Do you celebrate, decorate and participate? What do you give out for treats? Do many children land at your door? Let's chat...
I don't decorate like I used to, DD is older and my decorations are in bad shape. I need to hit the dollar store for new decorations this year. I love having the ghosties knocking at the door.
Here we never get over 50 children and we know them all. So I give out can pop, chips, bars and candy. I always keep a few pair of hallowe'en baby socks and baby food for the new little ones. A few books for the toddlers and trinkets from the dollar store.
I always make rice krispie treats in the shape of pumkins and homemade fudge as well, seems the adults ask for a treat as well when they see fudge on the counter...
It's a fun time, just hope it's nicer this year. The last few years it was so cold and a few times it had snowed...brrr...
~~Tam~ You can bury all your troubles by digging in the dirt.
Oh, I forgot to add that I always keep on a pot of coffee, as well as a pot of soup. Sometimes a weary mom with two little ones dragging on either arm just loves to sit for a second to refuel herself while her little ones eat something because they won't go home for supper.
~~Tam~ You can bury all your troubles by digging in the dirt.
Wow Tamara! You go all out for Halloween! Where I live nobody would take anything homemade anymore. When we were kids we used to get homemade popcorn balls and all that kind of stuff but people don't do that anymore. It is really sad that people can't be trusted anymore. Unless it was somebody I knew I would throw away whatever homemade good they gave me because you just never know. We can't bring homemade treats to school anymore either. Everything has to be store bought and prepackaged.
I decorate a little but mostly just "fall" decorations and not Halloween specific decorations.
We always take Tristen trick or treating. He loves it! Of course all kids do! I remember when I was a kid...I couldn't wait to get dressed up and go out to get all kinds of candy! We used pillowcases and would fill them up.
We live out in the country so we don't get any trick or treaters at our house. That is okay though since we are always out with Tristen. I'm sure once Tristen gets older and we don't go out trick or treating I will wish that some would come to our door.
Everybody knows everyone around here and with so few kids passing these days we give alot more. They go trick or treating for 2 hours and get two pillowcases full. They use kids wagons to pull their bags because they get so many cans of pop, it gets heavy.
We put our names on the homemade treats so they know who it comes from, they get alot of fudge, candy apples, pulled taffy and such. Some people even make up tins of cookies. In the little place where I live, DH's family is from one part and I from the other so DD is related to everyone.
~~Tam~ You can bury all your troubles by digging in the dirt.
That is so great Tamara....we can't do all that stuff here either even though we are rural. Our town is almost 3,000 people and the past few years I'd say I got between 100-200 kids. I buy little bags and fill them up with different stuff. Kids use pillowcases still here too. I always make up special bags for the kids I know.
My porch is currently all decked out for fall....leaves and orange lights over the 2 front windows, leaves over the front door, all kinds of leaves in the planters and pots. Painted signs, etc. Maybe I'll do pictures later on.
My halloween stuff will join the fall stuff on the porch around the beginning of October.
I've got a topic in Holidays about fall decor and such. Post some pics there for us Loz, please....
The kids come here and walk straight through the house to look at all the animal mounts on the walls, they could care less about the treats. Those deer just amaze them.
~~Tam~ You can bury all your troubles by digging in the dirt.
This will be my 3rd (I think) Halloween in this house. I get between 50 & 100 kids each year--but what I get one night is most all I get for the year. For the most part the other night people go to the school sponsored parties.
When we lived out in the country I hardly ever got any trick-or-treaters. I would take the kids into town so they could go around my MIL's part of town (nicer, safer houses) I always went with them,though. Then the other night we would go & just sit at my MIL's so the kids got to see all the costumes everyone else had. it was the best I could do for them. Sometimes I feel guilty that we live in town now insted of then.
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Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!! .....
Our little town has a Spook Parade. Every kid in costume (and some parents) walk up our main street for about a mile, following behing the fire trucks and high school band. They march up to the Fire Station where the town throws a big party for the children and parents including entertainment, food, hay rides, a spook house, etc.
