This year's Halloween took a different form given the COVID pandemic. I wasn't quite sure how this celebration was going to turn out but kept a positive attitude. We didn't talk a lot about what our costumes would be like until it was clear that costumes were indeed in order. Thanks to the parents in the courtyard, we created a Halloween celebration with those that we've quarantined with since March. Once that was decided, costume talks were in full force.
This year, Victoria wanted to be Barbie. She exactly what color of dress she wanted which was hard to find. As luck would have it, we found this on clearance at Macy's. The reminder of accessories she was fully in charge of. Izzy wanted to be a statue. What she envisioned was harder to create. I created her wig one weekend with yarn which was a new skill for me. Micah wanted to be Sonic the Hedgehog, his favorite video game character. This was the one costume I sewed which was a change from past years when I sewed all of them. I decided to go as Where's Waldo.
Our courtyard is divided into six stacks of condos. Each stack has at least one family living there. The decision was for each stack to have an activity / candy for the children who live here. This would help keep everyone distanced while making Halloween a memorable holiday. We decided to create a Halloween Punch Board where children could collect candy contactlessly. This was quite the hit for everyone. We had to make sure everyone only went once so all could have a turn before allowing for repeaters. My kids knew which cups held which candy and selected wisely when it was their turn.
Victoria especially loved the gloves that were filled with candy.
Micah and his good friend, Fox.
Victoria and her good friend, Margaret.
Our neighbors, Charlotte and Nell.
Another of our neighbors, Maya.
Word got out quickly that there were a few houses that ready for trick-or-treaters. This was my favorite. A menu of candy options was posted at the bottom of the railing. Each child would let her know what they wanted which was then send down the shoot allowing for distancing.
At times Izzy mentioned that without COVID she would be out with her friends. I know this year is a bit harder for her because of how much her peer group means to her. She however enjoyed hanging back with me so we could have a bit of just mom and Izzy time.
Two houses had pre-made bags set up outside. One also included Halloween themed face masks for the kids. This house below with the Halloween blow-ups has been putting out blow-ups since March on a consistent basis. This house is one of our favorites as they are able to keep everyone smiling for months.
The finale was a candy shower from the 3rd floor balcony. This sort of reminded me of a parade where candy is thrown. There are always those kids who run and try to get every piece of candy, those that are too slow, and those that hang back.
We were definitely not out as long as previous years which was 100% okay with me because it was a tad chilly. Nonetheless, the kids made a huge haul and spent the evening sorting and trading. Once that was finished, we sat down to take in a Halloween movie while enjoying mummy cupcakes. We spent the month of October watching Halloween movies every Friday including Hocus Pocus, The Haunted Mansion, and Goosebumps. On Halloween we watched a movie none of us have seen... The Witches. Next year I'll have to make a new list of movies but have been specifically instructed that they cannot be scary ones.
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