Doha Halloween 2012

I am proud to say that the people of Doha know how to do Halloween just right!  In the two years past, we have been lucky to have a "carnival" of games set up at the club house, which was a lot of fun.  But this year, Halloween fell during the Eid break, and I guess because no one was here to organize it, the carnival didn't happen.  In fact, I was sort of worried that there wouldn't be many trick or treaters because the compound has been very deserted this week.  I can also only imagine how much work it is to organize that carnival...great respect for the previous leaders and no wish to step up to leading it myself.

Even without the carnival, though, we had a fantastic time trick or treating last night.  Our new friends/neighbors/colleagues came over with this son (precious 2 year old boy who did an outstanding job of being a fully suited-up football player!), we went on an hour-long candy run, and then we treated ourselves to a feast from Turkey Central along with some wooden train-playing time and a good visit.  It was an excellent evening in every way.

The weather has finally "broken" here, and the evenings are now getting very pleasant.  I remember many Halloweens in Texas that we were sweating in shorts and much of any costume (especially plastic masks! ugh!) were no fun to wear. My guess is that it was in the mid-80's last night, which after a long summer of 120+ actually feels wonderful.  And there was a nice breeze. And no sand in the air.  Score!

Here are some pictures...

Hannah was The Tooth Fairy, which was an especially big hit with the real-life dentist who lives on the opposite side of the compound.  He gave her two treats instead of one, just to cement their alliance.  Here, our Tooth Fairy is posing with our Cat Full of Awesome, imported last year from Target and plugged into a step-down transformer so the motor won't get melted by the 240 electrical current here.  The cat is one of those "blow up" decorations with the fan inside, about 6 feet long from tip to tail.  It's lighted head moves back and forth.

This photo just appreciates the chaos of seeing so many kids out in costume.  Not sure where all these little people have been hiding over the past week, but the streets were pretty full!  It's also a lot of fun to have trick or treating among so many cultures and accents: American, English, Scottish, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, French, Russian, Filippino, Jordanian, Lebanese, and many others.

Best quote of the night: Hannah went to her very first house (so her bag was empty), in which a colleague lives with his wife and three kids (Hannah's age and younger).  The Mom is English, and the kids have English accents.  The oldest child, a precocious boy around Hannah's age, put one tiny peppermint in her big, empty bag and said "My mummy doesn't wont yoh tummee tew hut frum tew much candee!"  I can't replicate the accent very well, but hearing that tiny mint echo in that huge bag at the same time this proclamation was made was a funny/cute moment.

Carving pumpkins here remain outrageously expensive (in 2010, we made our own out of papier mache, beach balls, yellow tissue paper, and orange lacquer), and this house solved the problem with a jack-o-melon!  LOVED THIS!  We'll be copy catting next year if I can remember...

This was the scariest house in terms of decorations.  Hannah was brave but still made me come stand by the steps.  It reminded me of the giant (stuffed) spider she used to adore when she was about 2 years old.  She carried that damned thing around all the time.

Hank was our at-home hero, handing out the candy to the hooligans.  That white paper with the jack-o-lantern on it, taped to the door right behind his head, is the "code" that tells our house is open for trick or treating.  When you run out of loot (or if you don't want to participate), then you take it off your door.  A good system!  Hank not only handed out three gigantic bags of candy but also met the Turkey Central delivery person, paid for the food (with money I left), and got it to the kitchen counter ready for us to dig in.  

No photos of the birthday boy.  He was at his friend Daniel's house raising all sorts of Halloween trouble in another compound.  I've had a bad case of the autumn blues (missing home and this time of year...the pumpkin patches, cold fronts, and trees sort-of-changing color), but this evening was a really good boost.