HALLOWEEN
What are your favorite Halloween traditions? For those with kids and grandkids, what were the costumes they wore that were your favorite? Do you like "scary" movies? I quote scary because I've never particularly found horror movies scary; not even as a little kid. I was 3 when I would watch Friday the 13th movies with my babysitter. I was 5 when I saw A Nightmare on Elm St. I've always loved horror movies / shows and ghost stories / shows.
My favorite Halloween tradition is making my house look creepy. One thing cool about being only 4'11" is when I take my kids out, I usually wear an inexpensive mask and because I live in MI, it's almost always cold and often raining, so I wear a hooded coat, but people assume I'm the older sister or something and I get candy too. 
They can't see my silvery locks and aging face.
My personal favorite costume my son wore was Captain Jack Sparrow in 2014 [he was 6]; I worked hard on that costume and he even let me do "guy-liner" around his eyes! We used extra bulky yarn for hair on his head and his face. We used liquid latex to stick it to his face. He's got super dark brown eyes like Johnny Depp too. He walked just like the character; everyone loved it.
I think my favorite costume of my daughter's was a few years ago; I don't know what to name it though.
I even have a favorite pumpkin carving!
And cake I made...
So, what's your favorite part of Halloween?
Of course it's on a Saturday and it's supposed to be a full moon... and I believe it's the same night that we change our clocks back [technically at 2am Nov. 1st, but you get the point] in MI.
**NO POLITICS**
Of course it's on a Saturday this year and it's supposed to be a full moon... and I believe it's the same night that we change our clocks back [technically at 2am Nov. 1st, but you get the point] in MI.
I like that cake in the picture. My grandkids are just beginning the going door to door on Halloween night. Their parents take them to my house last. They all come in and we all sit down, have a few drinks, the kids divide their candy and I hear all about what it was like.
I have fun doing cakes. I've been paid for specific requests; that's pretty nice.
Love the pumpkin! And your kids costumes are great!
My daughter and SIL are hosting a Halloween party this year. They did last year, too, so it may become a tradition. They go all out with the decorations. Last year they took the babies cat tower and strung cobwebs and plastic spiders all around it. Poor Zelda didn;t know whether to climb the tower or rip up the cobwebs. Last year's theme was couples so Mr Giggles and I went as a priest and a nun
Wife makes this meatloaf every year. The ankle bone and toe nails are onions. Slice for the ankles and pieces for the toe nails............and of course the cursory ketchup for the blood........
My former mother in law made those last year. They're hilarious.
As always I'll pull out my favorite movies... Hocus Pocus, Halloween, 13 Ghosts....
We don't get many kids and this year who knows? Last year I didn't do anything and kept the lights off because our old dog wasn't doing well. This year I bought a fog machine and plan on setting up in a huge cast iron cauldron we normally use for a flower pot. I wish I could find a couple of used cheap mannequins I could set up, but I've never found anything when I looked online. I also setup a projector on a window screen with spooky images. I'll probably set that up this weekend and post some photos.
We don't get any trick or treaters. Think this might be the reason why?
That's my driveway looking from the front porch. All the way to the horizon is the road. Ignore the river, that's not there anymore..until the next big rain
You look to have the same problem we have, the finding nowhere on the map and finding the middle like you.
When we were kids, we started out at sunset with mom driving and we hit the neighbors up for candy, scored big because they didn't expect that many to show up so were quite liberal with the handouts. Now all T or T has to be done by sunset so everyone heads to the populated areas so as not to have to drive around as much.
Check out flea markets. People always have weird stuff like that.
My favorite part is right after, when those itty bitty Snickers go on sale.
We already bought our Halloween candy...and ate it
LOL, why put off till tomorrow chocolate that can be eaten today?😉
Ah, Halloween. Arguably the best time of year. It should be declared a national holiday.
Agreed. And it should be set up like Thanksgiving; make it the last Saturday of October.
I'm OK with keeping it in Oct 31. Any other day would seem strange. But I am inspired to write an article explaining why Halloween is better than Christmas.
I prefer it to be a Friday. That way we all get a day off, the kids can spend the entire day getting their costumes together, and then they can sleep off that sugar hangover the next day
Please, please, please! I've always favored Halloween over Christmas
Yes please.
That's actually a good argument for altering the Halloween date.
And in reply to Trout G:
You got it. I'll try to get to it sometime this week.
Underneath this charming and beautiful exterior lies a thinking brain.
I never doubted that.
I'm in the middle of writing the article. I put my next part of the fallacy of biblical stories on hold to focus on Halloween vs. Christmas. I think you'll agree with the argument I present in favoring Halloween. I hope to have it posted tomorrow or possibly the day after. I'll let you know when it's posted.
