Communities getting in to the Halloween spirit

Ghost-shaped meringues, severed finger biscuits and light parties were the norm yesterday as people of all ages dived in to the Halloween spirit.

The Moore Stephens Markhams Havelock North office held a Halloween morning tea and all of the food was given a "freaky" twinge.

One of the morning tea organisers, Leanne Hodgson, said it was a bit of a laugh and everyone had fun.

"Nicole and I decided to put it together as a treat for the office and we had food designed as body parts and ghosts and we also had lollies. It was a fun thing to do and get in to the spirit of."

The Village Baptist Church in Havelock North and the Equippers Church in Hastings held light parties last night to keep the children entertained in a safe environment.

Village Baptist Church event organiser, Nikki Trowbridge, said this was their ninth year, as it provided a positive alternative, which did not focus on death and skeletons.

"It is a place where families can come and have a fun time while being safe. My kids think it is better than Christmas and last week they were even counting down, they all just love it."

She said they had everything from bouncy castles and gladiator jousting to all kinds of carnival games.

"Kids then enjoyed a disco, which wrapped up at 7.30pm."

Equippers Church Hastings event organiser, Erin Temo, said the theme they had this year was mad scientists.

"We encouraged positive costumes and had a lot of science experiments where kids could get their hands dirty. It is just a fun time and they went home with a bag of goodies to."

Plenty of others took to the streets for some trick or treating in hope they would walk away with a large bag of lollies.