FREEPER FAMILY TABLE--This Is NOT a Debate Thread!!!

me | October 1, 2004 | grellis

[grellis]

First, I'd like to thank Jim Robinson for the subtitle of this week's thread. Took some guesswork off of the Table!

With Halloween just around the corner I thought we could discuss, well, all things Halloween. (In case you were wondering I have not, in fact, finished my first pot of daily coffee.) Do your kids get dressed up and go trick or treating? Do YOU get dressed up and go trick or treating? How is the day handled at your child's school? Do they have a Halloween party or is the mere mention of a holiday with Christian roots absolutely forbidden? Do you decorate your home for the occasion?

Can anyone give me a few tips on how to dress my 7 year old as Legolas??? Why is it that some kids refuse to be something normal, like Dracula or a Viking?

[Gabz]

You're as bad as I am - always have to do that last double check about the last goodnight post you made to someone and then respond again. LOL!!!!

Goodnight my dear FReeper FRiend - and no I will not be checking here again tonight........!!!!!!!!!

[exhaustedmomma]

Our church has a HUGE carnival. Pony rides, pillow fights, dunking booths, train ride, etc. It takes hours to do everything. And at every booth the kids get "treats." AND, I still love to dress up in a costume!! One year my grandkids and I all went as "bugs." (Including a "litter bug".) My dumbest costume was eggs and bacon... big pillow case (white) with big yellow "yolk" and those boards you get material on decorated like bacon worn on my arms... and an egg shell for a hat. ugggh.

[grellis]

I love going to any kind of carnival! We only went to one this whole summer (poop!) but we usually go to four or five. I just don't know where the time went! I love to dress up still, too. I was really hoping I could talk the kids into going out as a Viking clan, maybe pillage some Kerry yard signs...

[luckystarmom]

I'm late with this, but I'm still sharing.

Every Halloween, my mom made wonderful popcorn balls. Even when kids were in high school, they would come by our house to get the popcorn balls.

They were very yummy, and I think some day I should try to make them.

[luckystarmom]

My 10 year old son wants to be Legolas also. You have to admit, Legolas is very cool.

[luckystarmom]

I'm in California, and we even celebrate the Holidays. The biggest party is Halloween. First, they have a Pumpkin Festival on the weekend before Halloween. Then the kids (and teachers) dress up on Halloween, and they have a Halloween parade. At the end of the day, each class has a party. I enjoy the whole thing.

The only thing really PC is Christmas. It's a just a Holiday or Winter Party. They sing the non-Christian type carols (Jingle Bells, Here Comes Santa Claus, etc). Santa visited the kindegarteners and the first graders.

The school also has a Valentine's party. They don't have a St. Patrick's Day party, but they have lots of different St. Patrick's activities. A leprechaun leaves chocolate candy coins for the kindergarteners, and the first graders made a leprechaun trap.

They don't do much with Easter. I think the kindergarteners died eggs, but the upper grades don't do much.

I loved all of the school parties as a kid. I would hate not having them.

[TASMANIANRED]

I screwed up and forgot to ask for a vacation day for Halloween.

From my perspective it is second only to Christmas for fun.

My sweetie will not sit on the porch and give candy to the kiddies.

[MinuteGal]

I get very few treaters at my door. But for those little ones that come, I stack up nickels and wrap them in tiny squares of aluminum foil a week ahead of time. I squeeze the top of the foil to a point a la candy kisses.

I have a skein of very fine black yarn (which lasts for years). I tie a small length of the black yarn around the point, squeeze and tie once. Then two or three more, moving your tie a little. When done, the yarn looks like black legs coming out from a spider. Snip a little if the legs need it.

I do a lot of these and save them from year to year if I don't give them all out. Last year I had enough from the year before, so I didn't have to do a thing.

Each kid gets a spider and I tell him/her or the mommy there's money in it in case some dopey little cruncher tries to eat the nickels.

Be as generous or as stingy as you want with the nickels. A lot depends how many kids generally come to your door.

I have found, and will testify to the fact that the nickels make the rug rats happier than getting a crummy peanut butter cup.

This also is actually cheaper than buying overpriced Halloween packaged goodies. The best part is that I never get stuck with all that crappola candy that I end up throwing out at Christmas time.

Leni

[grellis]

My kids are totally hung up on LOTR, which is fine with me...most of the men in the cast of the movies are easy on the eyes and its a great good v evil story. I can't wait until they are old enough to start on the books but that's still a few years away.

My oldest son and I recently took up archery (longbow). Josh is a natural but I was having a hard time keeping the leading end of the arrow still before taking a shot. I finally tried a shot "Elvish" style, with the bow at an angle instead of straight up and down. BULLSEYE! I have finally given in to the constant pleas by my sons to grow my hair long. They are convinced that if I do so, one day they will wake up with Arwen as a mommy. Yeah, right!!!