We've had to change a family tradition, and at first, I was a little sad about it, but I think it's going to be fine.
I know that many Christians don't celebrate or acknowledge Halloween in any way, and I can respect that, but that isn't our family's choice. We have explained to our kids that some folks do use this day to glorify satan, and to celebrate things like death, monsters, and fright, but we don't do that. We DO allow the kids to dress in fun costumes, NO scary stuff, and we celebrate imagination, and the fun of pretending to be someone else for an evening.
Our tradition has been to go trick or treating at the nursing home where my husband's grandmother is a resident. In years past, the management of the home has hosted a hot dog supper and carnival games in the dining room. The residents families would decorate their rooms or hallways, provide costumes, and candy for trick or treaters. The children loved it, and the residents at the nursing home loved it too. Sadly, we were told just yesterday that the nursing home is under new management and that the Halloween night festivities will no longer be held there.
So, we had to scramble to find something fun for our kids to do!! Our church had a wonderful fall festival, but it was held 2 weeks ago! We knew of several churches in our area that were hosting carnivals tonight, but we really wanted to stay close to home, so we decided to go by and visit both sets of grandparents, then see what the churches closest to us had going on. We visited my inlaws, and found my sil and her 3 kids there, not in costumes. I wondered why, then my 10yo neice announced to me that she AND her mom were sick!! Now WHY couldn't my mil have told us this before we came over there?! GRR!! Unfortunately, that is par for the course with her, and a subject for anoher blog entry.
Anyway, we left mil and trick or treated at the homes of a few of her neighbors, then went to my parent's house. My mom had a whole bag of candy, plus some small toys, for each of the kids!! We decided then to just go to the church that was closest to us. They were hosting a "trunk or treat" and serving hot chocolate and cookies. We ran into some old friends there, so it was nice. At the last moment, we decided to pop in to another church that is less than 5 minutes from our house. I'm so glad we did! The children had a blast! They had 2 of those inflatable jumping things, candy, popcorn, lemonade, and LOTS of games. All 3 kids had a great time! Rachel won a door prize, and both the girls got their faces painted. And, I saw the most adorable thing! A set of twins, newborns, dressed as 2 little pumpkins!! TOO CUTE!!
We were all a little disappointed to see our "old" tradition come to an end, but we were blessed with a nice evening together as a family, and for that, I am thankful.
Blessings,
Mom23munchkins