Mahem and Malarkey

In the days leading up to Halloween a few people had mentioned to me that this festivity was becoming popular over here.

Early Halloween afternoon the girls and I headed down to the Mayhem and Malarkey event in the village. There was puppet making, face painting, fortune telling and spell casting. It was expertly organised by a local theatre group, the props were fantastic and it was all free! It was the spell casting that got me laughing. Resembling Beetlejuice, this guy encouraged the kids to pull the limbs off a Barbie (cheap version) and throw them into a smoking cauldron. He then took to her golden mane with a pair of scissors, snipping away till he revealed her bald spot! He then feed the final ingredient (her head) to his pet rat who ate it then spewed it into the cauldron. Very entertaining!



With kids' faces painted, we headed home. The girls sorted their costumes out and I made some eye ball treats. Being the sort of person who usually over caters in the lolly department when it comes to birthdays and that sort of thing, I felt quietly confident for the onslaught of trick or treat-ers.


After leaving Steve at home with a bowlful of lollies and the location of the hidden stash, I took to the streets of our neighbourhood; my Vampire, Devil and Angel leading the way. It was low-key to begin with. The girls got a few treats and I got to meet a few neighbours. As we continued we crossed paths with other groups of ghastly kids. In no time at all there were groups of kids everywhere, escorted by spirited parents.

I had totally underestimated the popularity of Halloween in NZ - well at least here in Mt Eden. My "hidden stash" was drained completely. Long after the girls and I returned home the trick or treat-ers continued. Everyone really got into the spirit of it all - the costumes were great, and every kid who came to the door was well-mannered.