A not-so-magical mom’s guide to Halloween. It is time to prep for Halloween, and frankly, I hate it.
I hate the maniacal sugar-crazed temper tantrums and stumbling through cold, dark (and most likely sopping wet) neighbourhoods.
The original scope of this article was supposed to be “Tips for Halloween”– something Pinterest-esque. Instead, it has morphed into “Surviving Halloween: A Humourless Mother’s Guide.” But if you are looking for classic mommy blog Halloween fun, click here.
A Practical and Multi-Use Decoration
If we must decorate for Halloween let’s be practical and save time and money. If it were up to me, I would leave the Christmas tree up all year long. Just embrace the cobwebs that would have inevitably formed on the fake tree, and hang some Halloween themed decorations on its dusty branches.
Growing up in a very religious household, I was taught that Halloween was evil. As a result, I didn’t celebrate it most of my childhood. Therefore, this cultural not-so-spooky holiday is foreign to me. Now that I am a parent, I wonder if my mother just concocted the fear of Satanism because she was looking for a way to get out of marching her sugar-crazed children around the cold, dark, neighbourhood on a school night.
Well-Curated Support System
Most of my child’s fond memories of this late harvest season will be due to my well-curated support system. My husband is a superstar, and my best friend, Kathryn, lives to create magical childhood moments.
Although I have always relied on various friends’ holiday magic in late October, traditionally, my family has quite literally followed my friends around their neighbourhoods (my condo doesn’t allow trick-or-treating). However, COVID cut off 99% of my in-person holiday spirit leaching.
On October 31, 2020, I showed up at my fellow bubble-mate’s (literally the only other person I was legally allowed to see due to COVID rules) home. Armed with enough food to feed a small country and every Halloween themed craft the dollar store offered, I made an attempt tried to make Halloween in lockdown memorable. Sadly, we even warned the kids that we might not be able to trick-or-treat due to public health rules.
It Takes A Village
The whole village (well, the neighbourhood) came together to make our first COVID Halloween special.
Cue the doorbell. A delivery person dropped off a candy-laden care package from a friend who was worried about how a global pandemic would impact magical childhood memories. #notallhereoswearcapes
While I prepared a fantastic homecooked meal for the adults, the other mom did the magical things childhood memories are made of. Her Halloween games were a crowd favourite. She chased the kids around the house wearing her court robes while yelling, “I am a witch”. The kids loved it.
It turned out that the neighbourhood came together and built “candy shoots.” An essential part of Halloween was saved by some cardboard tubes. And thus, the kids could have a contactless trick-or-treat experience. Another childhood memory was rescued from the jaws of a global pandemic.
While the spooky childhood memories were made, I made multiple dinners and packed the adults gourmet lunches. A husband washed the 666 pots and pans (ahem, “cauldrons”) I used in my Haloween alchemy (aka cooking).
Mom Guilt
Mom guilt aside, in the end, everybody had an extraordinary Halloween. My kid got candy, played with her friend, and paraded her costume around a neighbourhood.
I won because I got to shower the people around me with love (aka a roast chicken dinner and gourmet packed lunches). Public Health won because nobody got within 6 feet of anyone who wasn’t in their bubble. Aunt Kathryn won because she got to use her magical childhood skills and ended up with a week’s worth of packed lunches.
As much effort as I put into making Halloween magical, mom-guilt still rears its ugly head. Mom guilt aside, my daughter said 2020 was the best Halloween she ever had.
Well, she said, “cool moms don’t dress up as witches–except Aunt Kathryn’s witch robes are legit.”
But I knew what she meant.
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If you are full of Halloween spirit and want some fun ideas for safely celebrating, click here.