The littlest kids go trick or treating before the parade and the older ones go out after. I used to take Maxi and bring his big red wagon because he would get so sleepy. By the time we left the party, he would lay down in his wagon on his pillow under his blankie and fall asleep looking at the stars on the long walk home.
We don't give out home made treats here either, but I put our name on our treat bags anyway. We get some children here at the complex but not as many as we used to get when we lived closer into town.
Merme
We were given two hands to hold, two eyes to see, two ears to listen & two legs to walk. But why were we given only one heart? The other heart was given to another for us to find.
Jessica, some communities celebrate on a week end, therefore allowing the kids to hit two celebrations in two different areas.
They tried that here one year, one community stopped the door to door treating and had a big party on Saturday. Well, low and behold we ended up with all the children from that community trick or treating in our area on Hallowe'en day, so the next year they cancelled and left the children have their 'real' Hallowe'en.
~~Tam~ You can bury all your troubles by digging in the dirt.
yes Jessica we do. The second night is usually the night where there is a school (The Public School) sponsored parade, judging, and party (of sorts). There is generally not much trick-or-treating that night.
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Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!! .....
We have two pseudo nights of Halloween, too. Usually one night is on the weekend and is announced in the paper. This is when the mall does their big candy-give away. When Simon Management owned the mall, they would bring 1 or 2 14 gallon trashbags full of bags of candy to each store. There'd be a huge line, running around the entire inside of the mall. Now that a dumb local company bought the place they buy 2 bags of cheapy candy for each store -- for probably a thousand (if not more) children. Most stores run out within 15 minutes but a lot of them have started buying their own candy and stickers to give away. It's a nice way to do it, because you stay warm and you're in a safe environment. A few kids go trick or treating that night but most wait for the real halloween. Some years the schoolboard convinces the city to announce halloween to be "partcipated" on the same day as the mall event - that way kids aren't exhausted for school the next day. Most kids take this as an official invitation to do halloween on that date and on the 30th.
We usually go out trick or treating in another neighborhood. Where we live, most people turn off their lights and hunker down for the evening. Only the few folks we know will keep their lights on, or they bring by homemade cookies for the girls before nightfall. It is very sweet of them to think of the girls!!
We put out pumpkins in early October and carve them a week or two prior to Halloween. I also have pumpkin shaped lights that I duct tape to my front windows. Usually, we buy 2-3 bags of mini candy bars and eat all of them before halloween and "have" to buy another bag, for the 1 trick or treater we may get after we come home. I like to make a soup or chili in the crockpot and that way we've got a piping hot meal to come home too.
I hate to say this but I throw away the girls' candy in January. With our help, they eat maybe half of it.
We end up throwing away a lot of Tristen's candy too. He eats it for the first few days and then he kind of forgets about it. James and I eat some here and there but a lot of it is wasted.
We only have Halloween on the actual day. The kids go on that day no matter what day of the week it is. We live in a small town though so maybe that is why.
In my family, we freeze the excess candy. It keeps quite a while that way. The unfortunate thing is that Halloween candy can run into Christmas candy and Christmas candy can run into Valentines and Valentines into Easter and the back log of candy can be astonishing!
I was glad when Maxi's school started collecting Halloween candy to send to the troops. It gave us parents something better to do with it than toss it out.
I've also been known to drop it off at shelters or ghetto missions where children never get candy.
Merme
We were given two hands to hold, two eyes to see, two ears to listen & two legs to walk. But why were we given only one heart? The other heart was given to another for us to find.
In my family at the end of their trick or treating I would give my girls each a bowl. the would divide up their candy into sections. they would first "trade" candy among each other. Then they would give me a few pieces of things they knew to be my favorites. then anything else left over went into a bowl for their father (ANY candy calls his name--and him having his own bowl kept him out of thier bowls.)
At the end of a week or 2 I would take any left over candy of theirs and freeze it in bags with their names on it. If/when they wanted any candy they just went to the freezer.
