Halloween

Halloween is a tricky holiday for us.

We don't really get into this holiday. We don't decorate. We don't do crafts. We're not fans of being scared. So Halloween sort of gets skipped by us. However this year we had a fun holiday. 

Our family enjoys dressing up. But since we still are saving for our trip in December this year's costumes were easy/cheap/homemade/ or reused. 

Hailey was a pirate one day and Red Riding Hood another. I guess it depends on her mood. (We had everything already but the cape. It cost around $11 from eBay.)

Cati was a fairy princess. (Kid to kid $2 costume)

Lily was a butterfly. (I made the wings for $4)

Mason was a ninja. (He borrowed mikes karate uniform) 

Mike and I were Dr.Who and the Tardis.

We had all of his costumes already and I ordered my dress from ebay. Since it cost me $18 I plan to wear this tunic dress all year round so it's a win/win for me. 

Anyways our ward throws an annual Halloween party so Lily and her BFF wanted to match. So I made her friend a matching costume with the leftover material. They loved being twin butterflies.

Photobomber Cati

The ward party had a potluck, face painting, games, a haunted house, and trunk or treating.

Then their school held a Halloween party as well the next day. So everyone went to school dressed up ready to party.

They loved it! When they got home they talked with their friends and enjoyed the fact they got to wear costumes to school since most public schools didn't allow costumes.

Then the night before halloween our neighbor held a Fall Festival party. They don't celebrate halloween so this is a nice substitute. When I first heard that I thought was a little odd but whatever. We're all different and that's what makes life interesting. 

At her party we roasted hot dogs/ sausages, made s'mores, played games, chatted about Star Wars, enjoyed the toasty fire, and just spending time with friends.

One fun memory was a jump rope contest. Mike and another adult held the rope and counted while kids took turns seeing who could get the most jumps. One teen got 41 and held the record for a while. Mike took a turn so this teen held the rope for him. Once mike was reaching the 30's this teen turned the rope so fast that it was breaking the sound barrier. Even though the jump rope was going so fast that we couldn't even see it flying through the air Mike still held his game. 

He kept up with the speed that the teen gave up and felt defeated by Mike. He challenged Mike again to a dual but Mike declined and walked off the jump rope champ. Haha! Mike can beat any teenager!

Then halloween came along. During the day we cleaned our house. Which the kids thought was lame. Oh well! 

Later that evening we went trick or treating. Our girls got themselves tons of candy. Mason stood home and passed out candy. 

As we walked around the neighborhood Mike and I chatted with other parents while our kids ran to doors. It was a fun night. 

So this years halloween was really fun. It goes to show that we don't need scary, spooky, decorations, or crafts to make this holiday fun.