Halloween is not at all a big deal in France. You may get a few trick-or-treaters. I think the bell rang, maybe, six times? And of course there were the sweet little pumpkins with their fathers, as well as the gang of pre-teens in masks who started reaching into the candy bowl themselves, shoving each other to get a better fistful. And of course they don’t even say something cute like “trick-or-treat.” There is just a growling chorus of “bonbons” without even so much of an “if you please.”
I’m a lame American mom because I only took my kids trick-or-treating one year when there was an organized venture with the American moms in a nearby town, where I could be sure of being welcomed. In my own town, I can’t be bothered with this shadow of the holiday that I’m used to.
But one thing is for sure – kids like to dress up, and they don’t need an excuse to do it. The kids were going to Centre yesterday and there was a Halloween party there. That meant costumes!
Of course my boys were not happy with the expensive high-quality pirate and knight costumes they already had, so they got a 3€ black cape and became Dracula.
William.
Dracula cherub? He can’t pull off evil.
Gabriel.
A little self-conscious, but so cute.
And then Juliet, who decided to make her own cat costume
with a tail built into her black shorts.
Here are the three together:
Cute!
Hm. The only candy I got this year? Was eye candy.
They could rock anything! How adorable…I mean…scary.
We go all out on Halloween. We used to have a big shindig every year that everyone looked forward to. We had to put the kibosh on it though because our little guy comes first and my liver can’t take all of that drinking…I mean apple bobbing.
Kimberly recently posted…Blended
Yup – Halloween is ALL about the little guy(s).
Oh, they look so cute! Dressing up is always fun, isn’t it? I have a feeling my youngest is going to want to play with his costume for a while, even though Halloween is over. He’s wanted to wear it consistently for the past couple of days. 🙂
Kim@Co-Pilot Mom recently posted…Scaredy Cat
Well at least he’ll get some good use out of it! That makes it all worth while.
Aw, they are cute!
I love Juliet’s boots.
Alison recently posted…Not Talking
I know. That’s the fun part of having a girl.
But boys are often more affectionate, so I love that too.
They are so cute! Their costumes remind me of what we wore when I was a kid…98% homemade with maybe a store-bought cape or hat. SO CUTE!
Katie Sluiter recently posted…Creamy Tomato Soup
Yup, that was us too. 98% homemade!
You may not have Halloween but you also do not have the accompanying sugar high and massive amounts of candy. So I think you win this one!
Hope J. got her Halloween note from her very lazy pen pal Maya. 🙂
Ameena recently posted…more sickness
I think you might be right. Candy is the devil. 😉
She did! She did! Late though, since she was at her grandparent’s. She got it on the day you wrote the comment. Now I need to get Maya’s very lazy pen pal Juliet back into action to write back. We have to get them to meet!
How cute are they! xo
They are adorable.
Jennifer recently posted…31 Days of Cookies – Potato Chip Cookies
It depends on the year here in Magny-les-Hameaux, but last night we ventured closer to the Paris area to meet other American friends for a trunk-or-treat, donuts and Halloween movies. So good to reconnect with our culture. The kids had a blast. And maman did too! 😉
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Hi Maria! Welcome! 🙂
Did you do this through Message? We did that one year but I haven’t seen anything on the forum in the last couple of years. But next year I want to do that because the kids were disappointed that we didn’t trick-or-treat.
They are actually friends from church! Two American families and one Canadian family who talked to the other anglophone parents at their children’s schools and we had a good little group of about 30 cars for a trunk-or-treat. Afterwards a small group of us went back to one of our friends’ home and it was just so nice to reconnect with our American culture and friends.
Whereabouts in France do you live?
Maria Babin recently posted…Sweet Links (a little late!)
How adorable are they? That’s all the candy you need, right 🙂
I’m not into Halloween either, I’m kinda glad it’s over…
Kerstin @ Auer Life recently posted…I’m a Scary Mommy!
Yes, much better for the health! 😉
Adorable! (And the benefit of eye candy over real candy is that it makes it easier to fit into your jeans the next day!)
Kristen @ Motherese recently posted…The Smartest Kids in the World?
I couldn’t respond to your post, but I found the article interesting. Poland has definitely made strides – I knew that. France has lost it’s place and falls to about 17 out of 35. Not great.
Adorable! And I definitely had a few trick or treaters last night with NO costume…because they “ran out of time.” What? Ran out of time being 12?!
Keely recently posted…Johnson’s Baby Intense Moisture Cream (& Cold, Cold Chicago).
You crack me up. Oh those stragglers. Still, they’re kids. So they get a free pass.
Totally reminds me of costumes when I was a kid and they all look adorable! p.s. I want to be your neighbor…this is not my favorite holiday!
Brittany recently posted…Saving Water and Saving Lives with Flush for Good {Win $200 Giftcard}
Yes, you can definitely escape the holiday living here. Just turn out the lights and your kids are none the wiser.
Definitely cute!
anymommy recently posted…The whole village
Adorable.
My boys are older. I MISS those days!! xxx
My Inner Chick recently posted…Keep Holding On. Footage of Kay’s Last Days.
I never had this this when I was growing up in the UK in the 50’s so in some respects I find this Americanisation of Halloween both offensive and amusing at the same time, we were taught to respect our ancestors not to make them a source of fun and ridicule but to honour them which is what I think the French do by going to the cemetries and placing flowers on the graves of their ancestors in memorium then rejoicing in the fact that they have passed on their genes to those rejoicing.
Halloween was also tied up with the harvest festival in many cultures but it was always respectfull not of just the ancestors but of mother nature.
American haloween is just an advertisers dream.
Please feel free not to list this as it is just my opinium
PS
You have the most gorgeous children
Hi Maria,
No, of course your opinion is welcome here. And thanks for the compliment re my children! 🙂
We always learned that the tradition of Halloween comes from a time when people were afraid that the spirit world was unleashed the night before All Saints and so they dressed up to confuse the demons. I found a more complete history here: http://www.history.com/topics/halloween
But in our country we don’t have the idea of a yearly remembrance of all ancestors – at least not that I’m aware of. It might be because our country was founded largely of Protestants and that’s a Catholic tradition? I’m not sure. So Halloween for us was never in place of such a sacred ritual – it was just a chance to have fun. 🙂
Very cute pictures of not-very-scary monsters.
They look adorable! And scary lol.
Halloween is also not really celebrated here as much as it is in the States. My boy has only dressed up with a costume once in his nearly 7 years of life. Yikes! 😀
Maureen@Scoops of Joy recently posted…Let There Be Chocolates Then Detox
Maureen, doesn’t he dress up on a regular basis, just at home? My kids do that all the time!
They look adorable! I think that I would miss Halloween if I were in a place where they didn’t trick or treat or do all the fun stuff that I’m used to. It really is one of my favorite times of the year.
They look adorable! My husband was born and raised in France until he was 12 and remembers the “non existence” of Halloween…he is still so surprised when his French friends now post their Halloween celebrations. Funny how “cool” some of our American traditions have become! 🙂
Lori recently posted…Halloween Costume Memories
Hi Lori! I heard that Halloween peaked a few years ago. And while there is still the tradition, you don’t have everyone out on the streets as was in vogue a few years back. I’m not sure if it will remain or if it will continue to dwindle.