Hollerweenish

Halloween, or as I like to say, “Hollerween,” was two days ago and this year I had a lot of thoughts on the holiday. And because I like to share what’s in my brain, here are a few of those thoughts in no particular order:

• Wouldn’t it be cool if everyone started calling Halloween, “Hollerween?”
• Why isn’t Halloween and other ‘lesser’ holidays featured in novels more often? For example, wouldn’t it be great if two characters were trying to have a serious, deep conversation about their relationship and they kept getting interrupted by trick or treaters?
• People thought I should dress up my baby and take him trick or treating.
• What was with all the super-gory, slasher-esque, violent, gun toting, bloody mess trick or treaters this year? Yes, in years past I got tired of serving 8 Ariels, 10 Sleeping Beautys, 12 Sponge Bobs, and 14 Knights and wished for some originality, but really. (I take it back.)
• How is it that I got 120 trick or treaters and our right next door neighbour got 152? Am I that scary?
• Streets with sidewalks get more trick or treaters.
• Kids are pretty good about folks who leave a bowl of treats on their front step.
• Houses that are well lit up get more treaters.
• Houses with lots and lots of decorations get lots more treaters.
• In neighbourhoods that get more than 100 treaters per house are less likely to give out chocolate. (That gets freakin’ expensive!!!)
• Some parents allow their kids to treat for hours and then throw out most of their kids’ candy because they don’t want them to have that much.
• Teenagers and pre-teens still treat with pillow cases and still try to get them as full as possible. I figure half a case is worth at least $40 in candy. (I wonder how much neighbourhoods spend on candy?)
• Teens find going door to door just as the treating is ending to be particularly prosperous.
• Parents who come to the door with their kid’s trick or treat bag and say, “My daughter’s in the car and I’m trick or treating for her” need to be visited by the ghost of future Halloween. Or maybe the ghost of future parenting.
• Snow doesn’t stop trick or treaters–but we already knew that, didn’t we? (Okay, maybe it stopped one little overly pampered brat.)
• And last but not least, if you are taller than the person handing out the treats (i.e. me!) you are too old to trick or treat.

How about you? Any interesting Halloween notes?

Here Comes Halloween…Again

For me, the end of October means Halloween. It also means that my husband’s birthday is right around the corner and now, that NaNoWriMo is too!

On the subject of Halloween, I still have a gorgeous lion costume I was planning to take to a consignment shop. But like last year, it’ll languish in the closet for at least another 365 days. Sometime between now and the dawn of Halloween, I’ve got to find a 6’3″ Elvis costume. Hmmm…

However, I am getting off easy this year. I don’t have to dress up. I even missed the volunteer sign up for my daughter’s kindergarten class party. I tell ya, that sign up was full before it was even tacked to the wall. Yikes!

In past years, waaaay back when I dressed up as Pippy Longstocking.

That was a fun costume. I stuck coat hangers in my braids to make them stick up and dyed my coverall shorts blue. I even sprayed my blonde hair red. I really went to town on that costume. However, finding stripy leggings to complete the costume was difficult. So difficult, that I ended up sacrificing a pair of white longjohns and painting them, in all infinite wisdom, with the metal paint I had on hand from doctoring up my car.

Sorry, the editor won’t let me turn Mikey the right side up.

Let me tell you, it takes a long time for metal paint to dry on waffle long johns. In fact, they still weren’t dry when I went out to the bar. No worries, right? Well…the paint fumes might have been a problem if I had been a smoker and it only took a few days for the paint that had soaked through the fabric to wash off.

Have you ever dressed up as a literary character? Go over to Matt’s blog and vote if you have (or haven’t). And have a safe and happy Halloween everyone!