Just on the wild off-chance that someone reading this hasn't noticed-it's Hallowe'en this week apparently. Now call me miserable but I hate this so-called "holiday" (flinches at the sound of people yelling "miserable!").
It's not just because I am a Christian who spends most of my time encouraging people away from celebrating dark forces so it seems a bit ludicrous to dress up as a demon one night a year.
No. I wish I was that holy but sadly I love Harry Potter (and Daniel Radcliffe which I am aware is inappropriate as a 44 year old mother of 7) and I'm fairly sure the Church would not really approve of the fact that I kinda hope my invitation to attend Hogwarts just got lost in the post and I'm really an undiscovered Wizard.
I think my dislike of the 31st October is largely based round the fact that I have enough work to do looking after 7 children without making costumes, carving pumpkins and decorating the house with fake cobwebs - I have enough of the real things complete with real life spiders.
And I'm always on a tight budget so resent having to buy enough sweets to send myself into a diabetic coma if I ate them. Not that I could eat them even if I wasn't diabetic because I have to hand them out to all the ghosts and ghouls who turn up at my door throughout the evening. I'm almost tempted to reply "trick" when given a choice -though most of the children who ring my bell don't even bother chanting "trick or treat" they just stand silently thrusting bags and buckets at me in expectation of sweet treats.
Last year I read that one vicar wrapped healthy treats with stickers with bible verses on. Bet the kids don't bother him again this year. And I loved the picture I saw this week on Pinterest with a pumpkin, carved with the words "F8CK OFF". I really did LOL at that one! Yes I know. I'm miserable.
I made the fatal mistake of ducking into a large supermarket today to buy a birthday card, some milkshake and some dried fruit for my Christmas cake baking project. (Or my "keep up with the Jones project" as I call it as I am only making one so as not to be outdone by my mate who is even planning to make the marzipan for hers herself and stick it onto the homemade cake with homemade jam!)
Anyway, I digress. As I was saying I was in this supermarket and I literally could not move without tripping over hoards of small overexcited children and their harrassed looking parents all hunting for the perfect pumpkin, the last dracula costume, black Hallowe'en tinsel (no really!) and yet more nasty chewy sweets to hand out.
There were brain jelly moulds, severed hands, chocolate finger biscuits with the packaging redesigned to make them Hallowe'eny though I'm guessing inside they were fundamentally just finger biscuits? There were plastic rats, a variety of skulls which lit up or moaned. I could have bought fake blood, fake tattoos, fake axes, fake wounds......but I just wanted milkshake and sultanas.
At the tills there were bat balloons and eyeball sweeties and the lady behind me was buying a large Mummy cake. I just paid for my shopping plus the ten extra things I didn't really need as always and thanked my lucky stars I hate Halloween and therefore saved myself a fortune.
My children will be going to our Church's light up the dark party where they will have a BBQ, bob for apples, make chocolate dipped apples and hunt for sweets. They are dressing up - as a dinosaur, gorilla, giraffe and cat and are very much looking forward to it.
On the way home if we see any homes obviously prepared for visiting children I will allow them to knock and "trick or treat". At home we have made a nice display of uncarved pumpkins and gourds and if people who know me knock I will hand out sweets. But I'm hoping that largely we will be left in peace and I will have enough sweets left to have a go at getting myself comatose!
I have been invited to a Hallowe'en party on Friday - but like my daughter I'm dressing as a cat and largely going for the company and the promise of cake.
Whatever you are doing, have fun, stay safe and I hope the weather stays dry. Next week's moan - why I hate bonfire night. But there's hope for December - I LOVE Christmas!
 |
| Daniel Radcliffe NYC Nov 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
No. I wish I was that holy but sadly I love Harry Potter (and Daniel Radcliffe which I am aware is inappropriate as a 44 year old mother of 7) and I'm fairly sure the Church would not really approve of the fact that I kinda hope my invitation to attend Hogwarts just got lost in the post and I'm really an undiscovered Wizard.
I think my dislike of the 31st October is largely based round the fact that I have enough work to do looking after 7 children without making costumes, carving pumpkins and decorating the house with fake cobwebs - I have enough of the real things complete with real life spiders.
And I'm always on a tight budget so resent having to buy enough sweets to send myself into a diabetic coma if I ate them. Not that I could eat them even if I wasn't diabetic because I have to hand them out to all the ghosts and ghouls who turn up at my door throughout the evening. I'm almost tempted to reply "trick" when given a choice -though most of the children who ring my bell don't even bother chanting "trick or treat" they just stand silently thrusting bags and buckets at me in expectation of sweet treats.
Last year I read that one vicar wrapped healthy treats with stickers with bible verses on. Bet the kids don't bother him again this year. And I loved the picture I saw this week on Pinterest with a pumpkin, carved with the words "F8CK OFF". I really did LOL at that one! Yes I know. I'm miserable.
 |
| (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Anyway, I digress. As I was saying I was in this supermarket and I literally could not move without tripping over hoards of small overexcited children and their harrassed looking parents all hunting for the perfect pumpkin, the last dracula costume, black Hallowe'en tinsel (no really!) and yet more nasty chewy sweets to hand out.
There were brain jelly moulds, severed hands, chocolate finger biscuits with the packaging redesigned to make them Hallowe'eny though I'm guessing inside they were fundamentally just finger biscuits? There were plastic rats, a variety of skulls which lit up or moaned. I could have bought fake blood, fake tattoos, fake axes, fake wounds......but I just wanted milkshake and sultanas.
At the tills there were bat balloons and eyeball sweeties and the lady behind me was buying a large Mummy cake. I just paid for my shopping plus the ten extra things I didn't really need as always and thanked my lucky stars I hate Halloween and therefore saved myself a fortune.
 |
| Grumpy crocosaurus |
My children will be going to our Church's light up the dark party where they will have a BBQ, bob for apples, make chocolate dipped apples and hunt for sweets. They are dressing up - as a dinosaur, gorilla, giraffe and cat and are very much looking forward to it.
On the way home if we see any homes obviously prepared for visiting children I will allow them to knock and "trick or treat". At home we have made a nice display of uncarved pumpkins and gourds and if people who know me knock I will hand out sweets. But I'm hoping that largely we will be left in peace and I will have enough sweets left to have a go at getting myself comatose!
I have been invited to a Hallowe'en party on Friday - but like my daughter I'm dressing as a cat and largely going for the company and the promise of cake.
Whatever you are doing, have fun, stay safe and I hope the weather stays dry. Next week's moan - why I hate bonfire night. But there's hope for December - I LOVE Christmas!