When I was young I would seperate all my candy into various ziploc bags. I remember one year I had a "Wrigley Gum bag" yet in May.
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Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!! .....
Yesterday I found out Maxi will be marching in the Spook Parade with the school band. So now he needs a costume that won't interfere with his bass drum. I made a few suggestions (thinking easy and inexpensive) and he explained he also has to be hip. Well now, easy inexpensive non-drum interfering AND hip!
Merme
We were given two hands to hold, two eyes to see, two ears to listen & two legs to walk. But why were we given only one heart? The other heart was given to another for us to find.
MERME!!! Amy was just telling me last night that the drummers in her school's marching band last year wore Energizer Bunny costumes (you know... the one with the drum!), and kept drumming all day in school for Halloween - talk about school spirit, and a cute costume!!!
You take a Very Large green sweatshirt--large enough so as to have it fit to the knees of the wearer. And yellow tights--or any acceptable color- You buy 3 colors of felt---cut out 3 different sizes of felt round edged pieces & layer them together, largest one on the bottom, offsetting them slightly. Pin or sew them together & attach one to each arm at the shoulder. then you can face paint his face in an appropriate manner--& your done. If you like the idea I could cut you out a pattern of the flaps (If I can find them) and send them to you.
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Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!! .....
Send me your flap patterns if you can find them, Carol. Maxi has two parakeets and I'm sure he might like the idea of dressing as either Buttons or Ties.
Merme
We were given two hands to hold, two eyes to see, two ears to listen & two legs to walk. But why were we given only one heart? The other heart was given to another for us to find.
Ok merme--I will look them up today after my phone call. I'll PM you either way about what I found. if nothing else--i have the flaps themselves, somewhere,--I could make you a pattren from them.
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Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!! .....
I bought a bat spinner thingy to hang outside....not much but it's a start. I find it hard to get into holidays without a little one under foot. Maybe I need to borrow a few kids.
~~Tam~ You can bury all your troubles by digging in the dirt.
yea--borrow a few kids--THAT is what I need to do--I wonder if the 2 yr old neighbor girl is available??
At the Dollar Tree I bought a small witch pumpkin with 2 arrows (one that says "trick or treat" & one that says "witch way".) It is to go on my small garden flag pole:
That and a plastic lighted pumpkin are to be the extent of my halloween decorations.
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Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!! .....
I want to decorate, but in the apartments we're in right now I can't. The kids in this building are demons. If we put anything out it would be demolished in no time. Brennan really gets into the decorating. He likes the cobwebs. I used to fill our entryway with them. I guess we'll have a house soon enough. So, maybe I'll get to decorate for Christmas.
Rachel
(the new and improved Mrs. rachelc)
If you never have you should. These things are fun and fun is good.
Well, after a long discussion after school today, Maxi liked Carol Jean's bird costume idea; he liked my bat costume idea. But in the end he decided to wear his Magi costume from the Christmas Pageant I made for him last winter. It is quite big on him now, of course, but he'll be able to wear a sweat suit under it and stay warm. He also likes it because it is all glittery and embellished with jewels so it will shine a good bit in the street lights.
So now that was an easy, inexpensive remedy to the Costume Conundrum!
Merme
We were given two hands to hold, two eyes to see, two ears to listen & two legs to walk. But why were we given only one heart? The other heart was given to another for us to find.
DH was already eyeing up the Halloween treats in the closet, I might have to hide them somewhere
Merme: If the costume saves time, work AND money--then on top of that Maxi is happy--then it is all VERY good!!!
Tamara: yea--I do not buy halloween candy early any more. What the DH didn't eat--i did--so I will eitehr go out last minute & buy from what is left--OR I will buy it early & hide it in one of my BR closets until haloween.
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Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!! .....
Carol, I learned my lesson one year when I made all the fudge a little early. Hallowe'en day I couldn't find the fudge and was furious.....DH and his buddies took it all with them when they left for their hunting trip a 5 hour drive away.
