Seven Spooky Days

Around the end of August, my children begin finalizing their Halloween plans. They have visited multiple online costume sites for ideas, have thought through which idea will give them the effect they are going for, and begin asking daily what actions I have taken to make their Halloween dreams a reality. As soon as school begins they start to plan who they will trick-or-treat with and which friends they will meet at the school Monster Mash. Soon after, the phone calls come in. Mothers begin arranging the details -- some before September even comes to a close! At least a week before the events begin, my children have announced their meeting times and places for the upcoming events. And around here, these events last for an entire week!

So here is the run down of Halloween Week:

THE COSTUMES

Emilie and her friends coordinated their costumes. Several of the girls decided to be M&M candies. After searching online, we decided that we could make a much cuter M&M on our own than what was offered commercially. After all, how hard could it be to sew a circle? So I dusted off the sewing machine and relied on my 25 year old 4-H skills to transform her into a piece of candy.

Jonathan was set on being a gorilla. How cool it would be to show up at parties, completely disguised! After much searching, and again unimpressed with the gorilla options available, we discussed alternatives. We dug an old man's mask out of the costume box, stuffed one of Steve's shirts with his Red Sox pillow and ran to the local CVS store for a cane. At the Trunk-or-Treat, Jonathan's old man transformation won one of five awards for the most believable costume. (He has won an award for the 2nd year in a row, thanks to new callings and short memories!) Jonathan clearly received the best "costume reaction" at his piano recital, with random people taking photos of him, and he was told by all his pals, and better yet, his pals' older brothers, that he had the best costume at the Monster Mash! Ironically, his costume required the least effort in the family, next to Ezra's, and his goal of being completely disguised, leaving onlookers to wonder who the mystery man was, was accomplished.

Annelise requested a cowgirl outfit. Not a hard thing to put together in the west, but in New England, its a challenge. Who sells cowboy boots and bola ties in this part of the country? I located a shop in South Boston and fortunately Steve was in meetings not far away. So off he went to locate the red boots. Since the sewing machine was out, I made a cow skin vest to complete the Western attire. Annelise brought her character to life by throwing up her pointer fingers as guns and shouting Howdy Pardner upon arrival at each event!

We all knew that this year Sophia would be nothing other that Little Red Riding Hood. For several months now we have all played different characters in the story at her request. I made a hooded cape and an apron to go with an eyelet dress that she already had and a basket that we pulled out of the storage room. She charmed each neighbor with her, "Have a happy Halloween!" salutations.

Ezra wore the standard bumble bee costume that we pull out every couple of years. Jonathan received raving reviews for this fuzzy creature during its debut six years ago. When each Ebert child celebrates Halloween as a two year old, they find themselves being trained to say bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz and being transformed into a somewhat vicious insect.  (Annelise was the child who continued to wear this costume daily for about two years!)

THE DECORATIONS

Our neighborhood spares nothing when it comes to decorating their homes, and this year, our kids had to join in the fun. We pulled out our regulars from under the stairs, including the vampire on a motorcycle that sings "I come from the land down under", that my mother graciously contributed to our collection. But this year, we also picked up a few new characters for the season. Emilie and Jonathan have already projected out several years with which decorations we should add each Halloween.

THE TREATS

Sophia and I made pumpkin shaped caramel rice crispy treats for Emilie's art carpool, with of course plenty of left overs to do with what we desired! (And the secrete ingredient in this yummy treat? Melted Rolos. You can't go wrong with that!)

I volunteered to carve 26 jack o' ranges for Emilie's class Halloween party. (At around orange #11 I wondered why I hadn't opted for the paper supplies!)

In a moment of weakness at Costco, I loaded my cart with boxes of full size candy bars. (I actually did do to the math and figured that about three smaller candy bars was not much cheaper than one large candy bar. Steve was not impressed. Next year I think we will go back to the fun size!) Ezra, who skipped the trick-or-treating this year, had his share of our candy. 

