Category Archives: Halloween

Why You Should Never Tell Anyone They Are Too Old To Trick-or-Treat

I will never forget the last time I went trick-or-treating.  It was the year it finally happened – my Mom said I was mature enough to be trusted to wear my Dad’s army uniform as my costume!  I was giddy with excitement.  I had looked forward to those words for a long time.

I was going to wear a real army uniform.

I was going to wear a real army uniform that belonged to my Dad.

I was going to wear a real army uniform that belonged to my Dad who died when I was 3.

It had been 10 years since my Dad passed and I only had one clear memory of him: sitting in bed with him watching Perry Mason, which was our nightly ritual.  My only other vivid memory of my toddler years was that of walking into our church’s sanctuary, as I’m sure I did most Sundays, but this time everyone turned to stare.  I saw tears running down many cheeks. I grabbed my Mom’s hand tighter as I suddenly felt very scared.  And sad.  But I didn’t understand why.  I had no idea at the time what “funeral” meant.   Ten years later I understood all too well.

Since I had so few memories of my Dad, I cherished any connection I could feel with him.  He wore his uniform many, many times and now I would get to wear it too!

When Halloween arrived, I could barely contain myself until time to trick-or-treat.  This was going to be the. most. epic. costume. ever.  I  meticulously tucked all of my hair into the hat, smudged my face and carefully put on the uniform.

I was fully grown to my current height of 5’8″ in 7th grade and in that authentic uniform, I could have easily passed for an actual army recruit headed off to boot camp.  But I wasn’t.  I was just a kid who was proud to be closer to my Dad for an evening.  And excited to get candy, of course.

I met up with a friend who lived in my neighborhood and we had started our door to door quest, when it happened.  She happened.

We rang the doorbell at a house and before we could even get out any words, the lady across the threshold scoffed, “You are too old to trick or treat!” And slammed the door.

We stood there in silence – the huge grins that had been there moments before were instantly wiped away.  The magical evening I had anticipated was ruined.  I no longer felt pride in parading around in my Dad’s uniform.

I felt stupid.  And embarrassed.

You see, up until that very moment, it had never crossed my mind that I was too old to trick or treat.  Not once.  But after that night things changed. I stopped doing “childish” things.  Because the last thing one needs during that already awkward tween to teen stage is feeling ridiculed.

My Dad’s uniform never left the closet again.  I never went trick-or-treating again.

All because of one slammed door.

All because of a two cent piece of candy.

I welcome any age to ring my doorbell on Halloween.  Most are just looking for a treat, and a few might even be looking to play tricks.  But maybe, just maybe there’s one with a reason that All Hallows Eve is more of a hallowed eve.  One who has more to her story.

One who feels like she’s trick-or-treating with her Dad for the first time.

 

I Got Tricked, But You Could Get A Treat #FrozenCostume #Giveaway

When Jimmy was a toddler, he became quite obsessed with Halloween.  One day he announced that he wanted to have the scariest house in the neighborhood.  I took that challenge and ran with it.  I started stockpiling terrifying and gruesome décor.

November 1st became my “Black Friday.”  I’d be up bright and early ordering discounted items online and waiting at the party store when it opened to clear out their clearance section.

I finally had to curb my enthusiasm for buying all things Halloween – because my storage room was full (and my bank account empty!).  But we still look forward to the most spooktacular day of the year.

After shopping for all things scary, I prided myself on being the bravest “Mummy” around, but once when I reached in this bin to grab a decoration that was under some costume capes, I was turned into a total scaredy cat!

What do you think had me so terrorized???

No, it wasn’t the monster hand that frightened me.

It was something

much,

much

scarier.

The not-so-scaredy cat, Mushu, wasn’t startled at all.  He was just annoyed that I woke him.  That’ll teach me to make sure it is JUST black capes before I stick my hand in next time…


Filed under the “things I never thought I’d have to say” category…

“Don’t hit your brother with the cat!!!!!”

Don’t worry, it isn’t Mushu.


Mushu may not have been afraid when I reached in the bin, but I think he met his match.

I always loved the “spot the differences” game.


Brownie really enjoyed this scratch behind the ears.

She just didn’t know it was going to cost an arm and a leg.

She still owes us the leg.


Notice anything unusual in this “Trunk or Treat” photo?  No, not the flying white witch.  Or the giant cockroach.  Or the freaky looking face to the left of Greg (although I don’t remember that being there when I took the photo…hmm…).  Check out Eric’s “bag” for collecting his candy.

Yes, it is an empty ravioli box.  Not decorated, not disguised, not even tucked in flaps.  Just a ravioli box.