~~Tam~ You can bury all your troubles by digging in the dirt.
and the DH's wonder why we hide things--mine even goes so far as to get upset about it--he does not get the part where when something is made with a special thought in mind it is nice if you still have it when the occasion comes along--I used to have to write large notes on my desserts when I made them for things like family Dinners or for school things--If I did not over the night pieces of them would "disapear"
I have a notion my DH was a spoiled brat when he was young------
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Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!! .....
I had a bowling match last Halloween... so i didn't do anything :LoL:
I might not do anything this year, but if i d, it'll be the usual stuff with friends :Lol: No trick or treating, just hanging out... Tomorrow, the florist/ice cream place down the street[that i've been referring to a lot lately] is having their halloween/fall party.. there will be games[which i will be working], pumpkins, ice cream, candy, all that good stuff :Lol: I'm dressing up[so i don't look outcasted :LoL: ] I'm wearing an authentic[real] 1950's army jacket, and army hat of a non-combat solider [it's my grandfathers, he was stationed at Ft. Knox during that time period]. I'm making fake officer bars[apparrel] to go along with it I think there's a toy rifle around somehwere.. too...
DD and friends are attending a Halloween dance and dressing 80's style. I remember wearing those clothes. They have the lace gloves, fish-nets, pointy boots, off the shoulder tops, short skirts and big jewellery.
DH said there was no way she was going out of the house in the outfit she put together, to which she replies.....Mom was wearing this stuff when you met her
~~Tam~ You can bury all your troubles by digging in the dirt.
I didn't realize there was posts in this topic that I hadn't read. That is funny Tamara! Sounds like something a teenage girl would say about what you were wearing you met your DH.
Tristen has decided to be a ninja turtle for Halloween. It is a cute costume. I will take pics when he has it on!
Amy is playing her flute in the county concert band - they do a big Halloween concert every year at the local community college. It's really wonderful! This year it is on this Friday evening - the 26th. All the musicians dress up, there are slides and pictures in the background while they play, and a wonderful story teller who tells bits and pieces of the story in between songs. She wants to get a police costume - it's $30 though, and I am not paying for it!!!
Kids get in free if they are in costume, and there are Halloween refreshments afterwards, with goodie bags to take home too. Great Fun!!!
That sounds like fun Lynne! My 5 year old's costumes are normally $30 so it really isn't too much for a costume for a teenage girl. I honestly think it is too much but that is what costumes seem to run now days. A bunch of us adults dressed up a few years ago and went out for Halloween. We were the Simpsons. We only had masks and went to the thrift store to buy clothes. Just the masks were $40 each. It really is crazy but we had a lot of fun and we won first place in the costume contest.
I'm glad you won, Jessica but I have NEVER spent that on a costume - I simply refuse!!! I have made both my kids' costumes always, and some of them were pretty good, so it really pains me to see what they charge to buy them.
Yeah they are very expensive! It is crazy when you think that you really only wear them once. That is the only time I spent that much on a costume and I still can't believe I did it!
At Halloween I buy halloween bags and make up little candy bags for the trick or treaters.....I made up 150 last night--took forever with all the different kinds of candy to stick in each bag. Bad thing is I know that won't be enough, but it's all I'm willing to spend. Once it's gone, it's gone.
Jess do you have a pic of you dressed up from that year?
I bought little plastic pumpkin boxes to stick some goodies in for Ted's classroom. I might make some ghosts out of the tootsie pops I have. I have lots of candy to share with the few kids that trick or treat here at home. I load them down.
~Tina
Drama Free Zone. What every gardener loves the most, Begins and ends in rich compost. (Tina)
I like to load the kiddies around here down to---hence the bags with a lot of candy in them....it's just to the point now where all the kids from all the towns around here come here too and I can't afford to keep up with the amount of kids anymore....I guess when I'm out the lights go out and that's it.
I have a few neighbors that are really competative as far as decorating goes and giving out candy---I'm not in on that at all....I do what I do and that's it.
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