Sunday, November 1, 2015

Halloween London Style

Halloween day was such a gorgeous Saturday here in London. With Tanner more fully on the mend we headed over to Primrose Hill and let him run a bit. The leaves are falling like crazy and I must admit that while the color isn't quite as dramatic as Stockholm, the size of the leaves is indeed impressive!
Later that afternoon, we enjoyed being spectators to what was one of the biggest spectacles of Halloween I've ever seen!
The lovely hostess
We'd heard that the American sector in St. John's Wood swarms with trick or treaters so when we were invited to join the fun at the home of some good friends, we decided it would be fun to check it out.We never had trick or treaters in Stockholm and rarely had occasion to see little kids dressed up so it was pretty fun to see the energy level (read: OFF THE CHARTS) of the young ones! Lots of ninjas, lots of characters from animated films, princesses galore, and your standard measure of skeletons, witches and ghouls. Our host took the prize with his Captain America/Ninja get up. There's nothing quite like seeing a grown man in a onesy! The spread was a sugary bastion of delicious treats that we indulged in alongside of the kids. After about an hour of pure chaotic joy in the house, the gang was ready to start walking the neighborhood. Again, I had never seen anything like this! Two streets known for well decorated houses with costumed hosts handed out the goods to swarms of children. There was no door bell ringing because the stream of children was so great that the door never closed. Some other friends live at the end of one of the streets and so while we weren't in costume, we did steal some of their candy and sat down on their porch to watch the throngs of children pouring onto their walkway. Tracey made the cutest, kindest witch ever! I was in charge of keeping the candy bowl refilled and could not believe how quickly it was drained even though they were only giving each child one piece.
This was just one moment in many where their walkway looked like this!
It was a fun night marred only the exploding fireworks that set Tanner on edge. Apparently November 5 is a day of explosions here in London as they celebrate Guy Fawkes Day. (Google it. It comes from a thwarted attempt to blow up Parliament so it's a bit ironic that now they celebrate by blowing up stuff).
Today is November 1...hard to believe really. Halloween is over. Christmas decorations are popping up all over time. Soon it will be New Year...great, another night that Tanner hates.  

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