Trick or Treat?
Halloween is once again upon us bringing lots of fun and joy to children and adults alike. We dress up in silly outfits, we take our children trick or treating, we hand out candy, and go to themed parties. It is a holiday that brings with it a unique opportunity to do different things. There is so much to do to make the most of October 31st and the weekends surrounding it.
Creative Costumes
Anybody can go to a store and buy a packaged costume kit, but where is the fun in that? Sure these premade garments are cute and easy but they are basic and lack personality. Part of the fun of Halloween is coming up with the best, and most creative costumes. These outfits can be a group of friends or family members to create a theme. Often times these get-ups can be done with things we already own or for real cheap. The first thing we must do, prior to purchasing anything, is decide on what we want to dress up as and coordinate with our group, if need be. After this we can search our closets for a base to work with. Once this is established we have an idea of what we actually need. The first place to look is clearance outlets and thrift stores. Odds are our outfits will only be worn for one or two nights so it makes no sense to spend too much money. It is crucial to remain flexible with our ideas. We are never going to find exactly what we first had in mind and often we find things that work better than expected. Just remember to let your creative side take over; follow a simple, yet flexible, plan; and have fun doing it.
Candy
It is hard to not notice the impact of candy during the Halloween season, we can buy it almost anywhere. Stores put up massive displays, advertise like crazy, and put it front and center at every opportunity. Our children are thrilled, they know they are about to get free candy for being silly and walking around for a bit. As adults, and parents, we also get a little joy from eating out kid’s candy haul. We can’t let them eat it all themselves anyways. Additionally, leftovers are often around the workplace. We know we will eat too much if we leave it at home so we take it and share it with just about everyone. What we often don’t realize about Halloween is that it is a holiday of giving. We give candy to children that come to our doors, we give candy to our friends and coworkers, and often times we donate extra candy to children in need. We often spend too much time thinking about buying stuff for the holiday and lose track of the good we are doing. Everyone, children and adults, like being given candy and Halloween gives us an excuse to do so. So when you are sitting and waiting for the next group of kids to walk up to your house and say trick or treat, take a minute and remember that we are making others happy and we should feel good about it. Finally, and most importantly, remember not to eat too much candy. It is not healthy and rather fattening.
Pumpkins
Odds are pumpkins are a major part of Halloween because they are in harvest at the same time of year, but who really cares. It doesn’t matter why we carve pumpkins to make jack-o-lanterns, what matters is it is fun. Everything about pumpkins can be made into an event. Sure we can buy that at any grocery store, garden center, or superstore we want but doing so takes away from the experience. The best way to buy a pumpkin is to find a local farm, or farmers market, and go out to the country. This activity can be paired with apple picking to make a day of fun. If we look around our cities long enough we are sure to find places that advertise family fun. Halloween allows us to celebrate the end of the fall season and we owe it to ourselves to make the most of it. It is a great excuse to do something different, spend some time outside, and to buy a pumpkin.
Back to pumpkins, they are also delicious. We can use them to make a wide variety of things, from pies, to flavored coffee, to simple cooked pumpkin seeds. If we are not great bakers of cooks, we can buy the food and drink from others. It is easily found at grocery stores, coffee shops, and bakeries. For those of us who are artistic we can paint pumpkins and even carve them. Just remember this can be a messy process and does take some time to set up and clean up. If we are not artistic we can purchase stencil kids that ensure our jack-o-lanterns turn out somewhat well. It doesn’t matter how we use pumpkins to decorate, just remember to have fun.
There is so much that we can do to celebrate Halloween. We didn’t discuss the themed parties we can go to, we didn’t mention the number of costume contests we can enter, we didn’t talk about decorating, and we didn’t talk about pumpkin beer. There are so many ways to celebrate Halloween and so many ways to make the night memorable, that we often get overwhelmed. Just remember that like most holidays it is important to have fun. We must not forget to take pictures and make memories that will last a lifetime. In the end, it doesn’t matter what we wear or eat, the only thing that matters is that we have a great time.