Halloween is barely a blip on the radar of most French people. Elementary schools may docostume parties for the little kids; teens may throw their own costume parties because they like dressing up. But there is no neighborhood trick or treating, you can't buy miniatures of your favorite candies, and I had a very hard time even finding any Halloween decorations. Didn't even see so much as an orange cookie in the bakeries, either.
But we wanted to do something fun for the Garçon since he was coming back today from spending his fall school break with our friends in the Ardeche region.
So we planned an Orange Dinner where everything had to be orange or at least yellow. What you see on our table: turkey cordon bleu, pumpkin soup, surimi, sashimi, carrots, orange baby tomatoes, mandarine soda, and for dessert, clementines, mango and pineapple. Crazy menu, but fun and delicious.
I also planned a candy treasure hunt in the apartment, since knocking on doors begging for sweets is out of the question. This boy now has at least 3 months worth of sugary confections (believe me, rationing goes into effect immediately but he's actually not the type to gorge himself even when it comes to junk food).
I did finally find a few pumpkin streamers and black and orange balloons to decorate... Plus a big rubber spider and a skeleton mask (that's me in there behind those vintage shades). Then I hid candy all over the house, plus Georges and I also hid with bags of candy so he had to find us, too. I had the best hiding place -- behind the bedroom curtains trying not to breathe -- and it took him three trips to search in our bedroom and finally a hint from Georges for the kid to find me!
Happy Halloween to all!
