Halloween
The build up to this night is immense. One-by-one in the weeks and days leading up to Halloween, houses in our street and environs started to transform with Halloween paraphernalia decorations. These included the mandatory stack of pumpkins, orange lights and either scare crows or faux spider webbing adorned across fenches and bushes. Some people, like the house opposite us, spared no expense and had skeletons, spiders, bats, headless bodies, witches, ghosts and other such creatures dangling from every crevice of their 3 story house! We were guilted into going out and buying some Halloween decorations for out house and got some pumpkins, lights, spider webs, couple of spiders and a large bat and witch but were no match for our neighbours.
In fact, it was interesting to see people walking down our street looking at the houses and then literally stop and take pictures at the house opposite ours as they had gone out of control with their decorations - the process of which lasted 3 weeks with additional items going up each weekend! The word on the street was that our place, being a walkstreet, was a major destinations for kids trick-a-treating and they sent kids down here by the truckloads. It was also a no-no to buy dud candy (aka lollies) as you don't want to cop a bad reputation from the fussy kids. Armed with that knowledge, Ev did several shops buying massive bags of candy and even some basic outfits for us. Here are some examples of how overboard some other houses get regarding Halloween.
Mia was very excited about her first Halloween as we had withheld her lollies for all these years and all that good work was suddenly going to be undone by one night! Well, she got a taste of it earlier as they had special pre-Halloween activities at her pre-school leading up to Halloween where they make paper cats and owls and the day of Halloween, they dressed the kids up in their Halloween outfits.
Ev and Mia had fun making the carvings in the pumkins.
On the night, there was a hive of activity in the walkstreets and non-stop traffic of kids wandering to each house and trick-a-treating.
Mia with her friend Ryan from across the street..
We managed to just have enough candy to not turn any kids away but it was a very close call. We let Mia give out the candy at one point as she was better at rationing the lollies than we were. We took turns taking Mia for a walk around our streets so she could get some lollies (which mysteriously disappeared overnight ... eaten by the candy ghost).
Thanksgiving
Probably 'the' major holiday for the Yanks and everyone does their long journey back home to be with family so no one is actually around...except us foreigners who don't wander back home. We had a very nice dinner which we invited our new Aussie friends - Sarah (Aussie) and Greg (American) and their kids Alex and Zack around for Thanksgiving dinner at our place - our first time cooking dinner / entertaining guests at our Manhattan Bch home.
The other thing they really get into here is to have the kids at pre-school dress up in 'thanksgiving' outfits - i.e., like a peasant. Here is Mia looking like an Amish child...pretty funny...
Xmas Fireworks..
There are often fireworks here at different beaches, they have them go off on the piers. Stunning location above the ocean and sand. Mia is warming to them now, but her first, she didn't see too much of as she was too scared. She remembers the time by saying 'daddy kept me safe when we watched the fireworks'..
Christmas
Our first xmas in LA, our first US xmas tree, decorating the tree and recovery on Manhattan Beach ... yes, it is winter in LA...felt very much like Sydney ...
Xmas day..a beautiful 25 degrees!
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