happier halloween

 I know so many folks are into scary and spooky right about now, but not so much around here. We love Halloween, but have made our own traditions be much more about silly and happy. It began when my son was little. I discovered that one of my favorite holidays looked very different from the eyes of a new mother. I didn't find there to be a lot of Halloween activities that felt appropriate for a small child... from scary costumes to tons of candy. Over the years we've loosened up. Our second child has experienced trick or treating  since she was carried in a sling, but our gentle beginnings carried over and created the foundation for how we celebrate. The children still trade (most) of their loot for healthier/organic chocolates and candy. Costumes are made out of stuff around the house and with lots of hands on from the kids and raiding of the dress up corner. This means that there may be multiple costumes all in one year. They tend to be humor based for my son and fantasy or animal inspired for my daughter.

And the pumpkins... kinda sweet looking don't you think.  The wooden tools, in particular, do lend themselves to happy faces. I've searched high and low on the web for a source for all of you, but to no avail. We got them at a California Waldorf school garage sale 11 years ago. Please shout out if you have any notion about them.

But even when my son's carving didn't go as planned (gouged eye), the solution was one of the cheeriest pirates (and his "parrot") I've ever seen.

So this week I'll be working on helping the littlest finalize who she shall be. She's already attended a party as a zebra. My son's pizza delivery boy outfit should be the easiest costume to date. How are your Halloween plans going?