Happy Halloween

I really enjoy Halloween, and hope you're having fun, too.  Nope, I'm not dressed up, and my yard isn't full of pumpkins and spider webs.  I love answering the door, seeing the children, and saying hello to the parents.

We're acquainted with a lot of our neighbors, meeting them when we walk our dog, who is a cute terrier mix mutt.  In our neighborhood, there's a great elementary school, so we have lots of little ones.

Instead of candy, I like to give out other treats.   Sometimes I choose the items, and sometimes I can get one of the boys or John to help shop.

The best thing I ever gave out was Little Little Golden Books - just like the ones we had as children, same stories, but tiny, about 2-1/2" square.  They were inexpensive, adorable, and the children loved them.  Unfortunately, I can't find them any more, and I'd like to find something similar.

We started out giving out glow sticks and glow necklaces, which the kids liked, and the parents appreciated the safety factor.  Gradually, our neighbors started taking their kids out much earlier than they used to, so the glowing items didn't appeal to me as much.  Besides, I kept finding duds - if they get shaken around, it starts the chemical reaction and they end up dark on the big night.

With that in mind, the next year we purchased little gliders, cars, bouncy balls, and sparkly necklaces. The kids liked them okay, but the year we discovered long, stuffed snakes from Oriental Trading, we found the new favorite.  We had an assortment of choices, and the snakes went first.  Both boys and girls absolutely prefer them over anything I've given out since the tiny Golden Books.