This “Thirty Days of Gratitude” thing is going around Facebook right now.  Last year I tried something similar, and it took me around 6 months to post two weeks of grateful posts.  And lately I’m averaging one single blog post a month.

So naturally I’m on board.

I figure if I can shoot for more ordinary and less profound this might be doable.

So here goes:

Day 1:  I am grateful for Halloween.

It might be my very favorite holiday.  The Pinterest possibilities are precious, and this year we created a skeleton veggie tray, jack-o-lantern taco dip, witches hats, and witches broomsticks.

 

Pinterest also gave us the lantern craft idea.  I took Maggie to the recycling center and we did a little dumpster diving. 😉  We pulled out glass jars, which we brought home and scrubbed clean.  We then spray painted them purple, and used paint pens to trace stencils onto the jars.  What an easy project, and a great gift to bring to the Halloween party.  Click here for the templates and instructions.

I also love a good costume theme.  This year the kids wanted to go as their favorite animals:  a lion (Maggie) and a tiger (Sam).  Of course that opened the door for Tess to be a bear, although she wasn’t too happy with it.

Here is our take on the Wizard of Oz theme:  Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

I didn’t sew their costumes this year, but I did have fun with Sam’s face paint.  He was so excited and grateful throughout the process… it was worth every minute!

Through the years we have tried many different Halloween activities around town, but nothing compares to old fashioned neighborhood trick or treating.  Our neighborhood isn’t a hot spot, but luckily we have friends who host parties and let us raid their neighborhoods.

After hitting a few houses with the younger kids, we let the three oldest ones head out solo.  For over an hour.  {Deep breaths.}

I know these kids need some autonomy before we send them to college, but oh my gosh I was nervous!  I thought they would never return, but then the little stinkers rang our bell and nearly fell down laughing as they screamed “Trick or Treat!!” when we answered the door.  They had taken a school backpack, and kept unloading their little buckets of loot into the pack.  They were heavily laden with both pride and candy when they crossed the threshold of safety, and a huge trading session ensued!

I am confident they will never forget these simple times, when they raced the streets without their parents, on a quest for king sized candy bars.  When their safety net involved nothing more than ice cleats strapped to their boots and reflective tape on their jack-o-lantern baskets.

When being a few blocks from us felt like all the freedom in the world.

I know I won’t.