Buying a costume for trick-or-treating is always a highlight of the season but some costumes can cost an arm and a leg (and not the kind used for Brownie’s back scratch!).  I’m sure one or two of you has heard of a little movie called Frozen.  😉  I’m also sure it will be THE costume of choice for most of the younger set this year.  My kids are unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how many times I’ve avoided hearing “Let It Go”) past the Frozen infatuation.  While they are more into chilling thrilling zombies than chilly silly snowmen, I know many of you are knee deep in Elsa-and-Anna-land, so I’m teaming up with Kandoo and some of my favorite bloggers on Instagram to co-host an epic Frozen Halloween costume giveaway. What Elsa could be better? (ba-dum-ching) And there’s a gift card prize too – for all the thawed boys and ghouls.

Frozen IG Contest

We’re giving away three Frozen Halloween costumes and a $100 Amazon Gift card! I can hear the squeals from here!

Frozen IG Contest Prizes

Enter Now!

Complete the form below to enter. Four winners will be chosen to receive one of the prizes. Must be 18 years of age to enter. Giveaway ends at Midnight on Saturday, October 11, 2014.

Be sure to Instagram your kids in their favorite Halloween costumes using #FrozenHalloween. We’ll see you there!

Whether you’re trying to potty train your toddler or you just want your older kids to wash their hands every time, be sure to visit Kandoo for great tips, tricks and products for naturally clean fun!

Momopolize received no compensation for sponsoring this event, and is not responsible for the delivery of the prize. Prize delivery is the sole responsibility of Kandoo.

Portions of this post were previously published in Mc-Boo-n-isms. Click here to see more of our Halloween fun.

 

The Beast of a Different Color

I originally wrote this for a Ghost Story series on Funny Life Stories.

A childhood friend had a farm that we visited frequently.  We spent hours upon hours riding horses or just running around the acres of land.

Haunted House
Photo: indiegogo.com

But there was one area we would never venture near.  At the back of the property was a house.  An old abandoned house.  THE house.  The HAUNTED house.

There were many rumors about mysterious noises heard and sights seen.  We had heard all the stories and had always steered clear.

Until the day we didn’t.

We stubbornly decided to prove our bravery by visiting the house.  We walked for what seemed like miles, getting more nervous with every step.  We crossed field after field.  Climbed fence after fence.

As the house came into view, we were each too proud to turn back.  Then we saw it.  Movement behind one of the broken windows.  We gasped.  We crept closer in an attempt to get a better look.  We saw more movement.  We climbed the fence into the final field separating us from the house.  We were so intently trying to get a better look at the shadowy figure, we didn’t notice anything else around us.

We were shocked to see more movement, but this time in the field instead of the house.  There was no doubt this time.  It was clear as day, and running right toward us.  It was huge and terrifying and we were momentarily frozen in fear and disbelief.

We snapped out of our stupor and ran as fast as we could, screaming all the way across that field in front of the haunted house, with the giant beast on our heels.  We sprinted until we reached the fence and hopped it in a quick jump.

In our quest to solve the mystery of the monster house, we had inadvertently entered the field of a different kind of monster.

Photo: animal-photos.org
Photo: animal-photos.org

A bull.

After being chased by that behemoth, the shadowy figure didn’t seem quite so scary after all.

Circle of Moms Top 25 vote button

Mc-BOO-n-isms

I pride myself on being pretty brave with spookiness at Halloween, but as I reached in this bin to grab a decoration that was under some costume capes, I was turned into a total scaredy cat!

What do you think had me so terrorized???

No, it wasn’t the monster hand below the decoration that frightened me.

It was something

much,

much,

much,

much scarier.

The not-so-scaredy cat, Mushu, wasn’t startled at all.  He was just annoyed that I woke him.  That’ll teach me to make sure it is JUST black capes before I stick my hand in next time…

________________________________________________

Filed under the “things I never thought I’d have to say” category…

“Don’t hit your brother with the cat!!!!!”

Don’t worry, it isn’t Mushu.

________________________________________________

Mushu may not have been afraid when I reached in the bin, but I think he met his match.

Mushu was happy I used my crappy camera phone so you all can’t see the terror in his eyes.

________________________________________________

Brownie really enjoyed this scratch behind the ears.

She just didn’t know it was going to cost an arm and a leg.

She still owes us the leg.

________________________________________________

Speaking of the arm, it mysteriously shows up in the weirdest places in our house.  And no one ever claims responsibility for moving it.  It’s a little disturbing…

But you know what is MORE disturbing??  That my children think it is acceptable to throw their sports crap equipment all over the floor.

________________________________________________

Notice anything unusual in this “Trunk or Treat” photo?  No, not the flying white witch.  Or the giant cockroach.  Or the freaky looking face to the left of Greg (although I don’t remember that being there when I took the photo…hmm…).  Check out Eric’s “bag” for collecting his candy.

Yes, it is an empty Chefboyardee ravioli box.  Not decorated, not disguised, not even tucked in flaps.  Just a ravioli box.

________________________________________________

Every year we forget to carve our pumpkin.  So we are always frantically scooping out pumpkin guts as the trick-or-treaters are arriving.  This year Greg saved the day and did the pumpkin all by himself (well, with a little help from Dad on the sharp stuff) before the trick-or-treaters arrived.

