Halloween 2020

2020 has been quite a year, and I really didn't think Halloween was going to be the same. As Fall began, and social distancing guidelines were still in place, I started to brainstorm alternative ways to celebrate. I didn't have to worry too much. Trick or Treating was still on where we live, and the community came together to make it extra special for the kids!

This Halloween wasn't filled with the usual amount of activities, and hand sanitizer was a staple while Trick or Treating, but it went surprisingly well. Actually, I said I preferred the C-vid Halloween! Everyone was in their driveways, extra festive candy tables were set up, everyone was just HAPPY to be out, and it was much more efficient!

There are stressful moments every single day in a big family household, and Halloween was no exception. I was a bit bummed that Dylan went off with his best friend and his girlfriend, but they made a surprise appearance later, and it made my night! Overall, it was a great Halloween, made even better due to the fact that it was on a Saturday! Here's how we celebrated...

The day started early for me, when Coen woke up. He loves to sleep in on school days, and wake up early on weekends, so we REALLY need to work on that! I made the most of it by taking my time sipping my hot tea and conquering my to do list while the little boys played. 

Meanwhile, Lily had slept over my parent's house, and was spending the morning with them, and Grant and Lexie headed out with my shopping list. After we ate breakfast, and I showered, I quickly whipped up a big batch of No-Bake Butterscoth Haystacks for a very small Halloween party later that night. We only had one big activity planned before we had to head out Trick or Treating - carving our family pumpkin!

Earlier this week, the kids and I went to the pumpkin patch, and we picked out our family pumpkin. (I will share that post later this week since it's more Fall-themed.) The girls have been carving small pumpkins all week, but we always carve our family pumpkin together. We settled on a scary face, and the kids all worked together to complete the task! (The seeds were set aside to be roasted later this week!)

After the pumpkin was carved, we cleaned up, and started to gather our things for dinner with Grant's mom, Trick or Treating, and a Halloween party with our close friends. Dylan headed to his best friend's house, we dropped off food for the party so they had it ahead of time, then we went to Grant's mom's house. 

Our new tradition, which the girls look forward to every year, is eating chicken noodle soup at MawNaw's house after Trick or Treating. They love her soup, and think of it as comfort food! This year, we switched things up a bit since Halloween was on a Saturday, and we had a lot more time. We ate before Trick or Treating, and it was so nice. We weren't rushed, and everyone was in a much better mood with their bellies full!

It's hard getting used to Trick or Treating without Dylan, but thankfully, Lexie still wants to join us. Her only request is that her best friend, Lexi, and Lexi's family walk with us. We have been doing that for a few years, and we always look forward to it. It's fun walking with friends!

Trick or Treating was actually a lot of fun. It was more relaxed since it was a weekend, and it wasn't raining, which was GREAT! It was a bit chilly, and we all ended up in coats at some point, but it was a good night! We even got to see the president fly directly overhead in Marine One, on his way to a nearby rally. The boys loved watching it go overhead!

Coen didn't do much Trick or Treating. Grant and I took him up to the tables, and showed him what to do. He was REALLY into the candy, but preferred to sit in the stroller and watch the excitement. Lexie and Lily are pros, and this year, Liam really got into it. He said Trick or Treat, picked up one thing at each house, and said and signed thank you before walking away. I loved watching him tackle it with happiness and enthusiasm!

I noticed that not as many people were participating this year, but the ones who were went all out. The local fire department was even driving around town handing out candy, which Coen and Liam were super excited about! We lasted about and hour and 20 minutes. By that point, it was dark and chillly, Lexie was shoeless, Coen was sleeping, and Lily had to pee. The kids managed to get a lot of candy (and they especially loved the helium balloons), and everyone managed to Trick or Treat safely!

We parted ways with Lexi's family, and Lexie came with us so she could join us for the party and spend the night at our house. We stopped back at Grant's mom's house, and we got a little surprise that made my night! Dylan, his best friend, John, and his girlfriend, Liv, were dressed up and doing a little Trick or Treating, and they stopped in to say hello. 

Once you have teenagers, the Trick or Treating dynamic changes, and they want to go off on their own, or Trick or Treat with friends. It took me a while to accept that, and let go of our tradition of all of us going together as a family. I don't LOVE it, but I do love the fact that all of the extra people who are special to us are part of our holiday celebration. And we do love Liv!

It's very strange having two independent teenagers who are slowly outgrowing Halloween, two little kids who are fully emersed in Halloween, while starting over with a baby! I miss having Dylan with us, but I'm so glad we were all together for a little bit of time. I hope he knows how happy that made me, and that he always manages to join us for just a little bit!

After Dylan, Liv, and John headed back out to get some candy, the rest of us got ready for a our little costume party. I didn't know it was a costume party until a few hours prior, so I didn't have anything. Thankfully, Grant's mom offered up her costume collection, and I put together a Halloween Hippie costume. The girls had fun trying on wigs. Grant's costume, however, stole the show!

We said goodbye to Grant's mom and Nannie, and made the 1/4 mile drive to our friends' new house for a little Halloween party. It was our usual small crowd - AKA our quarantine circle. We ate, we talked, we laughed, and we watched Halloween shows. 

I didn't take more than one picture while we were there. To be perfectly honest, I was exhausted from Coen's early morning wakeup, fighting off a headache I had for days, and the two little boys were WORKED UP despite not eating any candy. 

I wish I had more energy and that the boys had actually fallen asleep so I could really enjoy myself, but no such luck. Instead, the boys were rambunctious. Coen fell and hit his face off the hardwood floor, which resulted in lots of blood and crying. Later, Liam pushed him while they were playing, and he tumbled down the stairs and bumped his head. Then Liam decided to go up to our friends' bathroom, take off his clothes, climb in their big tub, and start filling up the tub for a bubble bath. And that incident happened in a span of three minutes. They're usually well behaved, but the Halloween excitement or the full moon got to them. Luckily our friends are very understanding. Never a dull moment. NEVER. 

Needless to say, we cut our night short, and headed home earlier than planned! Back at home, we admired the circle around the moon, then attempted to get the boys to actually go to bed. But in true full moon fashion, they were WILD, and didn't fall asleep until it was time to change the clocks back. They are great sleepers, so I was ready to lose my mind! Finally, they gave up, and I soon joined them!

Our C-vid Halloween was much better than expected! I'm so glad it still managed to feel somewhat normal. The kids had a GREAT time, and that's all that matters! Happy Halloween!

Did you celebrate Halloween as planned or did you celebrate at home?