October 1st marks the beginning of the Halloween season in my household and it is our favorite time of year. Some of our decorations are spooky, some not so much.
I try to use lots of fall-ish stuff so it can hold-over into the month of November too. We have very important Halloween traditions that must be followed every year. Last night we watched "the Legend of Sleepy Hollow," (the old Bing Crosby Disney version) and we're saving "the Great Pumpkin" for closer to the 31st.
We've already read "the Witchy Broom" (yes, aloud...my southern beau is a good sport) which is my favorite scary story from childhood. My first pumpkin (from September) already went to the pumpkin graveyard, but there are plenty more to take his place. I love the Cinderella pumpkins, they just seem magical to me. Since my dog Leon ate a squash last year, I tried to keep them all contained (and not so close to the ground) this time around. So far, so good.
I probably won't dress up this year for Halloween, although I have many great memories of fun costumes through the years. One year I was a bunch of grapes, with purple balloons stuck all over my 7-year old self. Another year I dressed up as a nurse.
One thing that makes me sad is it seems like lots of people are anti-Halloween these days. I guess I understand where they are coming from with the p.o.v. that it is the devil's holiday. The funny thing to me is that my devout Freewill Baptist grandparents (who didn't even believe in tv) got the biggest kick out of Halloween of anyone I know. I have vivid memories of dressing up and going to their house for treats every year. I grew up thinking that if they were for it, it was right up there with Christmas!