Last week a Colombian friend of ours decided that it would be a great idea to have a pre-Halloween party for the kids. She’s always coming up with the best ideas to keep the kids entertained and en español. This time, she came up with the idea of having a comparsa-style party, meaning that the whole family would have to come dressed up under one theme and put together a show to perform in front of everyone.

Yikes!

As fun as it sounded, I was nervous because I’m the worst at having the Halloween spirit. I never, ever dress up because I just can never get creative about it or dedicate time to it. But this time I wanted and needed to do it for my girl. I knew this would be a blast for her and we hadn’t seen this group of amigos in a while.

Since I’m a bit wee obsessed with the Day of the Dead celebration, I decided it would be fun if the three of us got our faces painted as calacas and found mariachi outfits. We could only find a good mariachi outfit for my husband, but we scored big time when Sara (of Music with Sara fame!) jumped at the chance to paint our faces!

My girl wasn’t too thrilled at the idea at first because, well, we just weren’t princesas! So I grabbed one of her favorite books, Rosita y Conchita, and explained to her that she would look just like Rosita. After one night of restless sleep and me having to explain that we wouldn’t actually all be muertos, she finally understood and got excited about it.

So, with Rosita y Conchita in hand, Camila directed Sara so her face would come out exactly as she wanted it. It was beautiful to watch.

The three of us came out looking so amazing, I must dare say! Thanks to Sara for playing along with us!

Check it out for yourselves:

Oh, and we never ended up actually performing because my girl got stage fright, but we did get the most amazing compliments and we loved it all!

What is your Halloween costume all about?

For years now we’ve been talking about and celebrating the Day of the Dead festivities on SpanglishBaby, but this is the first year I’m finally going all out with Camila since I feel she can now get a better grasp of what it means. My plan is for us to put an altar together for the bisabuelos and bisabuela she never met. We’re also invited to a party this Saturday where all families have been asked to dress up as a comparsa, meaning we’ll all have a costume under one same theme.

We thought it would be so fun to get our faces painted as Día de Muertos calaveras and dress up as mariachis! I wasn’t sure how Camila would react to that since it wasn’t her typical princess theme. I told her one night and she immediately said no way. I responded: “¡Va ser divertido! Vamos a celebrar el Día de Muertos como en el libro de Rosita y Conchita que te gusta tanto.”

And that’s where I messed up.

She didn’t know what to say because, yes, she loves that book, but I had used the word “Muertos.” We put her to bed and all was beautiful, until she started getting up. Her pajama itched, she was thirsty, she couldn’t sleep. ¡Miles de excusas! Or so I thought.

The next morning she woke up and finally admitted that she couldn’t sleep because she thought that “todos vamos a estar muertos.” Just like the character of Rosita está muerta in the beautiful book.

And that’s when I realized I had messed up!

As much as she adores the book and she can embrace the traditions and colors behind Día de Muertos, we hadn’t done a great job at explaining to her more about the concept of death. She’s only five, you know?

So this year, teaching my daughter about one of the most beautiful cultural celebrations from part of her heritage, has also opened up a conversation about life and death, but even more than that, her own inner exploration of it. Which is fine. It’s an important one to explore without fear.

We will for sure put up an altar this year and attend as many festivities as we can so that we can transform that fear into an embrace of the inevitable. For some parents it’s too much to talk to their kids about deep life concepts, but I truly believe that when a child is asking or expressing the need to know, then they are ready.

I’d love to know if you’ve had any similar stories and how you dealt with it. Please share in the comments below.

And while we’re on the topic, I’ve written an article on my Babble Voices blog on how to teach our children about the symbolisms and objects that make the Day of the Dead celebration so special that you should check out.

This game is surprisingly simple, and incredibly addicting. Watch the skeletons pop up in different boxes, wait to see the icon for which element of the ofrenda they need – flowers, pan de muerto, prayer, or tequila – and then race to give it to them before they go back underground. Sometimes, two or three of them will pop up at one time! And watch out for the bar at the top that fills as you miss opportunities to feed them; that indicates they are “pulling your feet.”

Find Día de Muertos on iTunes

Available for iPad and iPhone

Recommended for ages 12 and up (mild alcohol reference)

Price: FREE

Check out WashaWasha on Facebook and Twitter

Calavera Abecedario: A Day of the Dead Alphabet Book by Jeanette Winter

A fun take on the interactive storybook, this app allows you to record yourself reading the story of Don Pedro Linares, a famous Mexican calavera maker. The narrative is in English, but the latter half of the story is the abecedario with words like candelera and tortillera. The illustrations are beautiful, and kids will love to hear their parents’ voices (or their own!) coming from the app.

Find Calavera Abecedario on iTunes

Available for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android

Recommended for ages 4 and up

Price: $7.99

Day of the Dead – Experience the Tradition by University of Notre Dame

For anyone who isn’t familiar with the Día de Muertos traditions and history, this is a great crash course. It’s a beautifully designed, interactive textbook (in English) with embedded videos and pictures that flip and spin. It would serve as a wonderful resource for any children doing a school project about the Mexican holiday. It’s also just a fun thing to read together at home to incite discussion about the theme of death in a positive light.

Find Day of the Dead – Experience the Tradition on iTunes

Available for iPad and iPhone

Recommended for ages 4 and up

Price: FREE

Check out Notre Dame’s Institute for Latino Studies website

Day of the Dead Me by Simply Sweet Apps

I thought this would just be car entertainment for the kids, but then I spent forever taking pictures of myself to get the perfect frame for a “dead me” face. Take a photo of anyone, edit it with traditional tools, then place all kinds of fun and creepy decorations on top: hats, roses, painted eyes, and masks. Halloween and Día de Muertos in one cool app!

Find Day of the Dead Me on iTunes

Available for iPhone and iPod Touch

Recommended for ages 4 and up

Price: $0.99

Check out Simply Sweet Apps on Twitter and their website. Also, see this video for a how-to.

Rosita y Conchita by Peek ‘n Play Story Apps

We’ve been anxiously waiting for this app to hit the iTunes store because we’re already huge fans of the bilingual book, Rosita y Conchita by Erich Haeger and Eric Gonzalez of Muertoons. This interactive app beautifully brings to life the storybook tale of two gemelas  – Rosita y Conchita — that were separated when Rosita passes away. On Day of the Dead, Conchita prepares an altar for her beloved sister and we go along with Rosita’s journey to find her way back home during the one day her spirit can breakthrough. The app allows your child to choose to listen to the rhyming story either in English or Spanish, or, if old enough, read the text on his own. Kids will also love tapping the screen to find the interactive delights and surprises on each page.

Find Rosita y Conchita on iTunes

Available for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad

Recommended for 4-7, 8-10

Price: $4.99

Check out Peek ‘ PlayStory Apps.

For more Day of the Dead goodies, check out all activities, videos, crafts, recipes, books and much more we’ve collected in this page and on Pinterest.