Halloween Fun

On October 20th, we hosted our third annual murder mystery party. It is a game that is purchased and then we invite six other people to come over and participate as characters in this story. The setting was the old west, so we tried to establish this by using burlap as a table cloth and serving dinner in rustic pie tins. Don't worry, they were more clean and disposable than rustic. The game went really well. Each person is given a little booklet and more information is revealed each round. It requires that the players be inquisitive and persistent, good thing we invited one lawyer and two law students. Nathan and I were both able to figure out the murderer, it has only taken us three times to figure out how this game works.

Last night we went to the trunk-or-treat with our friends Jeremy and Sarah. It was great seeing the kids from our ward dressed in their costumes. We couldn't help but mourn the passing of the Halloween of our youth. The kids didn't know what we meant when we said we wanted a trick rather than giving a piece of candy. I realize that the trunk-or-treat is done for safety reasons, but these kids were moving through very quickly. The kids could hardly stand to wait if we had a pile up of more than three kids at a time. They were able to go to 100 cars in less than twenty minutes. Has anyone ever seen how this process has been slowed down a bit or would that be like trying to hold back a wave with just your hands? My strong moral sense and teacher skills allowed me to catch kids who tried to come back for seconds. It did get the better of me though when I got after a four year-old lost fairy before I was able to catch myself.

Jeremy and Sarah are expecting their first child next week. Consequently, the question came up, at what point is it socially acceptable to walk a child around in a costume to collect candy for yourself? We decided it would be okay for them to dress their one year-old up next year and go to some cars. What about Raisin? She will be nine months old and therefore not ready for candy. She will definitely be in costume, but can I send Nathan around for some loot? I am interested in your input and perhaps past experiences.