Making our Halloween traditions

Hubby and I were raised in a place where Halloween was an activity limited to exclusive villages and clubs. Growing up, there were times when we participated in trick-or-treating, but those were more of the exception. It was no biggie if the day just passed without any fanfare. I guess we should be glad that the event was not too commercialized back then.

When we had kids, we put in more effort into making family traditions around fun occasions. Luckily enough, we are raising them in a place where we have a lot of opportunity to do this.

Our Halloween celebrations have evolved as the years passed. I’d like to share with you some steps we took to ensure the kids looked forward to having fun activities together-- and more than just getting candy.

1. Select costumes—For the past 3 years, we have been donning family costumes. We would decide on a theme and have each member of the family wear a costume in keeping with that theme. We would do a mix of DIY and store-bought (and hand me down!) costumes. I try to make sure that the costumes are either warm or big enough to accommodate layers of thermals. After all, we want to get bone-chillin’ action, but not literally!

2. Find the perfect pumpkin—This is our chance to check out local and not so local farms (and here is where wanderlust comes in, haha!). There are a lot of places which offer more than pumpkin picking. Fall harvest and other fun activities are available at some locations for a fee. Check out your region listings for farms. The patches can be muddy, but we always have fun searching for the perfect pumpkin. We pick pumpkins with a flattish side since this makes it easier to draw the design.

3. Decorate pumpkins—Some years we carve our pumpkin, while some years we just draw on them.  What do we do to non-carved pumpkins after Halloween is over? We cook them! There are a lot of Pumpkin recipes out there! Other times, when hubby wants to flex his creative muscles, we carve our pumpkin (or rather, HE carves them—I have to give credit where credit is due, after all). Of course, the pumpkin design we choose has to be in theme.

4. Go trick-or-treating—This is my kids’ favorite activity. No surprise there. We usually go to a couple of places for trick-or-treating. After all, we have to make the most of our costumes! The girls know that they cannot have any of their loot until after I had sorted the candies. I established that rule early on.  And while the candies with damaged packaging go straight to the trash, there are usually still enough sweets left for the kids and mommy (hey, I did a lot of work, too, so I deserve a treat!)

5. Repeat next year—I’m sure that as the years go by, these Halloween celebrations will still change. They can only get better! Happy Halloween!