Cole really didn't want to get into his costume. Though he does love a bucket so his orange plastic pumpkin wasn't a hard sell. But conveying the concept of "outfit plus bucket equals candy" was more difficult to get across. All day and for weeks we'd been trying to casually convey the idea that this was something he'd like.
It took until he was sitting in his chair with a mound of grape Nerds spread out before him that he fully realized the potential, I think.
The idea was that we'd get the kids dressed, put them in the stroller, and take the dog for the regular afternoon walk. If we happened to go by a few houses and we happened to convince him to walk up to a few doors then fine.
Things didn't start well. We were halfway down the block before I finally convinced him to give his little Thomas The Tank Engine smock a try. Our street really isn't the greatest for Trick or Treating since we're mostly condos and apartments so we went over one before we started encountering other kids. Mostly the small ones out before dark.
At the first house on the corner, a 3 year old dressed in the same costume (also without the hat, mind you...costume designers take note) was about to knock on the door so a little bit of stranger-tension was sucked away and the two did the first one together.
Cole thought he was somehow supposed to get past the "door guard" and into the house. Then when the nice lady put candy in his bucket he was mildly offended that someone dared put something in his beloved rock carrier. We'd really assumed the worst and expected it would be full of leaves, not candy on the way home.
But he, surprisingly, got the hang of it. And once we asked him if he'd like to eat some of the treasure, it was all over. We probably did 5 or 6 houses before his sister was fussy from being cold and an unwrapped Snickers in the stroller was the first in a string of candy demands before we eventually had to hide the stash in an above-sink cupboard.
Before it was over he managed at least 2 chocolate bars, some Starburst, Skittles, the Nerds, a half-hearted & supervised attempt at a Tootsie Pop, some Whoppers, and then he finally gave up by asking for some milk.
He's yet to ask for the whereabouts of the remaining pieces. Something tells me in a few days he'll be asking to put that costume on again though for a do-over. Either that or he's going to remember that the house on the corner gives you stuff if you climb the steps!
It took until he was sitting in his chair with a mound of grape Nerds spread out before him that he fully realized the potential, I think.
The idea was that we'd get the kids dressed, put them in the stroller, and take the dog for the regular afternoon walk. If we happened to go by a few houses and we happened to convince him to walk up to a few doors then fine.
Things didn't start well. We were halfway down the block before I finally convinced him to give his little Thomas The Tank Engine smock a try. Our street really isn't the greatest for Trick or Treating since we're mostly condos and apartments so we went over one before we started encountering other kids. Mostly the small ones out before dark.
At the first house on the corner, a 3 year old dressed in the same costume (also without the hat, mind you...costume designers take note) was about to knock on the door so a little bit of stranger-tension was sucked away and the two did the first one together.
Cole thought he was somehow supposed to get past the "door guard" and into the house. Then when the nice lady put candy in his bucket he was mildly offended that someone dared put something in his beloved rock carrier. We'd really assumed the worst and expected it would be full of leaves, not candy on the way home.
But he, surprisingly, got the hang of it. And once we asked him if he'd like to eat some of the treasure, it was all over. We probably did 5 or 6 houses before his sister was fussy from being cold and an unwrapped Snickers in the stroller was the first in a string of candy demands before we eventually had to hide the stash in an above-sink cupboard.
Before it was over he managed at least 2 chocolate bars, some Starburst, Skittles, the Nerds, a half-hearted & supervised attempt at a Tootsie Pop, some Whoppers, and then he finally gave up by asking for some milk.
He's yet to ask for the whereabouts of the remaining pieces. Something tells me in a few days he'll be asking to put that costume on again though for a do-over. Either that or he's going to remember that the house on the corner gives you stuff if you climb the steps!