Too much Halloween (but the kids aren’t complaining!)

There, I’m done with Halloween. I know, it’s not until tomorrow – but still, I’m done with it. I’ll open the door and pass out candy while my husband goes trick-or-treating (with the kids, I think), but otherwise I’m Done.

pumpkin carving is a serious business, bandannas required

  

Friday we headed to Taylors for Enchanted Tracks. At the Greenville County Rec area “Pavilion,” the Safe Kids Upstate sponsored event was billed as a fairytale trick-or-treat experience. Typically the Thursday through Saturday before Halloween, the kids get to trick-or-treat with some of their favorite fairytale (read Disney) characters and play carnival games in a safe environment. We paid $5/child in advance ($7 at the door) and had a great time – but it would have been better had it not been freezing outside. The temperatures really dipped for a few nights only, and I regretted not taking gloves and snowsuits for the boys. They most enjoyed the ride on George the Train*, which looped around and through the woods for a spooky but not scary treat for children and adults alike. The lines were not too bad, although certain carnival games and the train proved a longer wait. I felt slightly let down by the treats, as I had been led to believe there would be more non-candy treats like stickers and trinkets, when in fact it was almost 100% candy. We might return next year, depending on the weather.

Saturday it was a neighborhood block party, complete with Halloween parade, giant blow-up bounce house/slide, chili cook-off, tons of games and good food. It was spooky how exhausted we were afterwards.

Sunday it was off to Boo in the Zoo. We went last year and learned a good lesson; buy tickets beforehand. This year we probably avoided a good hour’s wait in line by jumping in the "pre-purchased" line, and it was shortly after the gates opened (albeit on the last day of this two-weekend event; for more information on cost, times and schedules please visit the Greenville Zoo’s homepage). However last year I remember the crowds diffusing once past the front gates, this year it was crowded! It was hardly worth the wait to try and see any of the animals (since we are there almost once every two weeks anyway), and if it hadn’t been for all the amazing costumes I would regret going. The boys came home with a bag full of candy and little Halloween trinkets (which have mostly broken in the 48 hours since) as well as a couple of cans of Pepsi. Yeah, Pepsi. If we go next year I will buy tickets in advance and we’ll go the first weekend of the event.

Happy 1st birthday Kiko!

Yesterday we had tickets to SC Children’s Theatre’s “Tell me a Story Costume Party.” We enjoyed the Pirate production early this fall and often go to storytime, so knew we would not be disappointed with their Halloween Boogaloo! The boys (skeleton & dinosaur) stared wide-eyed as witches, robots, princesses and animals (and a full McDonalds set: fries, burger & shake) arrived, and listened with rapt attention to the two stories read and enacted. Audience participation and a Halloween parade got the kids moving, and children didn’t leave empty-handed; each participant received a Halloween-themed finger puppet to take home. I hope the boys want to go next year!

I was disappointed the Roper Mountain Science Center didn’t put on their environmentally-themed “Green Halloween” this year, but I’m not sure we would have been able to squeeze in another event. It’s lucky the boys haven’t overdosed, although the rate of sugar consumption in this household has increased in the last week. Let’s see if we can make it through the actual holiday to the weekend… Oh, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Bū-čas!

Had to put this one in here Monique...

* George the Train was originally built by the Kiwanis Club in 1952 and ran in McPherson Park (then known as City Park and just around the corner from our house) until the 1960s. In March of 2001 the Greenville County Rec department brought it back to Greenville from Hattiesburg Mississippi, and it's been running its route at Pavilion ever since.