Halloween has always been a special holiday for us.
It's the Adorable Girl's birthday -- thus the day we became parents (somewhat fitting for a day celebrating the weird, wacky and often scary ;).
And, when we were in America, it was tradition for us to host a big party for the girl with all of our friends and family and the occasional Harry Potter character invited.
We love this time of year.
Since we've moved, I've been very curious about how New Zealand does Halloween.
It's a rather new holiday for New Zealanders to celebrate. Most adults I've talked to know about the American traditions of dressing up and going trick-or-treating from watching movies or reading books based in America. They tend to have a very romantic view of the whole thing. But it's not something they did as kids here.
As parents, however, they are getting more into it.
The holiday has been gaining in popularity, and trick-or-treating is becoming more common -- though it's definitely not on the same scale as the U.S. (By the way, you folks back home contributed to more than $15 billion spent on the holiday this year. Wowser!)
Some Kiwis are still skeptical. I've had more than one parent ask me why I'd let my kid ask a stranger for candy one day a year. (Um, because it's awesome??) And I have to admit, it seems kind of weird when phrased like that.
I read a highly opinionated article in the local newspaper expressing concerns about Halloween promoting childhood obesity. "'Eating in general has become a minefield,' [the expert] said. And events like Halloween, Christmas and Easter could create anxiety for children, he said."
Hmm....seems a little extreme. I know my kids aren't counting calories yet.
But in other ways, New Zealand is quite Halloween friendly. You can find costumes any time of year at the innumerable Chinese junk stores around town -- and I've bought my fair share of super hero masks at these places since we've arrived.
A number of organizations -- churches, malls, etc. -- hold Halloween (or faux Halloween) parties similar to what you'd find at home during the last week of October.
But what we were looking for is the traditional walk-around-the-neighborhood-with-your-paper-bag-asking-for-candy event. The kind of thing we did back in America. And, thank God, we found it.
Around 5 p.m., we headed out in our neighborhood to scout some treats. We were a ragtag team: a giant birthday cake (the girl), Captain America (the boy), a very majestic queen (the girl's friend) and a baseball player (her brother) accompanied by two old lady witches (the moms) and a little dog in a banana costume.
We had a blast walking down THE street -- there was just one good one -- and collecting candy from nice neighbors along the way.
It was quite different from the American experience in that it was still daytime here -- sun out, bright, total daylight -- and kind of hot. (Remember, it's spring and not fall in New Zealand so everything "feels" a little different.)
Instead of the porch light indicating a trick-or-treat friendly home (too bright outside for that), people hung an orange balloon on their mailbox to encourage little ghouls and goblins to stop by. Some people even hung out a sign with the balloon saying what hours they would be available for trick-or-treating. Something like, "Come back at 6:30 when we get home from work." I found that to be kind of sweet.
The kids and the costumes were just like what you see back home. A lot of super heroes and Hogwarts' wizards, pumpkin faces and princesses and, of course, those white Scream masks that still freak me out every time I see them. Kids are kids are kids... wherever you are in the world. :)
A few homes along the way got really into the spirit and decorated with spiders and cobwebs and creepy stuff. One home we stopped by was super creepy -- like, the kind of creepy you come across when driving around back roads in West Virginia (no offense, Paul) -- but I don't think that was intentional. We didn't stick around there for long...
Most people were very generous with the candy they gave out, especially considering the price of, well, everything here.
Captain America had a hard time picking what he wanted because he didn't recognize any of the brands. He always went for the tried-and-true M&Ms if given the choice. (Take a look at some of the haul. Do you recognize these candies?)
He fizzled out pretty early in the night, so he and I started for home and let the birthday girl continue on with her friends. She had a blast, and people LOVED her costume. So many folks commented on it -- which made her very happy.
The night ended back at our house where we sorted through our candy, had some birthday cupcakes with our friends and rode out the sugar high until bedtime.
I'd say it was a good night -- and that Halloween in New Zealand can be just as fun as in America. Though we missed seeing our friends and family back home, we had a good day. And the girl had a good birthday.
And that's what makes this old witch happy :)
