked. My constant money lessons has somehow soaked into their tiny little brains. The day after Halloween, we were at Target and Gilly asked if she could buy another costume for next year. She noticed the costumes were on sale (50% off) .. and she told me "mummy, maybe I can wear this outfit for 2 years." I smiling told her that was a good idea, and found her costume. So we are set for next year... with my wallet slightly lighter.