Beyond Halloween

I don't like Halloween. Decking children out in costume and sending them to traipse door-to-door to beg for candy just rubs me the wrong way. Or perhaps it was the Halloween when I was forced to clean my plate of a disgusting pile of succotash before hitting the street that turned me off. Or the arguments over the amassed goodies that inevitably erupted between my children during the post-Halloween, chocolate-fueled denoument.

But el Día de Los Muertos I find delightful.

This (primarily) Mexican festival combines All Soul's and All Saint’s Day with the indigenous custom of honoring deceased loved ones. The Day of the Dead is actually several days and involves no zombies and no broomsticks. Instead, beautiful altars (ofrendas) in homes feature candles, wild marigolds, fruit, stacks of tortillas, tamales, chocolate, and big loaves of pan de muerto, bread of the dead. While each region of Mexico has its unique celebrations, tradition holds that the gates of heaven open at midnight on October 31st and the spirits of all deceased children (angelitos) reunite with their families to enjoy offerings of toys and candies. The spirits of adults are believed to visit the following night, taking in the ofrenda’s food, flowers, incense, cigarettes and mescal. November 2nd is often welcomed with an all-night, candlelit vigil in the cemetery, and continues through the day. Families gather to clean and repaint tombs, share food, play cards, enjoy local bands and reminisce about their loved ones.

See what I mean? So much nicer than "Trick or treat, money or eat."

There are many ways to celebrate the spooky season as the days get shorter, the nights get longer and the air gets colder by the day. 

There are a number of great Dia de los Muertos events in the area. For example, you can learn how to make the traditional Mexican skulls at the Sugar Skull Workshop on October 29, and Worldly Wednesdays at the Buffalo Science Museum is also focusing on el Dia de los Muertos on November 2.

And if you're into the spooks and goblins and chocolate version of Halloween, there are lots of fun ways to celebrate for young and old alike.

The Buffalo Center is once again hosting a free, family- friendly Halloween Party & Haunted House on Oct 28, and the WNY Book Arts Center offers the unique Halloween Puppy Parade and Costume Contest on Oct 29. Yes. Dress up both the pups and the kids. What a hoot. Then head down Washington Street to Canalside for the kid-friendly Haunted Halloween Family Fun Lights On Tour. 

For the 21+ crowd, there is no end of adult fun. Kick off the season at the Showplace Theater on Grant at the First Annual Halloween Party on Oct 28. On the 29th be sure to hit Buffalo's Biggest Halloween Bash at the Connecticut Street Armory. You can also head to the Waiting Room for the '90s Rise Again Halloween Bash. Feeling literary? Try the Empire State Poetry Slam & Halloween Bash at the new Barrel House. Boo!

Finally, for all of you DIYers out there, here are some clever Halloween hacks from Lesa Quale Ferguson that will make your homegrown events a cinch.

Fortune Telling

I came up with this idea the year our family dressed up as characters from Harry Potter. I was Sybill Trelawney, professor of Divination. I purchased a spinning, star-light, disco ball at Home Depot. When I tell fortunes, I hold the kids’ hands and put the starry ball between us. The kooiker their future, the better.

For older kids: “I see blood, lots and lots of blood and syringes and needles. You shall be a phlebotomist.” To make parents laugh: “I hear music in future, lots of music and there are songs; I can read titles – Xanadu, Subdivision, Freewill. You shall be the lead singer in a Rush Tribute Band.” For the wee ones: “In your future I see Purple Pigs, B’dazzled Blue Baboons, Razzle Dazzle Rose Zebras. You shall be an Animal Colorist.”

I used other occupations as well, like Haberdasher, Carny, Robber Baron, Releaser of the Hounds, Snake Milker, Tonsorial Artist, Fish Monger, Cow Puncher, and Herpetolotgist.

Another fun way to do Fortune Telling is to have the kids tell the fortunes to parents.

Mummy Bowling

My husband wrapped  #10 cans in butcher paper. He then drew the eyes with sharpies so the mummies looked in all different directions. Then, he lightly glued and swirled toilet paper. We used a small pumpkin as the “bowling ball”.

Pumpkin Mini Golf

There are many mini golf-themed pins on Pinterest that are made from boxes. We carved a Jack O’ Lantern for mini golf. I scored the golf clubs at a neighbor’s house. Make sure to carve a big mouth that will touch the ground on the pumpkin or create a threshold between the pumpkin and the ground. We used ping pong balls for the golf-balls.

A Haunted House Made from Black Boxes and Post It notes

This one is right out of Parents Magazine: “Wrap a few big boxes in black paper and create windows, doors, and a roof with yellow sticky notes. They suggested using black craft paper but bulk wrap is lots cheaper. At first I spray painted the boxes, but the cardboard absorbed the paint and so it needs multiple coats. I ended up using garbage bags. We used post-its for the doors and windows. We dressed it up by adding shutters to make it more haunted house-y and the shutters add that touch of Nathaniel Hawthorne to the proceedings.”

My three-year-old son Cal came to the party as the Big Bad Wolf and he kept huffing and puffing and blowing the haunted houses down. A little disconcerting for the haunted-house-building “piggies” but terribly fun for my Big Bad Wolf.

Pumpkin Painting

One of the original party planners added pumpkin painting to the roster of activities. This year I added glue to the tempera paints. Tempera is washable and child-friendly (acrylics, not so much) and if you add glue it won’t fleck off the pumpkin. I’m not sure parents were thrilled with how big the pumpkins were this year. It’s a challenge to lug large wet pumpkins into the car, so keep the pumpkins small.

Maybe Halloween is not so bad after all.