My oldest daughter's birthday is on 1 November, so I make an effort to keep Samhain and her birthday celebrations separate occassions.  For Samhain my kids love doing the Halloween thing.  Dressing up, decorating the front windows so the T or Ts (trick or treaters) know they can stop here for goodies and trick or treating themselves.  My youngest girl always complements me on my costume.  (Costume?)  Then we watch a 'scary' movie on DVD.  Scary is in quotes because laughing through the movies doesn't really meet the scary criteria.

On 1 November, we treat our daughter to a small shopping spree followed by a family meal at the restaurant of her choice.  My homage to the Goddess is a prayer of thanks that we can get together as a family and re-connect.  And a prayer asking for the patience to deal with the family re-connecting.  They're real live wires. 

We had a Halloween party for our daughter and her friends. With all the distraction, I didn't have time to do any kind of formal ritual, but I did leave out some food and drink for the goddess while I was cleaning up in the evening. I also managed to spend a few moments outside by myself that night and used the time to think on what blessings/issues were brought my way over the year and the direction I'd like to see this coming year take as well as reflect on the loved ones who are no longer with me.