Welcome to probably my favorite month of the year! I like the weather, the fashion, the colours, the food and the holidays. And, I kinda love the smell, sort of a decaying leaves, smoke from a fireplace smell (on the good days).
I have already hauled the two, no, now it’s three boxes of Halloween decorations up from the storage closet downstairs and we are unpacking all the past treasures plus re-discovering all the great deals I got on decorations AFTER Halloween last year.
My favorites are a creepy ghost that laughs evil-ly when moved, or blown by the wind or jolted to life by a large truck rolling by…seriously, he’s a sensitive thing. And, I realise I have collected quite a number of owls over the years.
They aren’t actually scary looking but they do evoke just the right feeling of autumnal gravity.
And of course it’s time to check out ideas for costumes.
We have created a pretty interesting array of disguises over the years. Sometimes inspired by the latest trend; Bob the Builder, Star Wars and Frozen to name a few. We have made caterpillars, loofahs and steam punk characters and even rocked the classics with our creepy/cute take on several styles of witches, ghosts and mummies. Of course, every year it comes down to the wire as suggestions and ideas are discarded, re-imagined and fretted over with more care and concern than any essay or upcoming exam! We make far too many trips to Value Village for supplies and in more than one year the kids have created two costumes, one for school and another for the actual trick or treating night in order to circumvent the heartbreaking possibility of CHOOSING between more than one PERFECT idea. I admit though, it’s my fault, I am an enabler. If they can dream it up, I rise to the challenge of making the outfit creatively, economically and quickly (as per aforementioned ‘down to the wire’ description). It’s kind of my own personal Halloween rush. Need a chain mail vest; no problem. Mermaid scales on a tail you can walk in; got it. A giant, pink tinted ball of stuffing to look like cotton candy; who do you think your dealing with? an amateur? Done and done!
I feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment when everyone is suited up in their final creations. Nothing gives me more pleasure than taking that year’s Halloween photo and seeing the successful culmination of all that frantic work.
For myself, I always fall back on the gypsy/witch motif every year wearing the same ratty dress, shredded striped stockings and pointy-toed boots for my own transformation, although my kids would argue not so much a transformation as just finally dressing the part.
Perhaps they are right, there must be a certain amount of magic that happens in order to invent all those crazy costumes.
To all you trick or treaters out there, stay safe my friends, eat some sour gummies and think of me…those ones are my favorite!