While I love fall & most things about fall ~ I do not love Halloween.
Sure, we've gotten into it pretty well over the years with the kiddos -
And once in awhile the big kiddos get into it too -
But I'm just not that into it...never really have been.
I do the little bit that I do, for the kids.
Who needs all of that CANDY anyway?
My friend Missy has a very important reason NOT to have all of that candy around ~
With severe, life threatening allergies...Little A is not able to enjoy anything made with milk or dairy or nuts, to name just a few.
Can you imagine, taking your 4 year old out trick or treating, only to have to take most of the loot, aka, candy, away when you get home?
ARGH!
She's the reason that we started doing what I lovingly refer to as a junk bowl -
In this bowl, I have a wide variety of things for kids to choose from that AREN'T milk chocolate, peanut butter cups or peanut M&M's.
This year we handed out Mardi Gras beads, stickers, tattoos, pencils and other really random things.
We also had 2 large bowls of licorice and willy wonka candies like gobstoppers and runts, for those who might prefer it.
Some people might look at this bowl truly as a 'junk bowl' - but the way I see it, if your kid gets 200 things in their halloween bucket or bag ~ and they get to have just a tiny portion of that - be it food allergies or parents monitoring their intake in general....
Wouldn't it be great if they actually got to keep that pencil,
the crazy Halloween glasses, or the mardi gras beads.
Our kids really struggled this year finding costumes they wanted ~
And when did costumes get so damn expensive?
Thankfully, the boy decided to go as a Hockey Player - YAY for reusing what we have at home!
Our girl pulled out her Witch's costume from last year - Which she actually didn't wear ON Halloween, but instead to a party - so this was perfect too!~
When we got home, they had MORE than enough stuff, and we only trick or treated at a fraction of the houses we walked past...Our neighborhood was CRAWLING with kids - As much as I don't care for Halloween - I never grow tired of seeing the neighborhood full of kids having fun.
Lots of crazies in our neighborhood even gave out FULL SIZED CANDY!
(Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers Bars, M&M's, Giant Pixie Sticks!)
Their bag & bucket were full of lots of stuff, little and big.
So yes, so much fun was had...We met up with friends from school that live in the neighborhood - and shame on me for not having pictures of the kiddos together -
Even though there are no pictures to prove it - we had our annual neighborhood Halloween bonfire ~
I love traditions like this, that seem like no big thing - but in reality, they are something we look forward to each and every year...
Aren't these little people worth it?
For next year, I hope you'll think about it....
If you could make one little person's night, make them feel like a 'regular kid'
because you offered something from your Halloween Loot Bowl
that they might actually be able to keep, wouldn't that be something?
*** And as a side note, my husband had one gal with her not quite one year old picking from the 'junk bowl' - he said the little kiddo just squealed in delight at her new necklace. I'm told the Mom thanked him for having something her kiddo could actually have. She mentioned that she felt a little bit weird trick or treating with her baby, who couldn't actually have any of the candy, but IT WAS HALLOWEEN - and she wanted to be out with her little one. While this particular kiddo didn't have the food allergy issues, it was sure nice to hear this angle, one I hadn't really thought of before! You can bet we'll be continuing this tradition for years to come. Now, what to do with those giant bowls of candy we ended up with ***
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