Happy Halloween?

Did you have a Happy Halloween like the greeting demands?  We did!  Trick-or treat was in our neighborhood last night and despite the rain and low temperatures we had a great time!  Emma was a spooky goblin, Ella was a witch and Joshua a werewolf!  There was a generous amount of neighbors contributing to the candy collecting and passing out and I was thrilled with the positive experience! They came home with piles of candy!

So many things I read I notice that everyone has to use caution if you will when they talk about Halloween.  I see schools calling Halloween parties "Fall" parties now and encourage children to leave their costume at home.  The curriculum I use to educate my kids had an optional lesson yesterday for Halloween.  It read "If you don't celebrate Halloween, discuss Autumn as the season with your child."  Really?  Why do we have to over-think everything nowadays?  Can't it just be?  I just saw reply to a facebook post about Halloween that read "Sorry, we don't celebrate Halloween because we are Christians."  So instead of this person just not posting, she had to put it out there for everyone to see and in my opinion, make families feel like they are doing something wrong.

We went trick or treating last night and dressed up as spooky characters!  It was fun for the kids to think that they were scary and could play tricks on friends.  And then when it was all said and done we  prayed before we went to bed and thanked the Lord for such a fun, safe evening.  We thanked Him for all the sweet treats and expressed our love for all He has done for us.  So there...we're Christians too!

If people would take the time to research what they are preaching, they would realize that the origin of Halloween actually has Christian roots.  Everything in America does as we are a country founded on Christianity.  You can't hide from God, he is the root of everything.  We often times forget that as a servant to God he asks us to be accepting of everyone and not to judge others.  In my opinion, it's OK to trick or treat and by keeping it from your kids you are going to create even more of a complex within them over Halloween.  It's all in fun and indeed, it's fun!  The kids ate candy for supper last night and they are eating candy right now!

<rant over>

Anyway, on a more helpful note:  Over the years we have accumulated 3 totes full of costumes!  Last year I bought 4-5 costumes on clearance (and by clearance I mean $0.75!).  Just like with any holiday, Halloween merchandise is marked way down after the holiday is over.  Wait a couple of days though for the best deals!  This will help you to not overspend every year on costumes and accessories!  Another fun way to save money is the old fashioned make it yourself option!  If you are creative you can make an original costume on a dime!