All the spirits around here

The week o' Hallow'een activities is over!  The festivities started last weekend with a Halloween party where K chose to be a cowgirl, N a witch.  We skipped N's musical theatre class as I was running short time-wise and she was supposed to dress up for class on Monday!  Of course we had the school costume parade on Friday where K was Anne of Green Gables and N was tickled pink gold with purple bobbles to join the horde of kindergarten princesses.

To my astonishment, K and N both decided to don the furry costumes this evening ~ no doubt they were wary of being cold outside!  Not once while wearing their furry costumes did they complain of being cold (although we had to come home to get their mitts once we had canvassed our slushy/snowy block for treats).  As I look at this photo of K, it is apparent that she has now outgrown all the furry warm costumes I have on hand!  We will have to plan a better "outside" costume for her next year (although we had planned for her to be a cowgirl this evening but she insisted on a furry costume)!

There weren't many kids out hallow'eening this year.  We had merely 19 kids at our door.  It could be that it is an "old" neighbourhood, or perhaps some families don't participate for religious reasons or safety concerns.  We participate in it because we don't have a chance to see our neighbours very often and it is a good opportunity to have a chat before we hibernate for winter!  For me, Hallow'een is about the spirit of community and making sure that children feel safe within their neighbourhood.

As K readied for bed this evening, her mind was already set on the next event: St Nicholas' Day when gifts arrive unexpectedly at our door in early December.  We had a chat about the spirit of giving.  One day, we will have a chat about the spirit of friendship, the foundation of St Nicholas' Day.