________________________________________________

For a work event, Jim had to show off his baking skills by bringing in a Halloween themed dessert. He found this fun idea that he thought seemed simple enough.  I should have warned him that anything on Martha Stewart’s website is never as easy as it looks.

Photo: marthastewart.com

He could only find regular waffle cones (not chocolate) and regular Twizzlers (not string licorice), but assembled the rest of the ingredients.  He worked into the wee hours of the morning and was pretty happy with his results.  Until he had the following conversation with Greg…

Greg: What are those supposed to be?

Jim: What do you think they are supposed to be?

Greg: Ummmm…Snowmen?

So much for the MartyStewart.com idea.

________________________________________________

What was the most terrifying thing I saw this Halloween season, you may ask?  This teenage girl who was obviously bewitched by Jake.  Eeeeeek.

________________________________________________

I always loved the “spot the differences” game.  Comment with the differences YOU can find!

Hint: There are 47.

________________________________________________

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Don’t Pull Down My Underwear

“Trick Or Treat, Give Me Something Good To Eat” was supposed to happen today.  But Sandy happened instead.  She shut down everything here for the past two days.  Frankenstorm apparently wanted something BAD to eat.

The lyrics to that song end “…if you don’t, I don’t care.  I’ll pull down your underwear.”  I realize I didn’t give something good to eat.  Yet.  But I do care.  So please don’t pull down my underwear.  I vote for pantsing Sandy instead.

The song has another verse that ends “…not too big, not too small.  Just the size of Montreal.”  The piles of food in my living room are pretty much the size of Montreal!  The generous donations and words of encouragement I received have been nothing short of incredible.  I just love living in a community that is so wonderfully caring of those less fortunate!  I have Mount Royal right in my living room (That’s a mountain in Montreal.  I Googled it…don’t overestimate my knowledge of geography.).

Notice the guard cat, Mushu.  I gave strict orders to keep all kids away from the donations.  He and Bob B. McKitty take shifts and both look pretty ferocious with their glowing eyes.

In case anyone makes it past the cats, there is back-up security.  The hand has a motion sensor that triggers the fingers to wiggle.  It is jointed just like a real hand so it actually looks like it is trying to grab you.  Ain’t nobody goin’ near the food with that freaky thing around!

I must admit I’m bummed about coming up with Plan B Plan C Plan D for this event.  I’m not looking forward to figuring out how to incorporate a “trick or treat” idea into a post-Halloween event.  It may not be possible to reschedule immediately, so it may be closer to Thanksgiving than Halloween by the time it is held. Leave it to me to schedule an outdoor, community-wide event on the same day as the storm of the century.

I thought of referring to it Thanksgivoween, but my kids kept re-phrasing that to Thanksgivoweenie.  But hey, maybe I could serve turkey hot dogs and just run with that idea!  

I guess I’ll just follow the lead of retail stores and overlap holidays.

Photo: www.toilette-humor.com

It blows when things don’t work out as planned, but as long as you remember what is important, you can always weather the storm.  The treats WILL get to the children that need them, regardless of whether they are wearing costumes and saying “trick-or-treat” or if they are wearing turkey feathers and saying “I want to gobble up some treats!”  How they get the food isn’t what is important.  THAT they get the food is.

But I’m still mad at Sandy.  ________________________________________________

Many prayers go out to everyone that had much more than a trick-or-treat event ruined by Sandy.  Way too many people were not fortunate enough to avoid the havoc she wreaked.

________________________________________________

(I promise to try to start using the real camera instead of my crappy quality cell phone.  Try being the key word.)

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Give Me Something Good To Eat

 

Trick Or Treat, Give Me Something Good To Eat will take place a week from today!

Now I just cross my fingers that it all comes together ok.  In other words, I will worry incessantly that it won’t.

As soon as I pressed send for the sign-up genius, I realized just how many people will need to sign up to get enough items.  It’s a scary number. Even if the only attendees are the children that will already be at an after school activity at the school where it is being held.  Eek.

I fear that I won’t hear back about a corporate donation from Walmart.  It would need to be approved in a few days.  Nothing in the corporate world takes a few days.  Yikes.

I panicked when I realized that AOL will no longer allow me to send emails to my entire community distribution list without labeling me a spammer so I’m not able to reach out to as many people as I had hoped.

I’m apprehensive about finding enough volunteers to decorate their cars/tables and hand out treats in the middle of the week, at a hectic time of day.  It made sense to correlate the event with the other activity at the school since so many children we are trying to help will already be there, but it is a nightmare time of day – even for me.

I feel trepidation over not knowing how many children will show up.  My worst fear is seeing little faces holding out a bag and telling them we are out of food!  “Sorry little one, you get a trick.  We are out of treats.”  That would be more awful than the worst horror movie ever.

I guess Halloween really CAN be a terrifying holiday.  And not just because of the monsters.

____________________________

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084CADAA28A57-trick

Hoping the only scary part of this event is the costumes and decorations! 🙂