Halloween

The adorableness of kids dressed up is the main redeeming quality of this holiday. I have to say I am personally a Halloween Scrooge. This is a pagan - even satanic - day at it's root and I find all the horror stuff associated with the day completely repugnant. Top that off with not being a creative/crafty/seamstress type mom, so the costume issue can be daunting. (I've used eBay in the past - this year all but baby's costume were borrowed.)

And then there's the candy problem, which is first that it is expensive to buy and second (more importantly) who really wants their kids to eat all the loot they bring home? Total immune system zapper and hyperness accelerator. No thank you. So bah, humbug!

Except... I don't quite have enough oomph behind my convictions to actually stop participating. Our church annually holds a Trunk-or-Treat for the whole community and it's always a blast. See all your friends in one place, safe environment, shorter walk, and this year there was hot chocolate and an amazing chili feed to go with the traditional fresh homemade donuts.

Oh, and did I mention that it was held on Saturday so as not to disrupt the Sabbath? Perhaps just a little like Dickens' Scrooge, revisiting the childhood fun and community spirit of this Halloween, the way we celebrated it, has caused me to shake off my humbug attitude once again and just enjoy it.