How "A Pile of Leaves" Had a Happy Halloween and Reminds Me of a "Fairy Godmother"

This was Zach’s second Halloween but last year he was just an infant and now he is a toddler. My daughter Fran is enamored with the Fall season and so last year he was a scarecrow and this year he was a “pile of leaves.” This suited Zach well as he loves being outside and he loves nature. He likes to carry something in each hand and they are usually matching objects. So when he goes outside he goes right away to get two leaves, acorns, sticks or stones and then he is on his way.



When Fran decided that Zach would be a pile of leaves she enlisted her Dad to help. She bought a brown sweat suit and some artificial leaves and “Pop” sewed the leaves on the sweat suit. What a creative idea! We didn’t know how Zach would feel about wearing the costume but he always responds to when people smile and clap and as soon as he tried it on, we were all ohs and ahs. He gave us a big grin and we knew we had a deal.


On Halloween he Trick or Treated at neighbors in his condo complex and then at both of his grandparent neighbors. The real fun of the evening came when greeting Trick or Treaters at our house. Our neighborhood is a prime Trick or Treating one and people drive to come Trick or Treating here. The houses are not that far apart, the streets are quiet, and we have sidewalks . This year we had nice weather and we used 12 bags of candy and 40 small containers of play doh. The play doh is a hit, by the way, with kids even as old as 8 and the parents of little ones are very grateful for something other than candy. I also had Halloween pencils and they disappeared with boys and girls in the 8-11 age bracket.


Anyway, back to Zach. Zach would run to the door when Trick or Treaters came and was fascinated by this whole process of holding out baskets for kids to choose from. And all the kids big and small said thank you. Before we knew it Zack was running around saying “Thank You” as clear as a bell. I think he thinks it has something to do with saying Trick or Treat and choosing among candy, play doh and pencils but he would come back inside after children had left and walk around saying thank you. I love it! Not what we expected from Halloween - but certainly a welcome part of it.


Zach was the most adorable pile of leaves I ever saw. He, as always, rolled with the punches and enjoyed the day. It was the best Halloween that I can remember since Fran was the fairy godmother in the costume with the puffy sleeves that Maria Gyuere made for her when she was 4. Now that was a special Halloween too….not a princess but a fairy godmother. I should have known then that my daughter would grow up to be creative and come up with a perfect idea like a pile of leaves for her 17 month old son’s Halloween costume. But then none of us are good at predicting the future – right?


Please share your Halloween experience in the comments for all of my readers to enjoy.