It takes a village. Or maybe a newsletter?
Each month, we'll bring the best stories from parents on raising their CBC Kids. | | | BY SUZANNE GARDNER | Since early September, my family has been eagerly awaiting the arrival of our favourite seasonal neighbourhood duo: Jack the Pumpkin King and his “Silly Friend." When they finally made their appearance at the top of our street a few weeks ago, we knew what we were doing after dinner that night: a spooky walk.
Over the past few years, the houses in our West Toronto neighbourhood have become increasingly Halloween-ified each autumn, which has led to my family of four creating this special fall tradition.
These after-dinner strolls aren’t just good for digestion — they’ve given us an opportunity to connect with neighbours and created memories that seem to grow with every Halloween. | | | Take Jack and Silly Friend, both looming well over 12-feet tall at the house on our street corner. Both my kids love The Nightmare Before Christmas, so they instantly adored having a giant Jack in the neighbourhood.
My four-year-old, though, was not so sure about Jack’s monster companion.
I’m not even sure who this creature is supposed to be — he’s naked like a skeleton with glowing eyes, but instead of traditional bones, they look like they’re made of wood. He looks like a scary version of Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy. | | | "With baseball fever ruling our house this October, my seven-year-old designed our biggest display yet: a Blue Jays-themed one with skeletons, bats, gloves and all." | | | To try to calm my little one, my husband decided that since this monster had no clothes on, he was obviously silly, not scary. He even gave it a voice, saying giggle-inducing things like, “Oh no, where are my underpants?!”
Now instead of avoiding that street corner, my youngest is constantly dragging his dad over there to tell him what Silly Friend is saying.
Finding new decorations in the neighbourhood is part of the joy each year. A few weeks ago, I happened to take a different route home, and instantly knew that I had to take my family back there once the sun went down.
My eldest also loves knowing which houses are likely to be the best for trick-or-treating, because to him, lots of decorations = good candy. | | | The Blue Jays meet Halloween this year | | | | | | | The tradition has even inspired us to up our own Halloween decor game. What started with a few tasteful decorations, has now led to my kids begging us to add more and more every year.
With baseball fever ruling our house this October, my seven-year-old designed our biggest display yet: a Blue Jays-themed one with skeletons, bats, gloves and all. And his best assistant? His dad.
It’s especially sweet watching him get into it for our kids, since he didn’t grow up celebrating Halloween. In the early days, I think he was mostly humouring the rest of us, but now he’s usually the first one to get us out the door.
But the walks don’t end when Halloween does. As the Halloween decorations are replaced with lights and inflatable penguins, our walks continue just with warmer layers and a new name: holiday walks.
And who knows? Maybe when spring rolls around, it’ll be the perfect time to transition into: flower walks. | | |  | | Suzanne Gardner is a writer, editor and social media specialist based in Toronto. One of her favourite Halloween costumes was when she dressed up as Kimber from Jem and the Holograms. Also, GO JAYS GO! | | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
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