We’ve had some friends visiting from London. It takes a little extra negotiating to keep an eight-year-old, a twelve-year-old and a fourteen-year-old all happy, but it’s been well worth the effort. Our friends wanted to go trick-or-treating, so we’ve been planning things out for the last month or so.
Lilian made herself a Mandalorian helmet out of cardboard, hot glue, and duct tape. Kristian and I gave her some basic advice when she asked for it (and he supervised the spray painting), but otherwise it was all her. I’m so proud of her! She also made the crochet cowl that she’s wearing with it (plus her spear). This kiddo is so creative.
Trick or treating isn’t really a thing here in France, but the idea is starting to catch on more. I mean, free candy. People in Lyon don’t go door to door to houses or apartments, but there are stores that participate. We didn’t trick or treat last year, I’m so glad we had the excuse of younger guests to make plans.
We went to Vieux Lyon (shocker, it’s the oldest part of the city) and the kids ran in and out of the shops. It’s more work than American trick or treating. Not every shop participates, and they hand out much smaller candies. Lilian was a little disappointed that she didn’t get any chocolates (ok, I was too), but I love that they all basically went on an evening-long scavenger hunt.
It took some extra logistical work to get everyone in one place. Yesterday was the third weekend of major protests, so the metro was shut down and the city closed several of the bridges that cross the rivers. Part of our group had gone to the Tête d’Or park and they had to walk most of the way home. I brought the two older kids over to Vieux Lyon and we got to see the plaza near our house in lock-down mode. It’s amazing to walk past riot cops in full gear and then cross a bridge and be surrounded by a bunch of kids happily trick or treating.
I made them stop and take some photos on the way, because how can you not? I think they were annoyed at me for keeping them from the free candy, but that background was just too good to pass up.
The French phrase when trick or treating is “bonbon ou un sort,” which translates to “candy or a hex.” It gets shortened (like so many phrases in French) to “bonbon ou sort.” Sortir is the verb for “to leave,” so I was joking that the kids all say “candy or get out.”
Vieux Lyon is one of the more touristy areas, so most of the shops that participated were souvenir stores. There were also restaurants, bars, and bakeries that had some candies. Our favorite was the boulangerie that gave each kid a nice big slice of brioche!
I left trick or treating a little early to go to a halloween party at the pole/aerial studio that I go to. There was a prize for the best costume, so everyone came all dressed up for the occasion. Sadly, I didn’t win… but the winning costume was an amazing Ronald McDonald (with the skeletal head of Colonel Sanders in a chicken bucket). She’d done the most incredible creepy clown makeup. It was a very well-deserved win!
I still sometimes struggle with speaking French at parties, but I was able to follow along much better this time. We played a “name that tune” game and I was the secret weapon who knew all of the American and older songs. We also had a trivia game with bonus points for funny answers. And we played a game where we passed foam yoga blocks across the studio using our feet and the poles. The big event was a little themed choreography from everyone to show off their costume. Mine wasn’t very inspired (another reason I didn’t win), but I have some good ideas for if she has a similar party next year!
When I showed Lilian the photos and videos this morning, she said “wow, you have a really nice community there.” <3
Between visiting and local friends, it really was a lovely Halloween.
