An American tradition, British-style

To be honest, I'm still not quite sure how Halloween works around here, even a day after the fact. Like many American traditions, the British have begun to adopt Halloween in recent years, but it hasn't quite caught on with the type of fervor we expect in the States. Some people trick or treat in London, others don't, and there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to any of it. The deal seems to be this: if there is a glowing pumpkin outside a house, you're fairly likely to find someone handing out candy there.

Not exactly clear cut guidelines for someone still so confused by nearly everything around here that I require a guidebook, a map and implicit instructions for even the simplest outing. If I'm going to take my children out, in the dark no less, and encourage them to knock on strangers' doors, I want to be damn sure that they're expected there. Alas, it doesn't seem to work that way here. So it was with some trepidation that we set out trick or treating this year; two children bouncing off the walls with excitement and one adult desperately missing the familiar Halloween routine of our old neighborhood.

Thankfully, our new neighbors did not disappoint. Houses with glowing pumpkins were few and far between, and dozens and dozens of costumed children crowded the steps of each one. But the hunt became part of the game, and the distance between destinations actually helped to spread out the excitement and stem the tide of sugar a bit. In an hour's time, my kids got their Halloween fix and collected 10 pieces of candy apiece. They seemed more than content with their hauls and quickly figured out that one piece a night would last them a week and a half. Far more reasonable than the 2-pieces-a-day-until-well-into-December routine, I must admit, and since my kids are too young to even remember that kind of Halloween experience anyway, they were none the wiser about the discrepancy.

In the end, despite my fears to the contrary, Halloween in the UK was a success. That is, it was a success for everyone except me and Paul. It was lovely to see our kids so happy, of course, and a relief to be able to give them this little bit of familiar "American" culture here. But how on Earth are we supposed to raid such a small candy stash???