HoneyGram bought The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat, and it quickly became Netty's favorite book. Suddenly, Netty called any house that had any kind of Halloween decoration or light on a "pooky house." We drove around one night to find all the spooky houses in the neighborhood. The best part was listening to Netty talk later about the giant spiders ("Ewwie! We don't eat them!") and the ghosts and other spooky things she saw.
On the Monday before Halloween we decorated pumpkins. At first I set the kids' pumpkins down on newspaper on the table in front of them and gave them markers. Instead of coloring on the pumpkins, they colored on the newspaper. Once I drew faces on their pumpkins, they got the idea and started drawing on them as well. After the kids were done with their pumpkins, Jon and I carved ours.
Atticus with his pumpkin
Netty with her pumpkin
Atti trying out pumpkin guts -- When I was about ten, my sister told me that the inside of a pumpkin tasted like pumpkin pie. I told her that I didn't believe here, but she said, "No, really. I just tasted it." So then I took a big bite of the pumpkin innards. It did NOT taste like pie.
Deathly Hallows -- Halloween isn't Halloween without some kind of nod to Harry Potter. Unfortunately, the whole center triangle fell out just as we were leaving the house to go trick-or-treating. At least it lasted as long as it did.
Phelps Family Pumpkins
And Jonny said he never wanted a kitten -- Netty said she wanted to be Minnie Mouse for Halloween, but I couldn't find mouse ears anywhere (at least for a reasonable price and in time for Halloween). Instead I bought cat ears and turned them in to mouse ears.
Last year I decided it seemed silly to spend $20+ on a Halloween costume that would probably only be worn once. For the last two years we have either used what we already had (the skirt and shoes) or we bought things the kids would be able to wear again (the black hoodie jacket).
We practiced trick-or-treating with the kids for family night ahead of time so that the kids knew what to do. They went around to the bedrooms and HoneyGram and Papa opened the doors and gave them treats. Then, in the days and hours leading up to the big event, we continued going over what Netty needed to say and do. By the time we got to the night, Netty was a pro. She said "trick-or-treat" and "thank you" at almost every house. The only ones she wouldn't say anything at were the ones with fire pits in the driveway because it was too scary.
I was sure Atticus would be pulling off his ears and/or hood all night. Maybe it was because Netty had them on too or maybe it was that he was too busy with everything else going on to notice, but either way, he left them on all night. Both kids carried their pumpkin buckets the whole way down the street and back, and Atticus walked the whole way. He even said "thank you," and at a few houses where they held out the bowl in front of him, he grabbed candy by the handfuls and went back for seconds. This kid knows what trick-or-treating is all about.
Yep, we were those people.
My mom got some toothbrushes from work to pass out on Halloween, but then she and my dad made a last-minute trip to Washington for the weekend and Jon and I were stuck handing them out. Surprisingly, parents and kids alike were excited about the toothbrushes.
By the end of the night the kids were exhausted. They hung on just long enough for bath and jammies, and then as soon as we put them in bed, they went right to sleep.
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