It’s the end of October and thoughts turn to Halloween. Well most probably if you are a parent. How to satisfy your young ones urge to join in the fun. From the age of about 5 Hawklad has looked forward to the 31st October. He liked to get dressed up. Maybe go to the school party. Definitely watch a bit of spooky TV. But never Trick or Treating. The thought of meeting strangers ruled that option out. So he’s never been. Actually I have never been. As a child the concept didn’t exist in our area. It was all about carving – not a pumpkin, we used turnips or swedes. A bonfire with jacket potatoes roasting in the embers. The dreaded turnip soup. Seeing what TV had on offer (just 3 channels in those days). Then it was to bed to read a spooky comic under the blankets by the light of a torch.

Trick or Treating really started to get going in our area only in the late 80s. In the last city we lived in, it was very popular. But then we moved into the sticks. The village we now live in has few children. Some years go by without a single Trick or Treater.

So what will 2020 bring. Well a full moon, so let’s hope for some breaks in the cloud.

Well for our little self contained world – it will mostly be the usual. Spicy red soup. Too many mini chocolates and sweets. Outside talks about our top ten monsters. Making up horror stories. We have a tradition that each year we invent a new horror computer game. No technical limitations when the game only ever exists in your mind. Watching cartoon halloween specials. Getting dressed up. Finally watching a couple of horror movies. When he was young that would be ScoobyDoo movies. The last couple of years it’s been old Hammer Horror flicks. This year he’s desperate to step up the horror option. Maybe the first Halloween movie.

Not forgetting Pumpkin Carving. Unfortunately our store has not had them in stock and Hawklad won’t let me go out to buy one. So it’s plan b. Well plan c as the store also failed to have a turnip or swede in. Don’t laugh plan c currently is trying to do mini carvings with jacket potatoes and apples…..

So yes 2020 may have some unique features for us. For many. Trick or Treating would appear to be banned in many areas. Luckily some places are trying to set up stuff for the kids (and parents!). Our village is doing a Halloween Trail. Households are being encouraged to put a pumpkin in the window or by the front gate. Families can then go pumpkin spotting without knocking on doors. So we need Plan D. An apple or potato carving just isn’t going to cut the mustard. At present it’s not a great plan. We have some orange balloons. The plan is to draw faces on the balloon with a think black marker pen. Then we will try to put an LED light or small torch inside the balloon. Then inflate it. What could possibly go wrong…..

68 thoughts on “Halloween or not”

      1. Well… you’re also human. So that makes sense. Maybe “always” was too strong of a word? It sure seems that way though. 😀 I won’t put that much pressure on you. You are allowed to have days where your ideas are terrible. 😂

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  3. Halloween is definitely a 21st century phenomenon in this country, barely replacing Guy Fawkes’ night (do you still have that in the UK?) as the most significant pre Christmas event for kids. Many local governments put on fireworks spectaculars on the fifth of November and many families still let off fireworks at home. Guy Fawkes’ night is one of the busiest nights of the year for fire brigades.

    Even though it is increasing in popularity, we have never had kids knocking on our door “trick or treating”. Not sure why. Perhaps it just hasn’t caught on in this neighbourhood. Or perhaps it doesn’t seem like much fun in broad daylight – daylight saving commences late September here, sunset isn’t until 8 PM and it doesn’t get dark until after 9.

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  7. I’m glad your not going to carve swedes 😉 Whatever you decide, I’m sure it will be great fun for both of you!
    I Sweden we don´t have the tradition with Halloween even if it’s been more common over the last years. Here we celebrate our loved ones that passed away (All saints day). Lighting up candles in the graveyards. It is very beautiful with thousands of candles burning in the night. That day is always a Saturday in the shift between October and November. So this year it is the 31st of October, same as Halloween. But this year will be different due to Covid-19. It is going to be more spread out to avoid crowd. We will light our candles today.

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  9. You could use any kind of squash or melon to carve. You could have the scariest cantaloupe in the village! 😂😂😂 can you get melons or other squash?
    Make a scarecrow stuffed with leaves?? Then you could name him BoJo or Trump and do some Wrestlemania moves on him🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
    Happy Halloween to you Gary Kermit Superdad and to Hawklad as well!

    For movies I prefer Rocky Horror, Shaun Of The Dead, Evil Dead and Demon Knight!💌💌💌

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  10. What could possibly go wrong…..

    Famous last words 😉

    I first heard about trick or treating somewhere in the late 70s or early 80s. I tried going once and it was a complete washout. As far as I know, it’s not really celebrated in Belgium — at least I don’t think I’ve ever seen a trick or treater and the boys have never been.

    We’ll be spending the day indoors with Nanny Oggs cookbook, eating delightful meals including, but not limited to, primordial soup and witches fingers and (hopefully) watching The Corpse Bride.

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  11. It sounds great. I went /…guising…it is called here once. heavens folks would get arrested now for child neglect 3 of us aged 6. But that was these times. Anyway, leaving one house this dog started barking and we leggedit, fell over a fence and lost all our stuff.

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  12. Strange phenomenon this Trick or Treat thing. Never had it when I was a kid. Guy Fawkes Night though – are/were you close enough to York for ‘miggy night’ (mischief night) on November 4th? We used to knock on doors and run away, the height of daring!
    Enjoy your Halloween fun, both of you 🙂

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  13. No pumpkins to be had here either. And turnips are my most hated vegetable. So maybe I should try to find one to carve and then straight into compost heap. Failing that, I love your idea of carving an apple. We have plenty of those!
    My son loves trick or treating but my daughter doesn’t. Looks like she gets her way this year. Neither like horror movies so they’re going to spend the day eating sweets, listening to “spooky” music and playing the Luigi’s Mansion video game as it features a haunted house. My chores for today are find something to carve and decorate the house.
    Going to be an odd day/night tomorrow (also another huge storm due here by then) but every day this year has been a bit odd!
    Hope you and your son have a wonderful Halloween!

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  14. Best of luck! I don’t think my grandchildren are going trick or treating this year – a thing they normally do… And we aren’t decorating our window to advertise that we are up for children knocking on the door. I just don’t think it’s worth the risk.

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  17. Trick or treating wasn’t part of my Irish Halloween either or that of son , now 25.
    Carving didn’t happen here for us either. It was all about apples really. Hanging an apple from the ceiling and trying to take a bite with hands behind your back; doing one’s best to get a bit out of an apple bobbing around in a basin of water; eating homemade brack after our traditional colcannon. Both had all sorts of symbolic things in them, like rings and coins.
    Brings joy just thinking about it.

    Hope you have a special Halloween where memories are made forever.

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