French Halloween

First let me say, I didn't think that the kids would get any candy. So the fact that they got a little bit made them happy.
Before Halloween I asked a neighbor if her 4 and 5 year olds were dressing up. She said they were not dressing up. She thought of Halloween as an American holiday. The day after Halloween is All Saints Day and it is a big family holiday. They don't want to deal with trick or treating the night before.
So, to celebrate Halloween here, you have to be old enough to get your own costume or you need an American mom.
Hello, I am an American mom. How can you skip trick or treating? Childhood would be RUINED if you even skipped ONE year or trick or treating.
Ok, well, I am not that dramatic about Halloween. I just thought it would be entertaining to watch my American children trick or treat in France. And, believe me, it was highly entertaining.

First there were the people who wouldn't answer their door.
In the US, if you are home on Halloween you answer the stinking door (or they know enough to hide!). Otherwise children peer in the window and scream, THEY ARE HOME, I CAN SEE THEM.
Apparently this has no affect on French people. Apparently it doesn't bother them to hear a 7 year old screaming through the window. Then again, that 7 year old was screaming in English.


A neighbor boy, Zach, went trick or treating with us. He didn't wear a costume. He just thought the idea of going house to house and asking for candy sounded like fun. He just skipped the whole costume thing. Whatever.

It was helpful to have Zach along. When the old lady yelled at us. Zach translated - she doesn't celebrate Halloween. At least she answered her door.

Sometimes we couldn't get past the gate. The French loooove their gated yards.


This nice man wanted us to have candy. I think his wife went into the cupboard and found something.



This lady seemed to have a bowl of candy by the door!



Umm . . . this house clearly wasn't prepared for trick or treaters. They handed out cookies. One bag was already opened. I was laughing so hard that I am surprised the picture isn't blurry. As you can tell, the kids didn't care.


Our British expat neighbor forgot it was Halloween. He brought a bag of cookies to the door and handed each kid a cookie.


They do not know all the Halloween rules here. The candy must be individually wrapped. And sterilized. And pasturized. And put through the parent poison test.

Katie passed out candy at our house. We followed all the Halloween candy rules. Even the poison part.


Yeah, the costumes were lame. But it was still a pretty funny Halloween.