1. The spirit of fun in it! The costumes, the decorations, the candy, the parties, and the chance for the little kid deep inside your heart to come out and play awhile!
2. Trick or treating kids, especially ones with cute and/or clever costumes.
3. Picking out great treats to hand out. Candy shopping is serious business around here!
4. E.T.!!! A classic American Halloween film, and much loved in this house. It still makes me cry every. single. time.
5. Classic Halloween reading. Anything by Edgar Allen Poe, obviously, but also things like The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and the stories of H.P. Lovecraft.
6. Modern Halloween reading. Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Alice Hoffman (both the book and the movie for Practical Magic were great) Chris Bohjalian, Sarah Addison Adler, and a whole host of newer authors write plenty of scary, mystical, magical stuff to get you in the Halloween spirit!
7. Candy corn!! Yes, I know it's sugar coated sugar. I still love it. October wouldn't be the same without at least one good candy corn binge (and a guaranteed stomachache that will put me off the stuff for the rest of the year!)
8. Picking out pumpkins, gourds, and potted mums for a cheerful, welcoming front door.
9. Candy apples and cotton candy from the fair.
10. The fair!! It's in town this week. Nothing makes me feel like a kid again faster than the fair!
11. Jack o lanterns! I love planning them, carving them, and most of all, lighting them!
This is Halloween
13. All things purple, orange, and green!
14. Scary movies. From campy cult classics to 80's slasher films (the theme music from the Michael Myers movies still makes a chill go up my spine!), classic horror films to modern frightfests, nothing sets them mood for Halloween like a good scary movie!
15. All the iconic images: black cats, witches on broomsticks, white-sheeted ghosties, full moons, bats, spiders and spiderwebs, and the list goes on.
16. Parties and party games. Fortune telling, Ouija boards, apple bobbing, and all the other fun things we associate with Halloween parties.
17. Neighborhood yard displays, and the fun loving adults who go to so much trouble to set them up.
18. Pet costumes. Yes they're silly. They're still awesome!
19. Ghost stories.
20. Corn mazes, hayrides, and farm festivals.
21. Spook house tours. When I was a kid, even the elementary schools had them set up (along with other carnival activities) and charged admission for people to walk through and get scared. I would beg my dad to take me, then usually chicken out at the entrance (or spend the whole time with my face buried in his chest).
22. The new "build a pumpkin" app on my tablet. Halloween-themed memes, forwards, shared photos, and blog posts. The internet is fun this time of year!
23. Vampires. I love a good vampire story. And none of this wussy Twilight stuff, thank you very much! I came of age when vampires were still dangerous and cool. I loved the first Fright Night as a girl, and also The Lost Boys. As for books, it's hard to go wrong with the original Dracula.
24. Giant lawn leaf bags made to look pumpkins, and the people who use them!
25. Blog parties and giveaways. Although I've not had time to participate this year, I love reading blog parties posts in October. There is so much talent out in the blogosphere!
26. Seasonal scented candles.
27. Chex mix made with Reece's pieces.
28. The seasonal perfumes offered at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. If you've never checked them out, do yourself a favor and visit this link: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab
29. Food, decorating, and lifestyle magazines chock full of Halloween craft, costume, and decoration ideas.
30. Leftover candy. Although I always try to be extra generous with the last few trick or treaters each year (who needs that much sugar in the house?) there is always some left over. And I buy the good stuff.
31. Reminiscing about Halloweens long past with my friends and family. Halloween is truly one of the joys of childhood.
Reading your list was such a lovely delight, dear Jennifer - I was nodding my head vigorously in unison the way through (I had a forehead slap moment about five minutes after my post went up I realized that I forgot to include reading some of Poe's spookier works as one of my October musts, because it truly is) and swear I'm even more excited now for the big day than ever.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing some of the highlights and beloved traditions of this enchanting, eerie, awesome time of the year for you, my sweet friend.
Big hugs & the happiest of All Hallows Eve countdowns!
♥ Jessica
You lost me after No 2. Not keen on Halloween.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder your grandsons call you "Grumpy"!! :)
DeleteI do go 'overboard' for the local children; scared the bejeesus out of them last year!
Delete