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Halloween
Posted On:Oct 30, 2007
We’re a little behind on the pumpkin carving. All four of ours have been gutted, just need to put some finishing touches on the carving.
What a fun time of the year. The weather is finally season-appropriate, the leaves are changing and falling and a steamy bowl of chili with cornbread sounds good.
I remember trick-or-treating when I was young, then meeting my aunts uncles and cousins at my grandma’s house. My grandma would always have a big pot of chili waiting for us on the stove.
Do you have any Halloween traditions? Do you let your children dig into their candy, or ration it out?
Have a fun, safe night!
Posted by Sara Diamond Back to the blog »
Reader Reactions
Posted by ( beth ) on October 31, 2007 at 11:58 am
My 3yr. old daughter is already OBSESSED with the candy she got at her preschool party yesterday. I am thinking of letting her pick out 10 pieces and throw the rest away...do you think that is unreasonable?? I don’t want to have the “no more candy” fight for a month!
Posted by ( Julie ) on November 01, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Hi Sara, As a family we picked out the special pumpkin..cleaned it out and carved it. Tonight we are going to season and bake the seeds to eat. We had such a blast yesterday taking our baby girl to the Halloween Happening events in downtown Greeneville. The library gave out free age appropriate books to the kids and several of the local businesses gave out candy. We also attended two different church events and visited friends and family. Whew what a day. We started at 2:00 and ended at 9:30. We were all exhausted but had a wonderful 2nd halloween. My daughter only has 2 teeth so she will not be eating the candy this year. However, I plan to ration the candy next year...that is my plan we will see.
Posted by ( Judy ) on November 01, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Beth, I don’t think that’s unreasonable at all. When my daughter was younger we would spread out all her candy. She would pick out what she liked and throw away the rest. I admit that Jen was a little older than your daughter; you may have to make the rest of the candy “disappear” after she goes to bed. I had to do this when she was a toddler and for a few years beyond.
I didn’t want my daugher to have weight problems later in life, as I did, and it was a constant battle to limit sweets. She would receive candy at Sunday School each week, plus sugary drinks at Educare. No one seemed to listen to or agree with my protests and I gained a reputation for being “difficult.” One year at Vacation Bible School, I was on snack detail and the church kitchen was absolutely bursting with every kind of candy, cupcake, and cookie you could think of. I suggested that next year we serve healthier snacks, and from the looks I received you’d think I’d suggested something terrible.
Jen did gain some extra weight as a teenager and at college, but lost most of it and knows now to limit her sweets. If only Mom could do the same....!
Posted by ( Judy ) on November 01, 2007 at 6:03 pm
Now that I’ve preached my sermon on sweets, I’ll switch to something pleasant—Halloween traditions! When my daughter was young, we’d come home after trick-or-treating around the neighborhood and watch “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” By that time, Jen would be so sleepy I’d have to carry her to bed.
Trick-or-treating when I was young was so different. That was before the days of poisoned candy, and personal safety tips from my parents consisted mainly of watching carefully before crossing the street. My friend and I would take brown paper grocery sacks and walk block after block, into unfamiliar territory. Sometimes we’d get homemade treats, and as long as the people looked “clean” (my mother’s word) we were allowed to eat whatever we received. We never set out until it was dark and returned home around 8:30. My parents usually had between 100 and 200 trick-or-treaters and it was hilarious to ring their doorbell. My dad would pretend he didn’t recognize us.
Posted by ( Tanya ) on November 13, 2007 at 8:31 pm
This was my son’s secons halloween, being the first that he really had a concept of going to peoples’ doors and knocking. We’d taught him to say BOO when the door was answered. Of course we played the safe route and visited only family and friends and here, two weeks later he still has most of his loot left to tackle. His dad “confiscated” the hard candy and the child still has more than enough left. I let him pick a little out of his bag each day and he doesn’t get greedy with it. I hope the following years will be as easy to deal with.