Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!

Well, this is one of those holidays that we as Americans have fun celebrating but it is sometimes in direct opposition to what some people believe Christians should be participating in. We have decided that we would participate, or maybe I decided because it is fun to dress up and get candy and it is all in good fun. If we cut all of these "celebrations" out of our lives, the first one to go definitely should be Christmas because of the way it is commercialized and the focus is no longer on Jesus and his birth, but on what presents will be under the tree. I heard on the radio today that Americans spent 5 billion dollars on Halloween this year. I was slightly shocked and pretty appalled at the expense we go to for one silly holiday. One way I believe as a parent this commercialism can be somewhat squelched is to give far fewer presents to my child and give used if at all possible. This takes the focus somewhat off of the presents at Christmas time. As for Halloween, use items to dress up in that you already have around, or can find at a garage sale, or buy a used costume at a garage sale!

Matt and I have only bought Noah a few Christmas presents ever...Last year I know Noah opened "big boy" underwear which he didn't even start using until a few weeks ago. He also got socks and maybe an outfit the year before... This year I got Noah some Spanish books at 70% off from Usborne books and a mickey set of Tupperware. Anything else he gets will be from relatives and I am hoping they will try to buy used. This saves stuff from ending up in the land fill, and saves money that can be spent on helping feed and clothe those less fortunate than Noah, which is probably 98% of the world and even some people in this country. If any one would rather make put money towards college for Noah that is ok with me too!

Anyway, on with the Halloween festivities that took place at the Bolin household. We carved a pumpkin -or "mar-urn" as Noah calls it, on Wednesday. This was our first time carving a pumpkin since Noah was born. He wasn't too interested in pulling out the pumpkin guts, but he did a great job sorting out the pumpkin seeds. I roasted them later that night and Noah loves snacking on them.





On Thursday, we went Trick-or-treating in Clarksville. Noah dressed up as the cutest scarecrow you ever did see. But something was wrong, and Noah looked like a cowboy instead of a scarecrow...He was missing his black nose!
Cousin Nick went as a cow and we had fun having Nick with us. Then Friday morning we dressed up again and went to the library for story time and we put some cheeks on Noah too. I think he looks cute all three ways, but I am the mom! It was a fun adventure...what can we dream up for next Halloween? total costume cost: $6 Maybe we can beat that next year!

We also took come more fall leave pictures and Matt took one of Noah taking a snooze in my arms...this was at 5pm after he refused to nap for the day...he finally succumbed!

What did you do for Halloween, and do you have any ideas for toning down the holidays?

3 comments:

Whitlocks said...

What a cute little scarecrow! I totally agree with you on all the holiday stuff. If I can't find or make a costume for under 6 or 7 bucks it ain't happening. I'm always back and forth about Halloween. Isaac will never dress up in anything scary or occult feeling. As far as Christmas, I definitely think less is more. We are leaning toward not doing Santa. And we definitely agree with keeping the number of gifts down. I've always thought a good way to tie in the real Christmas story is for kids to only get 3 gifts(from us anyway...I can't control relatives!) because there were 3 mentioned in the Bible. Anyway, sorry for such a long comment:)
-Katie

JK Williams said...

I also agree with the holiday stuff and how cute Noah was. Josh's Dad always did a cool thing for Christmas and I think Josh and I will also do it with Landon and any future siblings he has. Josh's Dad gives a donation in a equal amount that he spend on each child. Sometimes the kids have helped get things to donate with the money to give to others. Whether it is money or gifts the kids knew part of their Christmas present was giving to others. Josh and the other Williams children have always said they remember that more than any of the gift they received from Mom and Dad. Both Josh and I didn't have "Santa" gifts and we will most likely do the same as well as few gifts from Mom and Dad. And the gift our kids get will be practical-learning things, clothes, other necessities. We can save the toys for relatives and friends. I really like the 3 gifts idea Katie!

Heather and Her Guys said...

Great post Ashley. I know you are a fellow garage sale queen. Asher was Tigger this year, a clearance item from last year. Last year he had a giraffe hand-me-down costume. Next year he will be a monkey, thanks to cousin Katelyn and her cousin who wore it the year prior. I mean they only wear the costume what once, maybe a few times. Since we typically dress Asher in items "new to him" that are handed down from family or purchased cheap at garage sales, we do buy him three things for Christmas. He gets something to wear, something to read, and something to play with. I know it's hard for others to not buy toys and stuff for kids. The funny thing is that when you ask people what they really want at the holidays, they usually just say special time with their family and friends. Can't wait for some cookies and quality time!