There is nothing more exciting to a four-year-old and five-year-old than the idea of Halloween. My kids love to get “spooked” and dream about filling up plastic pumpkin buckets with gobs of candy. I know it’s a special holiday for them and I didn’t want them to be disappointed.
After the 2020 we’ve had, I was looking forward to Halloween just because I wanted something fun and exciting to happen. Day in and out of virtual school, combined with the uncertainty of the election, the anxiousness of the pandemic, it’s…A LOT. I was hoping that Halloween would be a fun distraction, but in the back of my mind, I was worried that with all of our restrictions in place, it could be a let-down. We’ve all been let down so many times this year.
But it wasn’t.
Halloween felt more magical this year than it has in such a long time. And I know I’m not the only one who felt this way! I saw so many friends post the morning after “Best Halloween Ever!”, “Best Yet!” and it made me think, what exactly made it so great? And how can we keep this feeling going?
Here’s why I think Halloween 2020 might have been one of the best ones yet
- We needed an excuse to laugh and have fun. In five years of trick or treating, I have never seen so many families out in our neighborhood. I cannot explain the happiness I felt just looking around and seeing so many families having fun together. We all needed this night! It felt like a release of the tension, anxiety, and nerves that plague us. I saw adults having as much as their kids and it was just the best.
- We were all just neighbors again. I didn’t know who was voting for who, and at that moment on Halloween, I didn’t need to.
- We came together to make it special. I was blown away by the creativity I saw on Halloween! Everyone had the coolest contraptions to deliver candy to the kids. Neighbors in masks and gloves handing out pre-made bags of candy so germs wouldn’t be spread. Just so much effort to make a special night for kids! Can we bring this ingenuity and creativeness into 2021?
- We all did it together (but socially distanced of course). Something about seeing all of our neighbors out on their porches and the neighborhood alive again (when it seems like it’s been shut down for eight months) was incredible. The sense of community that was reignited was so special. I didn’t want it to end.
This Halloween, I didn’t miss the big Halloween parties with people you don’t really know. I didn’t miss hauling my kids to every Halloween event I see on Facebook (because you know, FOMO). Instead, I soaked in the love and warmth of the people closest to us.
Let’s close out this mess of a year as the people we were on Halloween night: fun-loving neighbors that care about each other and want the best for our community.
