Happy Halloween

Witches Hat cookies for the school bake sale. 

Last Thursday we were celebrating Diwali, this Thursday it's Halloween. The girls went off to school this morning brimming with excitement in their book character costumes (no scary costumes allowed, book characters only) carrying plates of witches hats and monster eye cookies. As Friday is part of our weekend, we'll take the kids to a Halloween party with some other school friends instead of trick-or-treating. 

From October to December there seems to be something each week to celebrate in Dubai - Eid, Islamic New Year, Diwali, National Day and Christmas. Then there are the sporting events - Cricket, Formula 1 and the Rugby 7s. It's a non-stop busy time. But I like it.

I know Halloween can be a little controversial in Australia, but I think it's a whole lot of fun. What's so bad about dressing up and eating lollies? The kids were all so excited at school this morning. There were more than their fair share of Spidermans and Elsa's, but there were also some fantastic original costumes too – one little boy came as Max from Where the Wild Things Are, such a simple costume, a grey tracksuit with a hoodie, a cardboard gold crown and a tail and he looked fantastic. The girls went dressed as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and The Little Witch. Lil-lil's ruby red slippers were made by covering her normal shoes with shiny red wrapping paper and attaching it with contact – you could hear her coming from a mile away but she looked great.

I always try to explain the holidays they are celebrating and their significance, so I was amused to over hear this conversation recently between the girls:

"What's Halloween for?"
"I dunno. It's not Christian, Muslim or Hindu so it must be Jewish or Buddhist I think."

I hope your Halloween is full of treats and very little tricks. Happy Halloween!