Carol Wienburg’s Cakes let me come in and shoot her incredible Halloween designs, goodies for the world to ogle.   And, while I snapped some shots, it got me thinking about Halloween.

South Africa is an awesome place for sure, but holiday spirit here is nothing of the American sort.  I’m sure it’s irritating for the typical American to say how awesome the USA is and how we have so many awesome things and how it’s not even comparable, but I’ll let you in on a little secret (to my small and humble following), we tear the holidays up and we are awesome.    We decorate, we get decorated, we buy and buy and buy (a facet of the holidays I do not love but will accept in moderation), we throw parties,  and we eat, a lot, because we have so many options and those options are bigger than your options  (take that diabetes … oh wait…).

It’s nostalgia that keeps us adults coming back for it, take these cupcakes and treats, they (in a completely healthy way) make me feel happy and reminiscent of being a kid in autumn, back to school, and clearly the best part: free candy.

It’s obvious how we indoctrinate our children into loving Halloween right?  I mean, one night a year where you can go absolutely ape shit on sugar and chocolate and eating those circus peanuts is totally acceptable, eat till you vom, totally ok!   You get to dress up however you want, super hero, ghost, homeless person, (or for me the staple witch or vampire, sometimes both, until I got that Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz costume and rocked that until right about 2 years ago).

And now, Halloween has turned into a happy holiday for adults, you know why: cause’ it’s time for slutty city. I’ll never really understand it, but you know what, if the ladies feel free enough to let their awesome out, why should I stop them (holding in feminist rant) from being a number of slutty regular things.  On no other night can I find a life sized bumble bee with boobies juxtaposition Hillary Clinton dressed as hooker (are we doing you proud Hill, I’m sure Bill doesn’t mind).  But, on Halloween, it makes sense (it actually doesn’t).

A night to eat cupcakes, treats, chocolate, get dressed up as people we could never be in real life and maybe even get drunk enough to believe we are actually them.  But, I’m not hating, I’m sold now more than ever, I’m the token American and I have to show my roots.  I miss it though, my friends all dressing up with their asses hanging out all freezing and me doing something topical but staying warm.

I guess South African’s just don’t like the fluff as much, which is credible in it’s own right.  They seem to have better things to do, like hang out in the sun or go to the beach.  And, a braai (bbq) on Halloween just seems weird, hurricane Sandy however, seems perfectly normal (end of the world 2012?).

I know there’s a lot of spirit out here, people do like Halloween but it’s times like these when I feel a connection to my patriotic, loud mouthed, enthusiastic for commercialism, brethren.

So, after all that, I found my own little Halloween identity through cupcakes and cakes, spooky fingers and pumpkins that are a little taste of home, but they are being made here in Cape Town.  This is what living abroad’s all about then?

Happy Halloween – hope you get some candy in honor of an American in Africa, where they surely don’t give away candy on the streets to kids who are wearing things that cover their face.

For more foodventures follow @milkandcookieSA and check out Milk and Cookies.