Halloween in 30 minutes or less!

     Halloween is definitely an  American holiday.  Some other countries have picked up some of the traditions, probably through American television programmes aired in overseas markets, but have not FULLY embraced the day.  For example, I can find Halloween decorations in the grocery store and costumes in shops.  One thing I noticed is that the Brits have picked up the gory side of the holiday.  Some of us know that in fact All Hallows Eve is a day for the ghouls and goonies to party before All Saints Day (Novemer 1st) when the good guys chase them back into the crypt for another 364 days.  We all know that somewhere along the line, American children decided they didn't want to look scary and gross, they just wanted to dress up and play tricks on people wearing fun costumes.  To be honest, seeing a giant Donald Duck toilet papering your house could be considered by some as pretty scary.  I also remember the witch costumes my mother made for my sister and I when we were 4 and 5 years-old.  We even had a chance to put them on a few days early for a Halloween parade and party at the firehouse down the street.  My mother had some green face paint to complete the look, but my sister and I both refused to put it on!  At the firehouse, another girl in a witches costume won for our age division, and hers was not a homemade costume with ball fringe added to the bottom and all the details my mother had painstakingly added to our costumes, but she had a green face!  Sorry Mom!  (You all do realize that when you win the costume award, it really is usually because of your mother's handiwork.  I was personally equally proud when Katie won the contest the year she was Supergirl and I had made the red satin skirt and cape and fashioned the felt logo to the leotard.)

      Because the tradition is not fully embraced in England, it isn't much fun to go trick-or-treating.  You might walk a half mile and only find 4 houses giving out candy.  The return on the investment just isn't there.  As parents who remember fondly the haul our kids dragged home last year while living in the US and now feel guilty about wrenching them from their American neighborhoods and throwing them into a foreign culture, we go out of our way to create a user friendly Halloween experience - Trunk-or-Treating!  Yesterday was the day for Halloween festivities at TASIS, the American school in England.  It was almost like being back in Naperville minus a little bit.

     First, the lower school had a Halloween parade and classroom parties at the end of the school day.  Much like at our home school, Mill Street, the children put on their costumes, lined up and paraded around the courtyard.  One difference was that only PreK-Grade 2 parade, the other grades line the parade route and high 5 the little kids.  Another difference, the kids get to go around 3 times, but even on the 3rd time around they haven't figured out how to stop on the "runway" and pose for mom to get the perfect Halloween scrapbook photo.  Then the kids go back to the classrooms for parties.  Here we have another big difference from Naperville, we get to serve them food, and it can be homemade!  So in Cameron's class they decorated a pumpkin shaped cutout cookies with orange frosting and gummy candies (I found gummy fangs!).  Then we play games and it's OK to do Mummy Wrapping (also prohibited in Naperville for unknown reasons).  After an hour of party time we all packed up to head home and prepare for the evening.

Luca, the class bunny, lead in his pumpkin costume.  Cameron behind.

The Ninja and Taylor Swift (straight hair doesn't really hold a curl all day at school)

    My kids and I were invited to the home of our Buddy Family for a pizza dinner before going back to the school for evening fun.  We live kind of far, so we went straight there after school and imposed for an extra hour.  This was good as the 6th grade boys could fret over what they were going to do for a costume for the Middle School dance that evening.  Having pizza on Halloween is quite a tradition for us as our Homeowner's Association hosts pizza for the kids every year before trick-or-treating starts.  This year is was just Dominos rather than Little Cesars.

     By 6:15 with costumes on, we loaded into our cars and set off for the school.  Here in England it is already dark by this time so it is probably much safer that we do Trunk-or-Treating instead of going door to door.  Parking the cars in the school lot is a bit of a production in itself.  There are parent volunteers who have to be there by 6 to be ready to direct drivers to spots.  There are no lines painted, so this is actually a vital role.  Next, only cars that have been preregistered can park in the Trunk-or-Treat lot.  Given limited spacing we had to RSVP to get a space and then you were awarded with an official Parking Pass with your Name on it.  By 6:30 we were being directed to a parking space.  Then only parents can get out of the cars to set up decorations in the trunk of the car (or boot of the car is you want to speak British).  This was a bit farcical as it was as bad as hanging the donut in front of the toddler's nose and saying she can't eat it!  It was for kids safety, but it wasn't long before they were all out and sitting on the tailgate.  Now the lower school kids were all invited to Trunk-or-Treat and only middle school kids if they were with their families in the parking lot.  However, the middle school dance started at the same time, so most of them, including Jacob, skipped the free candy and headed to the dance.  (Don't worry, Katie and Cameron passed Jacob plenty of loot.)

     At exactly 7pm a horn was blast officially starting the Trunk-or-Treating.  I swear that Cameron RAN off for candy!  The kids knew the horn would blow at 7:30 to officially end the event.  Steve managed to race from the office to meet us at just a few minutes past 7.  I was able to go off and search out the kids and pretent to chaperone them as I checked out everyone else's decorations and said hello to friends.  The kids had a lot of fun and were able to meet up with their friends which is what makes trick-or-treating the most fun.  OK, the candy is the MOST fun, but getting candy with friends is EXTRA fun.  Cameron was a stealth Ninja sneaking up and snatching candy most likely hitting up a few cars more than once as at the end of the event his bag was significantly heavier than Katie's bag.  Katie was Taylor Swift and a dad at one car gave her a second treat for singing a Taylor Swift song!  When the horn sounded at 7:30 there were downtrodden faces on the children and looks of relief from parents.  We had about 250 treats to hand out and only had 6 left in the basket!  We were on the edge of the parking lot, I think people in the middle may have run out because of the stealth ninjas secreting seconds. 

Jacob with a Mr. Pringles mustache hanging out of the back of our car

Cameron and Katie ready for treats!

2nd Grade trunk-or-treaters!

     Loot in hand, Halloween fun was over.  We just had to return to the school to collect Jacob and a friend that we drove home.  This time the two boys didn't talk so much about the dance.  Uggh, they are growing up.  I'll have to find the mom of a girl and see if she got any scoop.  Now the weekend is here.  We may have a few more tricks up our sleeve.  We are considering heading to a National Trust home where there is a Halloween Trail in the garden.  Tomorrow, Katie's soccer team is getting treats from all the parents with enough for siblings as well.  Then on Monday, we will visit the home of a soccer teammate of Katie's whose parents have planned a haunted house with treats to be collected throughout.  So although we won't be able to go door to door, we are trying to experience Halloween in England.  A little more challenging, but hopefully equally fun.  I can see from the haul of candy that there better not be any complaining from the peanut gallery!

Happy Halloween Everyone!