Happy Halloween

Well, it is quite early in the morning, but having taken my youngest son to bed at 8pm and snuggled beside him, I then, along with my hubby, fell asleep until gone 12, waking only briefly each time my older two came in to say "night night".

So now I am awake, and am really really hungry - I may just wake Hubby up and have a midnight feast, or a half past two feast.

Anyway, quickly posting about my thoughts on Halloween,  because over the years we have struggled with our consience about celebrating Halloween - mainly because of what other Christians have stated about it being an "evil devil worshiping cult type festival". 


 I dont think my children will become devil worshipers if they go out trick or treating, my older two haven't yet, and we have had such fun participating in the festival, and also it does bring local communties together.  (Egg throwing at windows from hooded youths excluded from this of course).

From Loyola Press

"Kids love holidays. Many parents do too. Holidays, such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Valentine's Day, remind us how special life is. They remind us that there's more to life than work and obligations, that life should be cherished and enjoyed. Catholics believe that God is present in all things and in all times. That means that every day on the calendar presents another opportunity to encounter and celebrate the presence of God in our lives. Holidays, whether specifically religious or not, are excellent times to engage in special activities and rituals that help us not only to observe the spirit of the day but also to make a connection between the holiday and our faith."


So, just thought I would say - we haven't turned to the dark side, just having good old fashioned family fun (now, where is that farm animal I need to sacrifice under the light of the moon for this evening then drink its blood.....)

Had to make an unscheduled trip into the City today - discovered yesterday that D's rugby boots had split, less than 48 hours before his County Trials!

Had lots of Halloween crafts planned, but will try and get most of them done tomorrow.  We did however make a start on a Halloween House, (out of a cardboard box) J painted it all black and D made a start on the roof.

So off we plodded, all of us of course as my older two are not sensible old enough to stay at home on their own yet. 

We stopped off at the Uni first, lovely walk amongst the Autumn leaves, and popped in to see Mother of Mine at a Restaurant she manages.   A nice surprise -  she treated us all to lunch - I had Turkey with Port Gravy, so did J (he loves roasted chicken and turkey because of the skin) and B and D had Pork with a lovely sauce (forgotten what it was) but it looked nice.  To top that off we got dessert too - rocky road type cake for me with clotted cream, same for the older two, and J opted for apple and toffee crumble with cream - it was all very nice.

Walked it all off afterwards by trekking into town - silly me wore boots without socks so I blistered (I hate wearing socks - at a push I will wear them if the temperature drops below minus 20).  Hubby finished work at 2pm, so met us to help with the arduous task of boot buying.  D has really wide feet, and as Clarkes do not sell rugby boots, it is always difficult to find boots that fit him.  Found some for £50 (with £4 off from our loyalty card) and my Dad treated him so not so hard on the purse strings :-)

Back home - curry for tea - love my slow cooker, then J went to play on the Xbox with his Dad, which is when I get time to spend with my teen and pre-teen.  We sat and watched the updates on Hurricane Sandy, then they put the Top 40 on,  - and I was lost.  I really am getting old.
They then helped with the roof for the haunted house, which is proving to be a bit tricky.  Hopefully it will be ready in time for Halloween.

Found some great sites for Halloween craft - Small Potatoes has 100+ Spooktacular Halloween Ideas for kids, lots and lots of brilliant crafts to do. Think I am going to go with what I have in the house.

So making spooky lanterns

Tissue Paper Mummies

Ghost, Bat and Spider cakes from Cakes and Scribbles

Skeleton Craft

And carving and painting pumpkins.


J is so excited, and we still haven't got his outfit yet, as he keeps changing his mind - last time I heard he wanted to be a Devil - well how apt - he is a little Devil.

Happy Halloween Eve
xxxxx

We started Half Term last Monday, as with an impending move on the horizon, I needed to get quite a few things sorted, so decided to add an extra week to the holidays.

As well as organising house stuff, we have also been preparing for Halloween, well, J and me.  Think the older two just like the sweet eating part of the festival.  So as well as stopping off at Poundland to get scary decorations, we also started to make our own, and now have lots of home made paper pumpkins, witches, ghosts, bats and scary cats hanging from our ceiling.  Plus an actual pumpkin lighting up our Living Room.

We also had a Halloweeny theme at the HE Group this week, with lots of art and craft, dressing up, cake decorating and a Halloween hunt.

The weather has turned now and the clocks have now gone back so it really does feel like Winter is on its way.  No snow in this part of the country, but very very cold. 

This weekend we have been house hunting, not much luck yet, but we have only been looking for a week or so, so not disheartened just yet.

Onto next week - Halloween, County Rugby Trials, more packing and I think I may take up knitting.

Have a good week.