Halloween on lockdown

We’re currently being faced with a winter lockdown and trying to keep four kids entertained so they don’t kill each other and so we don’t have to be constantly shouting at them.

Going for the beautiful walks around us like during Spring lockdown is just not an option with 50mph winds pretty much every few days. All our usual indoor activities are closed, no bowling, no swimming, no ice hockey, no cinema, no planetarium or museums. Nada.

Add to it the huge dose of guilt that comes attached to allowing them (and us) unhealthy amounts of screen time; the age gaps; their mismatched interests and abilities... and you can see how planning the Halloween festivities was not an easy task.

Fin, who just turned 11 this September past, is a horror fan. Proper fan. As much as he’s not been allowed to watch any of the ‘classic horrors’ to date, he’s read so much online and seen so many YouTube videos that he can almost narrate scene by scene movies like ‘Friday the 13th’, ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ or ‘Halloween’.

Every year we have a big dress up Halloween party at home, invite friends and family, and allow for ‘non horror’ costumes as well to please the other three. It’s always a big hit and has become a bit of a family tradition.

This year however Ty, 14 , decided he wanted to spend with his friends. In England they were still with the rule of 6 ao he could meet up with his friends. We still made him participate in the pumpkin carving tradition before allowing him to go back to England and I’ve to say I was super proud of what we achieved, just with markers and knives!

Mine is the cute Bat! ;)

We decorated the house, got some games ready, party foods. We even organised sweets for the kids to trick or treat our own house three times lol!!!!

Fin and I got dressed up and kept saying to ourselves that we make our own fun! We make our own fun!

When JV realised it was going to be just us (JV is almost 11 and ASD, so sometimes it’s a matter of ‘the penny dropping’ quite a bit later) he just point blank refused to get dressed up. And in his full ASD honesty said: ‘I’m not making the effort just for you four!’, Ross then realises he doesn’t even have a costume and Ana says her costume might take HOURS to be put together!

We turned Ross into a zombie (after all you can always be a zombie anything on Halloween), bribed JV to put a blow up dinosaur costume in exchange for snacks and helped Ana with her costume that didn’t really need to take hours! Et voila: awesome Halloween celebrations, four happy kids and Fin finally got to watch ‘Halloween’ while the other two watched ‘Coco’.

We might just make it through lockdown in one piece!