Halloween is a holiday I have come to enjoy and embrace having started to partake in all the festivities after moving here from the USSR at the age of 11. I was not so enthralled with Halloween as a tween and then a teenager having been too old to find and see the magic of it all.
The very magic that I didn’t have a chance to embrace as a child, I am helping my kids embrace as a parent. This is also the first year that we were able to all join in on the trick-or-treating and everyone enjoyed the experience. It helped that, despite living in the city, we picked the most beautiful neighborhood and street to visit. The residents on Delancey street in Society Hill really go out of their way to decorate their homes and get involved with the trick-or-treaters. Many residents dress up and sit out on their front steps to hand out candy and engage the kids in conversation. I will never tire of saying that I am charmed by Philadelphia, Society Hill, and Old City, especially. Old, cobbled streets, quiet and stately homes the facades of which have changed little since they were first built in the 17th and 18th centuries. These homes are that much more charming decked out in full Halloween glory.
The girls enjoyed more than one celebration having been invited to a friend’s halloween party over the weekend complete with a scary story under a blanket and decorated treats. Until next year when we can get creative with new costumes and maybe make my nephew’s suggestion, that I wear a kangaroo costume and have Eliza be a pouch baby, come true.