Life's a Beach | Expat Life in Playa del Carmen

I'm not big on Halloween. There. I've said it. I wish I was like all my pals in Playa who plan and prepare their costumes 364 days a year in anticipation of October 31st. I love looking at all the pictures from the parties and marvel at the creativity of the costumes and make-up effects. I am envious of the imagination necessary to concoct all the fabulous props and amazed at the efforts made to get the look just right. Every year I think to myself, "This is the year. Rob and I will dress up and really DO Halloween, just like everyone else." Well, it hasn't happened yet and it didn't happen this year. I didn't dress up. I didn't got to any of the crazy parties and I am sure that, once again, I passed on a really fun night out on the town. I was safely home in bed by midnight, safe from Playa's ghosts, goblins, pirates and vampires.

Having said all that, Halloween is not completely lost on me. I LOVE carving pumpkins with my kids. I LOVE planning and making their costumes. I LOVE the Halloween festival at El Papalote School thrown every year to incorporate Mexico's traditional Dia de los Muertos celebrations and the festivities of the more modern Halloween. Brought in by expats from the United States and Canada who have settled with their families along the Riviera Maya, the Halloween holiday is slowly being adopted by the local population. My children's attemps at trick-or-treating fell flat in our neighborhood in the Campestre. Only one family, besides ours, was prepared with candy to hand out to any little monsters who might be prowling the neighborhood. After the party at school, I took the kids downtown to 5th Avenue to join the handful of Mexican families who had come downtown with their children to try their hand at this relatively new activity. Not surprizingly, few stores and restaurants had candy to give but several groups of tourists were prepared with pockets full of hard candy and peso coins to hand out. It was not a complete bust for my little ones but I do think they were a bit disappointed.

This year, El Papalote was transformed from a school into an Enchanted Forest, ready to be inhabited by little witches, wizards, fairies, trolls and all manner of woodland animals. I am always amazed at how beautiful the school is at Halloween but this year was particularly spectacular. 

 
Breaking from her usual princess persona, Birdie became "The Witch of the Sky" and Cole, "The Wizard of the Earth".

The main altar in the reception area was full of flowers and candles and incense filled the air.

Miss Kim turned up to share in the festivities and say "hola" to her adoring former students.

A little fairy and her bunny friend.

Fairy Mommies!

The Mona Lisa captured a lot of attention.

Each of the classrooms was transformed into a magical workshop where the children could make masks, magic wands and wizards hats (that I made more than 50 of, thank you very much) or have their faces and hair painted with glitter and colored gels. After completing their projects, the children were given "treats" to take home. Yes, even Waldorf schools hand out candy on Halloween!

The Wicked Witch oversees all!

Each of the classrooms was decorated inside and out. Each class has a small altar that the students decorate themselves.

The Enchanted Forest was filled with more than just little witches and wizards. Connor and a lot of the older kids were on hand to admire their decorating efforts and dig into the food!

Head of School, Miss Claudia, announced the results of the 6th grade raffle, the winners going home with a new iPod Nano and an overnight stay at a beachfront resort in Tulum!

I think this smile pretty much says it all!

So, Halloween in Playa del Carmen is different than it was in the U.S.; heavy on the organized parties and festivals and light on the trick-or-treating. We can live with that. Now what do I do with all the leftover candy????