Halloween 2024 Report

An elaborate Halloween display

This year Halloween was... wet.

We started around 5.30pm and soon after it started sprinkling and that soon turned into rain.

Even though the kids complained about the precipitation, they were still very keen about getting candy. Lots of it.

Free hugs? Yikes!

One house handed out cans of soda, another a full-size box of Smarties. Most handed out chocolates by hand, one or two with a chute, and some just left a box on the front porch with a sign instructing children to take one each. The kids' bags got heavy quite fast, but they were reluctant to relinquish their bags of candy to their parents.

Some of the houses had fantastic decorations, lots of web-like cotton spread over shrubs, graves half opened with feet or hands sticking out, lots of skeletons hanging about. There was even one made of plastic milk jugs. So clever!

One had a pumpkin carved with a gerbil or hamster, while another had three intricately-carved gourds, one with a Celtic weave, an owl and a heart. "They did a lot of work," my nephew remarked about their pumpkins.

The other nephew is terrified of scary noises and refused to go to the houses that had eerie sounds coming out of them. But he would happily go to the other ones "that aren't scary". 

At one point we found shelter at a church that had police managing traffic at the intersection. We got some piping hot chocolate, and the kids got more candy and played with friends. There were other refreshments like hot dogs, mandarin oranges, tea, coffee, apples and popcorn.

Intricately carved owl pumpkin

While the kids played, some parents sat on folding chairs staring at their phones, while others chit chatted amongst themselves. It was a nice respite from the rain before we headed out again.

Amazingly the kids lasted for just over two hours and still keen on collecting more candy when we almost got home. One house had two skeletons dressed up looking out the window...