THE EVENTS

Exactly seven days before the 31st, the events began. The opening event was the highly anticipated Monster Mash at the school. Emilie, Jonathan and Annelise each arranged a time and place to meet their friends, and I was informed every several minutes, how much longer we had until Steve had to be home and we must be backing out of the driveway to arrive on time. The kids raced around the school, visiting the fortune teller, craft tables, cake walk, magician, and the haunted hospital, which is always the highlight of the evening. We arrived at the beginning and stayed until the very end of the event. Each child went home tired and happy.

Our next event was the Spooky Piano Recital. We were fortunate to hear spooky songs from 56 -- that's right f-i-f-t-y s-i-x, budding pianists! Emilie, Jonathan and Annelise all played perfectly! Sally, their piano teacher, congratulated them and presented them with a clear plastic glove full of popcorn, with candy corn in the fingertips as fingernails!  

The next week Sophia dressed in her Little Red Riding Hood costume and went to dance class to twirl with Minnie Mouse, a few witches and princesses, and Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. She was quite excited for the event!

Annelise was invited to "dress up" for her dance class at the Boston School of Ballet, which is much more proper than Sophia's neighborhood dance class. No costumes were actually allowed, but she was permitted to wear a tutu instead of the usual required white leotard. Her teacher told a Halloween story that the children all danced to.

On Wednesday night we gathered at our Ward for the annual Trunk-or-Treat for dinner, games, a parade and trick-or-treating from the trunk of one car to the next. The kids all invited friends and, upon leaving, one of the children said that they thought that their church should have such an event, which I guess means the night was a success.

Thursday night Annelise was invited to a friend's house for a party. All evening about 50 costumed six and seven year olds hit pinatas, decorated pumpkins, had their faces painted, went on scavenger hunts and ate pizza. The party was hosted by the single father of Annelise's friend. He had gathered several of his "forty-something" friends together, with a few still in their business attire, to help put on the bash. All of the mothers stood back and watched these men entertain the hoards of children, with swinging moods, ranging from one boy who was crying because he hadn't been quick enough to gather candy from the pinata to another child who was zig zagging through the fire torches outside. What good, supportive friends this man must have!

On Friday afternoon I helped in Annelise's classroom with the Halloween party. I was in charge of bringing in a craft for the children. With white paint on their hands, we created ghosts and spider greeting cards, with googly eyes. I considered my project a success with all 22 children creating their cards in the allotted time, no tears and no spilt paint. Afterwards I attended Annelise's first grade recitation of "I see a spooky ghost, what to you see?" during school meeting. (Annie is on the second row up on the far left.)

The pinnacle of the week, of course was Halloween night. In Sudbury, October 31st is unlike any Halloween I have celebrated elsewhere. The entire town comes out for the party. Adults lounge around fire pits in their driveways, with huge baskets of candy to hand out. Fathers, banding together to take their little ones out, pull wagons of drinks to share with fellow men who they are bound to run into. And each year a huge motor home pulls into our cul de sac and lets a gang of children out to trick or treat, while parents enjoy their own mobile party inside. Our neighborhood is one of the centers of the excitement and this year we had 240 trick-or-treaters!   At our house, we started the night early with Emilie's friends coming over for chili and bread bowls, apples with toffee dip and a huge salad. This was the first year that these girls were allowed to go out alone, and the excitement was intense. Jonathan was invited to trick or treat with friends in another neighborhood. When I dropped him off, I could tell that this night was, of course for the boys, but also a highlight for the dads. The fathers of the boys stood around, almost as excited as their sons to go out for the night together. Annelise and her friend Katherine were escorted by Steve and Eric, Katherine's father, with Sophia tagging along. Ezra and I were left to greet each spooky witch or dazzling princess that rang our bell. Ezra, with Sophia joining him after her shoes hurt and her fingers were cold, sat on the door step entertained by the excitement on our street. The kids returned home with pillow cases full of candy. They traded, organized, and counted each treat that they had acquired during their spooky travels.

The night was over, with memories and candy to last for the unforeseeable future! Talk of next year has already begun. Jonathan is going to continue his search for his gorilla costume, Sophia, after eyeing another girl's Dorothy costume, announced her Wizard of Oz plans for next year and it seems that Ezra must have his thoughts on a Superman costume!