We have changed our Halloween traditions in the past couple of years. When our children were younger we thought it would be fun to pass out candy to all the kids from the neighbourhood. Unfortunately, some of the costumes that would show up on our doorstep were way too creepy for our young ones and we didn't want to encourage any more nightmares. So we started a fun tradition with two other wonderful families where we would all go out to supper together and then go back to one of the other family's homes to have a candy hunt with flashlights in the dark. We had a great time and have fun memories from those years!
Last year we decided to start trick or treating again in our own neighbourhood with some of our friends on our block. In order to all get to go as a family, we placed a large bowl of candy on our front porch along with a "please take two" sign for those kids coming to our home to collect candy. We had a great time with our friends and meeting some neighbours we had never seen before.
This year we decided to do the same, only with more of our friends on the block. I think it was quite shocking for ten children to show up at one time for some of the neighbours, but it was so cute to see them all walking (or running!) together. Emma (a.k.a. Rapunzel) and Hop-A-Long Bob stayed at the house this year to pass out candy. After candy collecting, we all came back to our house for chili and hot apple cider (no photos, as I was busy passing out candy). Here are a few highlights...
This special lady was the main speaker. Her name is Linda Graham and she wears a silver cross for her son, a Canadian soldier (and Olympic athlete) who was killed in Afghanistan in 2006.
One especially moving moment was when the Hamilton Children's Choir sang "Dream a Dream" and five or six of the choir members stepped down from the stage, found a veteran, joined hands with that person and sang to them.
The boys had the honour of having a photo made with a British soldier who served in Afghanistan.
