The four-year-old
approach: Knock on door. Wait patiently by hopping from one foot to the other.
Knock again, just in case they didn’t hear you – which must be the case since
the door didn’t open immediately. Shout trick-or-treat as loud as possible for
this obviously hearing-impaired person. From there, the approach differs
depending on the giver-of-treats. If they place a treat into the receptacle,
then the four-year-old, having had good manners drilled in to them since the
beginning of time (or so it would seem), turns on his or her heel and is
prepared to launch off the front step. Only to be stopped by the hairy eyeball
being given to him or her from the above mentioned drill sergeant. He or she
then usually turns, and (still shouting) quickly thanks the treat giver. The
other approach is when the bowl of treats is offered up and the giver of treats
instructs the four-year-old to “help themselves”. These people are obviously
not familiar with small children and their affinity for treats. At this point,
the four-year-old is known to grab enormous handfuls of candy and shove them
into his or her bag or (in this case) cauldron. This is done at the speed of
light for one of two reasons; they believe that if they are quick enough, they
may be able to go in for a second scoop. OR they are afraid that the giver of
treats may change his or her mind. The second scoop is usually halted by the
parent, but sometimes encouraged by the giver, so it is certainly worth the
effort. It should be mentioned that all of this takes place with an
ear-splitting, contagious smile, interspersed with giggles of glee.
And now for
the two-year-old approach. This approach is generally a bit more cautious. For
our two-year-old, it was his first experience. It went something like this:
Follow older sibling. Warily eyeball every and all jack-o-lanterns. Steer clear
of every single stuffed man, zombie, scarecrow, or other porch decoration. Grip
Mamashunga’s hand in a circulation inhibiting vice grip. Knock on door, and
immediately say trick-or-treat – regardless of whether or not the door is open.
Gaze in awe at the enormous bowls of treats that the givers hoard inside their
houses. Watch in wonder as they place some of these treats in your cauldron.
Politely say “tank you” to the givers, with minimal prompting from the mama or
papashunga. Exclaim “That was fun!” in between each house.
What a fun
adventure! My minis LOVED trick-or-treating. Despite the rain. Did I mention it
rained? Well it did. The whole time. Nobody seemed to notice though. Except for
the papashunga and I. We definitely noticed. The minis visited about eight houses
in our neighbourhood. They laughed, giggled, skipped, and exclaimed the whole
time. It is worth mentioning that the bouncy four year-old, in all her excitement, still managed to wait for her little brother to arrive on the porch beside her before commencing her frantic knocking. I am so glad that we live in a place that allows them the opportunity for
this adventure. I am thankful for all the people that went out of their way to
decorate their houses with spooky decorations. Who went to the store and
purchased over-priced mini treats and then patiently endured having their
doorbell rung over and over throughout the evening. And for those who went that
extra bit and dressed up themselves to enhance the trick-or-treaters’
experience. It worked. We were out for a grand total of maybe twenty minutes.
But it takes less than that to form long-lasting happy memories. And in that
time, we also collected a small mountain of treats that the minis promptly
enjoyed. (After having them checked over by the mamashunga, of course). The
rest has been confiscated and will be rationed out periodically over the next
few weeks…to all four members of the household.
Teeny Rant:
We only had
a couple of trick-or-treaters at our house. And I must say, they needed some
work on THEIR approach. I strongly believe that all trick-or-treaters should
arrive in costume. Dressing as yourself is not a costume, nor is it funny, or
clever or even mildly amusing. It is lazy. Furthermore, when the door is
opened, I believe that all trick-or-treaters are obliged to SAY
“trick-or-treat.” To reinforce these beliefs, I am one of those annoying people
that queries “what is your costume?” to the kids without costumes and cast them
disapproving looks as they give me some bologna about what they are wearing. I
am also that lady that stands at the door and looks expectantly at the
trick-or-treaters on the porch until they actually utter the words
“trick-or-treat”! I mean, come on! You are twelve – you know the expectation! (Exceptions
are made on both counts for the wee visitors still learning the ropes, of
course.) I have even been known to start conversations about the weather as I
wait out that tiny little phrase that rewards you with treats. Maybe that makes
me a grump. I’m ok with that.
I can totally picture the bouncy 4 year old and the "that was so fun" 2 year old! At least there were no "spooky men in anyone"s backyard" :)
ReplyDeletePS Love your writing style...looking forward to reading more!
Me to!!! Such fun to read and your adventures make me feel like time has gone by way too fast as my kids are just a bit older than yours.... Sniff sniff. Jane passed on your blog info to me. Thanks. I also blog and absolutely love it.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much ladies, glad you are enjoying it!!
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