We had a fun Halloween this year. The Netherlands doesn't celebrate it, but the American community at the girls' school coordinates trick or treating in a neighborhood, and it just happened to be our neighborhood. The girls had fun making window decorations and carving pumpkins. The pumpkins were the hit of the evening with trick or treaters; many stopping to take pictures. I guess this seems a strange tradition: buy a pumpkin, carve a face in it, and then light it up. Oh, and don't forget to eat the seeds! Many Dutch neighbors pause at our front patio as they are walking by too.
The girls insisted on being fairies, and not wearing the same costumes as last year, even though I told them no one would know they were 'reusing' a costume. SO, luckily, we were able to create a Snowflake Fairy and a Pink Fairy from dress ups, because Michael's, JoAnn's or any craft stores for that matter, are nonexistent here. Some friends met at our house on Friday night and the dad's took the kids trick or treating while the mom's passed out candy. Allie had a friend join us from Denmark who had never trick or treated before and I'm sure was thinking, "What a strange holiday. Dress up in a costume, run door to door and ask strangers for candy."
Halloween day was a beautiful, crisp fall day. We went to a popular park up in Amsterdam called Vondel Park. It is like Central Park; in the middle of the city, lots of people walking, running, biking, beautiful trees and lakes, and occassional play areas for kids. The girls brought their scooters and we had a nice afternoon exploring the park. On Halloween night, there was another trick or treating in a friend's neighborhood up in Amsterdam, again organized by an American community. Of course we couldn't pass up the opportunity to go two nights in a row! We hopped on the tram to get there and got many looks from passengers. Once again, the girls got more candy and we've been on a sugar high ever since.
We hope you all had a fun Halloween!
No comments:
Post a Comment