We don’t celebrate Halloween, and I don’t believe in going to strangers’ houses to beg for candy…ok, honestly, too lazy to dress up and go out to do that. See…at least I’m honest. I don’t really care if it’s considered an American tradition, or if it’s too commercialised, and all that jazz. For me, if you do choose to celebrate it, it’s HOW you do it. So like any other tradition and culture that has been a part of Australia or been introduced recently, I’ve decided to embrace it in a fun way – just like Christmas which is supposed to be a Christian festivity – but we still celebrate that, just not the religious part of it. Anyway…if you do want to read more about Halloween and find out the ACTUAL origins, you can read it here.

Back to the story at hand…so this year, I thought, you know what, let’s just do this. Let’s just have our own Halloween party. No, not having to decorate the house up or go trick or treating – told you…too lazy. Instead I made it into a movie night with the kids and we dressed up in whatever characters we wanted to be. Didn’t need to be a scary character, it’s just about…HAVING FUN! I was surprised that even Mr. C got in on it!! Seeing that Halloween falls on a Monday and that’s also Mr. C’s birthday, I decided to have our Halloween party on Saturday – yesterday. The kids cleaned up the living room – something that seldom happens unless you say you’re having a party! And here’s what each of us dressed up as:

Miss 8 – the Monster High doll, Draculaura (yes no fangs sorry)

Miss 9 – the Monster High doll, Laguna Blue (no blue paint but she had the freckles down pat!)

Master 5; the Star Wars obsessed fan as….Anikin, complete with his light saber!

Mr. C – as The Fonz! He had to show the kids who The Fonz was online!

And me as….Padme – for those of you who are not too sure who she is, well, she’s Princess Leia’s mum from the Star Wars Prequel.

Even the kids’ “puppies” got dressed up!

We had an early dinner and for some snacks we had – Darrell Lea Choc Mint Balls, Choc Orange Balls and Milk & Dark Choc Coated Peanuts – YUM!! I loved that these 500g tubs came with a scooper inside – ideal not just for those who do celebrate Halloween and have trick or treaters coming to their door, but for any kind of party really! No icky hands dipping into the buckets! And I also love the fact that now they’re readily available in Big W, just in case there’s no Darrell Lea stores near you.

And for some light entertainment: Spooky Buddies! A movie starring Disney’s “famous” puppies – that is if you’ve watched Airbuds previously. Well, talking dogs are a hit with our kids, so I’m not complaining, and as far as “scary” movies go when you’ve got kids, we can only watch those that are actually movies for kids. So Spooky Buddies it was. Starring 5 cute “talking” puppies, this time, they’re on a scary adventure to try and get rid of the evil Warwick the Warlock and the “Halloween Howl”, the evil dog that steals the souls of dogs from the same bloodline. The pups and their owners have to stop these two evil beings so that the souls from the nether world do not come back and take over the town and in turn – the world! My kids weren’t scared at the “scary” bits, but I would warn though that some images of the Halloween dress ups might scare some children. There were some funny, laughable bits for the adults too, which is great. And yes, I was surprisingly sitting through the whole movie wanting to know what happened at the end.

The kids had a great night, and so did Mr. C and I. It’s amazing how a simple set up can make everyone happy – we were all entertained, and had fun dressing up plus had yummy treats that were just in front of us. Sometimes it’s the simple things that makes things work. So, if you’re thinking of celebrating Halloween, why not give these ideas a try? You don’t have to go all out with the trick or treating, nor do you have to get into the commercialisation bit – just play on the dressing up part! I loved that bit the best!

And now, some fab news – a giveaway…I’m sure you would have expected that right? I’ve got a Disney Blu-Ray and DVD set of the Spooky Buddies (rrp$49.95) and a Spooky Buddies plush toy (rrp$14.95).

To be in the running to win this set, simply leave a comment stating:
What you would dress up as IF you were celebrating Halloween and had to have a costume.

This is open to Australian residents only and only ONE entry per person/per household. As usual, for extra entries, feel free to share this on twitter and facebook and then come back with a separate comment each stating you’ve done so. The giveaway closes on the 12th November 2011. Good luck everyone!