So, we just setup the table. This time, we had my husband's gingerbread house (Ask me VIA PM for the Pattern URL) on the far end of the table. I put out my little frosted glass bottles, my resin skull, lit my candelabra again. This time I had a "Do Not Touch" sign... that everyone ignored anyway-- we put a pumpkin candle in front of the sign later because I noticed you couldn't read it where I had it.... and, of course, some stupid kid (I should prolly mention he was an older kid... 8 or so) reached right over it and almost set his costume on fire... *sigh* (Don't worry, I caught it). Of course, there was also a cute little kid who blew out the candle (He'd been trained to blow out candles for his birthday).
We put the pumpkins 'round the table, nestled in the landscaping of my in-law's house (I don't get many-- if any-- trick-or-treaters at my apartment). I also had these Black Cat luminary bags going up the flagstone to the front porch area. (I borrowed sand from my in-laws to weigh the luminaries down).
I did learn a few things last night, and shall impart my wisdom and a few points of ranting upon you now...
1- Never put a big bowl of candy on the edge of the table closest to kids. They will lean over it to "see what's inside" (hence, the stupid kid who leaned over my candle). Not only do they LEAN, but they "reach". I was also giving away play-doh to younger kids, but some older kids started reaching and took a couple. We moved my big cauldron to the back of the table (behind landscaping) after I discovered the “leaningâ€.
2A- Some kids get so excited that they forget their manners... despite the well lit luminary pathway up the flagstones, there were still kids who ran across the landscaping in the dead of night. Granted, this may not be an issue for east coasters, but when you have DESERT landscaping (that's read rocks and possibly cacti in your front yard), it's not very smart for a kid to be running across landscaping when you're not familiar with the landscape and it's dark. Not only that, but it's rude. Use the sidewalk, that's what they're there for.
2B- It's not polite to reach into someone's candy stash or to start grabbing things. Parents, control your kids. I'm very tempted to wrap rocks in paper that says "trick" and wrap that in seran wrap. Shoot, I might set that on the edge of the table next year for the "leaners and grabbers"... or the "landscape runners"... Afterall, it is TRICK-or-treat.
3- I LOVE Halloween. I LOVE to pass out candy... and I LOVE kids who say "Thank You". I started giving out extras (when I ran out of the full-sized bars and got to the fun-sized candy) if they simply said "Thanks!" Again, manners. How you're raised makes a difference, and I LOVE when kids are polite. If you're getting FREE candy from a stranger, you'd better acknowledge them in some way and say THANKS!
4- Parents! This is a gripe for you. If you have a young child--If you take the child trick-or-treating and they get a full-sized candy bar, it is THEIR CANDY BAR. It really pissed me off when I heard this older gentleman (if you could call him a gentleman), after peeking into his daughter's pumpkin, exclaim, "Looks like daddy's going to have to have that one!" It's one thing to have your kid willingly give you candy if you ASK for it. It's another completely different thing to start picking which pieces you're going to take without asking. If you want candy, dress the hell up. I give candy to anyone with the guts to masquarade on Halloween. Don't use your kids as an excuse to get fatter. You have money. You have a job. Kids remember the year daddy took their only full-sized chocolate bar. You'd do well to remember that.
All-in-all, this year was a great success. I did have fun giving out candy in spite of the rude kids and even more rude parents. My husband and I got compliments on our costumes, our goodies, our pumpkins, and his gingerbread house. We handed out over 120 full-sized candy bars and probably 100 snack-sized bars. (Good stuff mind you-- I only buy what I like to get stuck with afterwards). I gave out all my play-doh and all my gliders. I even gave out some stretchy frogs.
It was a good night.
I think we called it quits 'round 8:45 or 9:00 pm. Cleaned up, packed up... went home.
Photos:
Above: Me at my in-law's house getting the cauldron ready for the "kiddies"
Above: My pumpkin lit-- It's Tim Curry's character, Darkness, from the movie Legend
Above: My husband's Gingerbread House.
<---- Say "Hi" to Phillip! ^^
