Halloween Fun
It’s over now. The happy jack-o-lanterns we made are commencing to rot. The candy that we never did manage to leave out in a bowl on our front step is still in the cupboard. The costume lies in a heap by the door. But, oh, was it grand!
I hardly paid any attention as the days crept toward the holiday. Although we did manage to make two very fun trips to two pumpkin farms with friends (thanks, T and E and K!) in October. Very few preparations were necessary. Even so, I woke up the morning of Halloween with a wacky and sudden urge to decorate, throw a party, buy presents, and wear a costume… We didn’t have our pumpkins carved. I quit working an hour early to cut off their tops and scoop out their guts, so that Lucas and I could carve them in the single hour of free time between getting home from preschool and leaving for the night’s adventures.
The Pumpkin Path at Sacramento Waldorf School is still going strong. It is a wonderful alternative to trick-or-treating. The children and the parents follow an angel guide along a pathway lit by luminaires and jack-o-lanterns. It’s non-spooky, which is very appropriate for my little one, beautiful and leaves a lasting impression. The path leads to a number of living dioramas or scenes with live actors (high school kids and parents). They enact a portion of a story, say some verse, and sing. At each station, the children receive a gift—a trinket or treasure or toy to keep.
This year, we invited Kelly and Ambrosia to join us. Lucas was a little intimidated at first by the actors. It’s a lot to meet imposing King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, and Guinevere right at the start. The king asked the children for their pledge to be courageous and honorable. Lucas was a little withdrawn and nervous for the first half of the walk, but gradually relaxed into it. Ambrosia (dressed as a bumble bee) loved it, and wasn’t the least bit shy. She kept saying, “Where’s MY Angel Guide?”
Along the way, we met King Arthur and cronies, Johnny Appleseed, Robin Hood and hoodlums, a farmer with living scarecrows, a Lakota woman who told a story, cowboys and cowgirls, a Mexican household of women, Alice and the mad, mad tea party, a circus, a leprechaun, some bakers, and more. We came home with the following treasures and treats: a golden egg, a gold chocolate coin, a wooden spinning top, and eagle feather, a necklace with a sun pendant, liberated and redistributed jewels from Robin Hood, popcorn, a scone, gingerbread, a bandana, a tiny doll, and other items. It took about an hour to walk the whole way.
We met the two smallest Bs and Parnasus there afterward. The kiddos were tired when we were done, but Lucas and Ian and I pressed on to my parents’ house, where Lucas got to trick-or-treat in the normal fashion. He gobbled about four chocolates down and then melted down emotionally. Time to go home! It was a long and strange night for him, but we still got him in bed by 9.
November 3, 2005 at 7:55 pm
That sounds like a fabulous evening! :o)