Trick or Treating at Midas Hotel

Being brought up in a family of Catolico cerrado, the days leading to the observance of All Souls Day meant non-stop praying for the souls of the dearly departed and preparing extensively for our visit to the cemetery. 

I viewed the days leading to November 1 as dark, gloomy, and very depressing. Nowadays, those descriptions are shadows of the past...for the Manilans at least. We have adopted the Western practice of Halloween and Trick or Treating with much resistance from the conservative elders at first, but I think, many have finally accepted it.

There are so many Trick or Treat venues these days that it has become a bit of a mental struggle to choose just one! The offers, games, and freebies are just too enticing!

This year, we opted to go trick or treating at Midas Hotel. For us, guising at hotels is better due to a couple of reasons:

>The chances of kids suffering from heat stroke while being bundled up in layers of costume is relatively small compared to trick or treating in villages in a 35degC temp.

>Not too tiring.

>Cuter Halloween loot bags.

>Food. 'Nuff Said.

>Not overly crowded compared to malls.

Would've been cool if they carved out a real Jack O' Lantern but this one did the trick too!

Halloween and Trick or Treating is customarily held on the 31st of October every year. The Halloween celebration dates back to the Celtic festival a day before November 1 called Samhain. The Celts believed that the souls of the dead return to earth during this time.

Trick or treating, on the other hand, first started in England. Poor families would knock on the door of the affluent ones and beg for food (soul cake). The poor families prayed for the dead in exchange for the soul cakes. The practice was then called "going-a-souling".  Now, it is known as trick or treating.  

The elegant Midas Hotel lobby designed by the Almario sisters was transformed into a ghost's lair! The décor was not hardcore scary. It was the kid-friendly-scary kind of set-up. Tastefully done.

The hotel staff were clad in different costumes of their choice. From scary to sexy!

Bands are color coded according to age group. Orange for kids and blue for adults. Kids one year old and below enjoyed the event for free.

Before the show and trick or treating started, the kids (and the kids at heart) got their face painted. 

A couple of product booths such as Nestle below graced the event as well.

These lollicakes were really delicious! It was covered in decadent dark chocolate fudge, moist  and non-eggy. I had to stop J7 (youngest son) from eating too much!

Cupcakes - same deliciousness only bigger.

Once the kids were done trick or treating to the different departments of Midas Hotel, my favorite part came next - eating!

We were treated to a delicious snack with the Worms in Eyeballs as my favorite amongst all. The fresh-tasting pasta sauce was really good! My boys liked the Vampire's Pet a lot! I didn't like it that much 'cause it tasted more like squid balls than chicken nuggets.

The two beverages served were good though. One is pineapple-raspberry juice and the other one is chocolate frappe. I forgot to take a picture of the latter eventhough it was the one I liked better.

Kids rocking their costumes!

J7 went to the Halloween event as Hulk Hogan. Instead of knickers, he wore denim shorts. "Few people will recognize who you're supposed to be if you wear shorts instead of briefs", I said. "I think all of them can read", he quipped while pointing at his shirt and bandana. 

The kids and adult attendees (decked in sexier than thou Halloween costumes) danced to Gangnam Style and other popular hits after a series of games with great prizes.

The adults definitely had the same amount of fun as the kids! J7 got a lot of Halloween goody bags which I forgot (again) to take photos of. 

J7's not too keen on the idea of trick or treating next year because according to him, he's "old" already. I hope that he will shift his ground come October next year.

Some say that trick or treating overshadows the real purpose of Halloween. Others feel that the dearly departed are completely forgotten and disrespected due to such "fun" events. 

Based on a personal experience (losing both my parents a couple of years back), I highly doubt that one will forget a deceased loved one no matter how convivial the event is. Not at all possible. Plus, respect is for the living, not the dead. 

A melancholic holiday shouldn't weigh the kids down. Let them have fun and be what they are - kids. You only go through it once anyway.

Thanks for viewing! ☺
 
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