Halloween is over for another year. And, from someone who as crossed over from a detractor to a supporter, this year’s celebration appeared to be a resounding success.
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Well at least from where I was sitting serving treats from a cauldron.
At least 50 young characters including several Darth Vaders, witches, ghosts, zombies and more rocked up to my home offering the option of trick or treat.
The treats were a certainty - did I mention I had a cauldron full of them – but every now and then I challenged the spooky visitor for a trick.
It was a challenge that was always graciously accepted with some clever dance steps and a few karate moves being popular offerings.
The good news is that the tricks did not include egging or teepeeing my house.
But I think the greatest treat for me was the incredibly impressive manners of every single youngster who came to my door.
Every child said thank you (sometimes repeatedly) and every child was gracious and controlled when they took a treat from my cauldron.
It was impressive to note that all youngster arrived with an adult or older teen as a superviser.
It was also great to chat with the parents, while their children embraced the fun of Halloween, making it a great way to meet some of the people in the community.
Quite frankly the entire evening of Halloween celebrations in my neighbourhood was a success and a credit to every parent and child who took part.
Possibly the only disappointment of the evening was that I ran out of sweets in my cauldron, but it quickly became clear that Plan B – iceblocks – was equally popular.
I totally respect the argument of the many people who believe Halloween should not be celebrated in Australia.
However, I can’t dismiss the value of an activity that encourages young people to get creative with costumes, get out in the fresh air and spend a fun time with their family and friends. And at the same time the children and their parents get to meet other people in their community.
Sure too many sweets is perhaps not a great thing but even that can be managed with supervision and a few guiding rules.
As far as I’m concerned Halloween 2017 was a great success and I’ll be back with my cauldron next year.