Dressing up for Halloween has always been a much-loved event in our family. We spend the weeks before it piecing together items from the dress-up box, the local thrift store and, of course, making some items. There have been many years when the adults join the action too! I love watching the creative process we all go through while creating the perfect costume.
On Halloween night there is nothing better than watching those proud kids show off their creations. However, the bag of ultra-refined sugary junk that makes its way into four trick-or-treating bags and into our home is just a bummer. What on earth is a family to do with all that?
Last year I heard of the Sugar Sprite. There are many stories out there about this sweet loving sprite, all with a similar theme. Inspired by these, I spun the following version up for my own little ones….. and they are already talking about what the Sprite might leave them this fall. They sample a few pieces of the sweet candy loot on Halloween night and might save a piece or two of their very favorites…. but the majority of it is traded for a treasure from the Sugar Sprite. Last year she left each of the children a beautiful wooden figure and a five dollar bill!
I feel that the rhythm of telling this story just before Halloween year after year will bring a very special tradition to our holiday. Here is our story, we hope you enjoy it.
The day after Halloween, November 1st, you may be lucky enough to get a visit from the Sugar Sprite.
You might ask, “Who is the Sugar Sprite?”
The Sugar Sprite is a fairy-like creature that comes in search of candy. She can get sugar from the flower nectar all spring and summer, but in winter there is not enough nectar to feed herself and all of her wee little sprite babes. She knows that on Halloween, human children have a tradition called trick-or-treating, and that because of this there will be plenty of sugary candy! The sugar sprite works very hard to collect all the unwanted candy to store up for the long cold winter months ahead. And YOU can help her out! Only a lucky few even KNOW about the Sugar Sprite. Those that do can leave their Halloween candy at the doorstep or on the kitchen table with a note to the little Sprite and she will gladly leave them a special treasure in exchange for their candy.
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Stephinie is a wife, mama, gardener, homeschooler, earth lover and writer of the Gypsy Forest blog. She spends her days in a house full of wild kids, funny pets, a guitar playing man, crafting items for her Etsy shop , cooking up homemade recipes and snapping photos along the way. Her family is currently learning to live sustainably in the south, wondering where the next move will take them and always dreaming of their someday farm.
Photography by Heather Fontenot