Hear hear !
I personally think there's a war on Halloween
Lol maybe not war but there is definitely rampant persecution of it's believers
Oh...there's a war! Trick or Treating has been replaced by Trunk or Treating sponsored by churches where kids are only allowed to dress up as a Bible character or their favorite super hero. No monsters, witches, or pregnant nuns allowed
Certain religions do have a way of sucking all the fun out things.
Christianity is where fun goes to die
And then it gets sent to Hell. No fun allowed in Heaven. Lol
Hey everyone, My Halloween article is now posted. Come check it out. Thank you.
I don't think I'll decorate this year, so to frighten the kids I'm gonna hand out broccoli and cauliflower instead of candy
If you handed out carrots, my son would love you forever. He loves carrots so much that when he was a baby, he started turning orange.
Good one! We used to have a dentist in our neighborhood. He used to give the kids toothbrushes and toothpaste.
Where I grew up, we lived in a neighborhood full of children and on Halloween the sidewalks were always jam packed with trick-or-treaters. One year my mother put on a robot mask every time she answered the door, and scared the heck out of the little kids. It was so funny.
I get Frank out every Halloween. I made him from paper mache about 40 years ago.
Very cool, pat.
Thank you !
That's awesome!
Thank you !
No Hallowe'en here, but back in Canada my favourite part of Hallowe'en was the candy. LOL. In the great neighbourhood we lived in for about 20 years while our kids were growing up, the people were friendly, and when the parents came around with their kids on what was usually a cool night, we had a big carafe of hot coffee always ready, and gave all the "visiting" parents a disposable cup filled with decaf coffee, and was it ever appreciated. The thing that impressed me the most was one of the neighbours on the corner of our street who turned their house into a scary house of horrors, and took the visiting kids through it - cobwebs, fake spiders and bats, hanging "corpses", etc. while playing recorded moans and screams, etc.
Your pumpkin eating a pumpkin is one of the most unique ones I've ever seen.
We did the pumpkin eating a pumpkin once, but you need to add pumpkin guts and entrails out the corner of the mouth, its more realistic.
Along that lines I did one many years ago that had the pumpkin holding a gun to one side of it's head with a big hole on the other side along with some shards and pumpkin innards scattered about. The kids loved it, some of the parents less so.
That's awesome. Some people need to get a sense of humor.
Well, Gordy, displaying suicide to little kids could be considered by their parents to be a kind of touchy thing.
It's a pumpkin. Like I said, some people need to get a sense of humor.
I didn't want that mess on my porch. We have a wooden porch and wood doesn't like pumpkin guts. OH... and the critters would be all over it.
That pumpkin was one of the easiest ones I've ever done actually.
There's this house a few blocks away that serves parents apple cider moonshine [if they want it] and a little bakery down the street that serves everyone hot cocoa. That house that serves the parents the apple cider moonshine was a Godsend for me two years ago when I was walking my son around and had the flu. I didn't get near anyone, but when I was talking to the people, they said, "Here... have two," after I told them I was sick. It was horrible... it was cold and raining on top of me being sick that year. My son is so sweet though; after just a few blocks, he said, "Mom, I know you're feeling icky. We can go home now."
Halloween isn't anything I'm interested in and I'm with W C Fields when it comes to kids.
He was asked how he liked kids and his response was, ''well done''.
ha ha! I'm with you on that!
we have very, very few kids of trick or treating age in my neighborhood.
Fun article, Ms. Aubrey! Your cakes, pumpkin, and children's costumes are wonderful!
When our kids were little, Halloween was a big deal in our neighborhood. We'd get around 50-60 kids and even more when Halloween fell on a weekend. Everyone decorated homes in varying degrees of "spookiness".
That was many years ago, and the neighborhood changed. We now have very few trick or treaters, and I've missed seeing the children's excitement. Parents do "at-home" candy exchange parties with people they invite. I guess this was a precursor to 2020, because this is what the CDC now recommends for this year ...
Yeah... BOO!
I try to do more "fun" articles because I'm tired of banter and more fun articles are where people find common ground among those that would not find common ground otherwise *coughpoliticscough*. I like talking to people, not arguing or bickering or slandering. I like finding out about people I am talking to as well. Unfortunately, this Halloween, despite being on a Saturday, looks as though it's going to be a dud.
We certainly need more articles like the ones you post, MsAubrey. I really like them!
I try to post them a few times a week.
I'm thinking it will be a string of 80s horror flicks with the family this year.
Great! I'll look for them, and if I think of ... or find ... something good/fun, I'll do the same.
You can find my past articles on my page.