Halloween Overload

This past week Raine went to not one but three Halloween trick or treat events. Growing up, I didn't get to experience this holiday. It was only something I saw on American TV. Although I do remember going to a Halloween costume party in high school. I dressed up as a punk fairy and even had a wand made. Haha! These past few years, most upper-middle class subdivisions have come up with their own Halloween activities for kids to enjoy, so now trick or treating has become an "in" thing. Raine's 3-year old cousin, a Halloween "veteran", had lots of costumes from her early trick or treating days so I didn't have to buy . For her first outing, Raine was a purple fairy. By the afternoon, she was getting all itchy so we switched to a penguin costume. The penguin look was a hit with the neighbors. Her chubby-ness complemented the costume. I decided to use this costume for her next two Halloween events.

Her second "T or T" was at my former office. It was different from going house to house in a village. This time we went from floor to floor, visiting the different departments which were decorated with themes ranging from "Blues Clues", to "Care Bears", to "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Nightmare Before Christmas". My officemates loved Raine's getup. They kept calling her "Happy Feet" after the penguin cartoon. I think this overwhelmed the tot a bit because it was difficult to coax a smile out of her when my friends took pictures of her. She only warmed up when we stopped by the training room and she got to play with other kids who had taken a break from all the Halloween madness.

For her third and last Halloween activity, we mostly watched the shows in the village clubhouse. Raine and cousin Annika happily sat on their little monoblock chairs while munching on popcorn and cotton candy as they watched animal and magic shows on the stage. After the programme, we had some time to do the traditional door-to-door visits. It was drizzling a little so we had a car with us to drive the kids around the neighborhood. Penguin Raine and Peacock Annika had a blast going from house to house asking for candy. Annika's costume was an eyecatcher and she even won as one of the top ten best costumes.

Next year I think I will buy Raine her own costume, something comfortable yet still adorable. As for me, I'll make sure I'll be wearing comfortable shoes and charge my video camera to capture all those cute little moments.