What started out as an attempt to get DD and her buddy a playdate which was convenient for them snowballed.  Despite weeks of trying to pinpoint a convenient time for a playdate in the busy schedules of Dubai 8 year old girls, we settled on a weekend evening, and given Hallow’een fell on the start of the UAE weekend this year, what better time to get the girlies together???

Our Hallow’een tradition is usually one where our kidlets and the DD of a good friend traipse through the balmy Ranches for about 2 hours.  Four kids and four adults; the best kind of ratio.  As excited as the kids usually were the only problem used to be keeping up with them as they sprinted from door to door to collect candy treats unbknownst (is that a word?) to them that decay awaited their pearly whites whilst horrendous dental bills featured in my future????

But then I had the idea to invite DD’s good friend from school, and of course, another good friend who lives in our community.  DS1, upset at the inequality of the ‘trick or treating’ invitation list threw a few major hissy fits until I capitulated and extended the invitation to 2 more of his friends.  DS2, oblivious to the politics of candy counting, seemed happy enough for just one of his buddies to come along for the ride.  The cutest of them all, I guess he may have been thinking ‘the fewer kids rocking up at one door means more candy for me!’.  At least, I would like to think that is what was passing through his blond bonce!

11 kids later and I was feeling a little tense, to say the least.

Yes…I hear ya…what was I thinking?  At least that is what DH was saying on loop for a week! Ever the optimist, I continued to think how much fun it would be (or maybe ‘just how bad could it be?’).

This year, with the ratio not quite in our favour, proved to be more along the lines of an ultimate challenge of survival: survival of the kids, most of whom were dressed in black, and who thought nothing of darting across eerily dark roads; and survival of my sanity!

As the gaggle of over excited kids (who clearly did not need any sugar) dashed from door to door, I felt the need to jog to keep up.  Used to performing a ‘Terminator-like’ scan for my 3 whom I can usually pinpont with Google map precision within .74 seconds, I found the same method could not be applied to 11 little people.  After each house visit, I felt the need to do a headcount.  How could I explain a missing kid in the Ranches to some lovely Mum who had entrusted me with her baby for the evening????

The candy search was thwarted by those houses which dangled sparkly Diwali fairy lights from the rafters and front garden trees.  Like moths to a flame, the ghostie kiddies raced to the lit up houses expecting a booty to match the sparkle factor…….with me and helper Mums yelling ‘no, not that house.  Look for the ones with pumpkins!’.

Had I not have had the help of some other Supermums, Hallow’een would have seen me straggle home with a lot more candy than kiddies!