Monday, July 21, 2014

Halloween's Allure

Oct. 25th, 2011



With Halloween approaching  this is the time to be sure you've got your Halloween Treat ideas ready for goblins, zombies, monsters, bunnies, princesses and clowns (an all manner of costumed kiddies in between). I think we're just about ready. My oldest granddaughter wants to be a bride this year; that was a pretty good decision on her part because in my house are no less than six wedding dresses and three headpieces with veils, so she had a lot to choose from. The dress she's wearing I bought at a church rummage sale - a simple but cute wedding dress from the sixties with log sleeves and lace, a matching wide bandeau headpiece (also lace) with a cathedral length veil (total cost $5 Cdn.) The dress isn't a bad fit on her either, but it will need some careful "alterations" - lifting the shoulders a little and hemming up the bottom - all of this will be done with safety pins placed very close together from the inside, rather than sewing.


My youngest granddaughter found a cupid costume at Goodwill (for those who don't know what that is, it's a second hand clothing shop, much like the Salvation Army - dedicated to helping others) that we purchased for $12, complete with red and white dress, cupid wings, and a red bow and arrow.

The two boys have borrowed costumes; the oldest grandson will be a race car driver. He borrowed a costume from my daughter's friend at the racetrack - he's grown up now, but still has a suit and helmet from his days racing karts. The youngest, we think is going to be a hockey player and he'll borrow his costume from our oldest grandson (who is a hockey player).

So the kids are ready, and the treats are ready. This year we bought boxes of individual Mars bars, and some boxes of mixed treats for the younger kids. In this neighbourhood, we generally in excess of 300 kids at Halloween, and judging by the cars that line the streets here, most of them aren't from our neighbourhood. We do have a fair number of kids in these few blocks, but I'd put the number at less than 100 from what I've seen of the kids at play during any other time of the year.

To give our own grandkids a treat before Halloween I made up some Halloween Cupcakes...the easy way. First, a trip to the grocery store where I purchased individual Angel Food Cakes in two sizes. Large ones that resembled oversized cupcakes, and smaller ones used for making up Strawberry Shortcake desserts. Next, container of Betty Crocker icing in vanilla and chocolate. After that, a visit to the dollar store turned up Halloween "suckers" make from gummy-type candy in spooky shapes (witch, owls, pumpkins, ghosts, black cats) and from the party aisle a packet of six games with spooky pictures. Back home, the cakes were frosted either with the chocolate or vanilla, and decorated with the purchased treats. The kids loved them, and they took very little time to put together. Maybe before Halloween night gets here, we'll make some more, with the kids doing the decorating.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween, and remember parents...keep your kids close and don't let them wander off alone on this spooky night of fun. With so many kids wandering the streets and sidewalks, it could be easy to lose track of where your own are. Don't let younger kids out alone, not even with a larger group of kids. Kids are just kids and shouldn't be made responsible for the safety of younger ones. Go with your younger ones and make sure they come home safe and sound. Make sure costumes don't hinder their vision (use makeup rather than masks for little ones); and make sure costumes fit properly - costumes that are too long can cause them trip going up and down porch steps.


 


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