As Halloween approaches, the holiday will be celebrated with a spate of parties and events for the adults in Goa. But why should the grown-ups have all the fun? A group of young children in Margao will enjoy Halloween too, dressing up and with their bellies full of sweets, thanks to their parents.
To make the occasion more exciting for their little ones, some parents from Margao decided to dress their kids up in handmade costumes depicting characters close to their children’s hearts. Dressed as scary witches, vampires, a Disney princess, like Elsa from Frozen, or some interesting prominent personality, these children will go trick or treating in Margao.
In this group are sisters Micah and Cara Da Costa who previously dressed as the Tin Man from the movie The Wizard of Oz and the Tooth Fairy. This year the personages they will be portraying are a little more sophisticated. They plan to go as the famed artists Frida Kahlo and Yayoi Kusama.
This idea of dressing up the kids and taking them trick or treating came to one of the parents 2 years ago. Although an American tradition, it has made its way into other cultures and has now found a place in Goa.
“The kids wait for this holiday. In fact, they keep asking us ‘When is Halloween?’ and they decide what costumes they will wear this time. It is also a great activity for parents to keep the kids busy during vacation,” says Smita Antao, a parent who has decorated her house in the Halloween theme as well.
Last year, Smita selected special décor for her house, which included pumpkins and cobwebs made of cotton. She even had someone wear a special witch’s outfit to scare the kids, just in fun, of course.
The children, all in the age group of 3-10 years old, make trips to their grandparents’ homes for trick or treating.
“The kids have a great time together, and they all sit in Veena’s car. She drives them house to house. I usually get ideas from social media about decoration, and since it’s a small group, the kids have a good time together. We are a group of few friends, so we go trick or treating to around 5-6 houses,” says Smita.
“The grandparents also love to see the grandkids all dressed up,” Veena adds.
The kids have a great time together, and they all sit in Veena’s car. She drives them house to house. I usually get ideas from social media about decoration, and since it’s a small group, the kids have a good time together.Smita Antao, a parent
Among them is Hansel Vaz’s son Liam, who dressed up as The Mummy from the film series of the same name. Hansel explains that the costume uses up a lot of toilet paper rolls to create the mummy effect.
“The previous year he was dressed as Dracula. Kids love to dress up, and this gives them the opportunity to do so,” says Hansel, who in his trick or treat bag gives away Goan goodies instead of just chocolates.
He adds, “Last year we gave those Goan toffees and the good old orange jalebis, which we would eat as kids. This year we will also have some more Goan sweets instead of chocolates.”
This lot of parents have found the best way to celebrate Halloween with their children, by acquainting them with various fictional and nonfictional figures and fuelling their imagination while allowing them to enjoy their childhood to the fullest and making it a family affair.