Halloween at Home: How to Have a Memorable Halloween!
My brother & I dressed up as Scully & Mulder from The X-Files. We had the BEST costumes! Thanks Mom!
Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday. There’s no pressure to have the perfect turkey to serve or anxiety over having presents for everyone. It’s pretty simple, candy, pumpkins, costumes & friends (plus a little spookiness, you have to have at least one spooky moment!).
I remember only trick-or-treating one time in an actual neighborhood, I enjoyed it but strangers made me uneasy and being a shy child I had a difficult time walking up to the strange & spooky houses. Fortunately for me the following year my church started a charming festival event on Halloween called “Pumpkin Palace”. It was complete with carnival games, prize tickets, candy, goldfish in plastic bags, pony rides and even an elephant that you could ride around in the straw arena. It was the most magical place I had ever seen and captured my whimsical child heart. Every year the event I most looked forward to was Pumpkin Palace.
As I got older I began to do set-up for the event, make sure booths had candy & enough beanbags, that kind of thing. I would even get to watch the beautiful elephant make her majestic entrance into the straw arena. It was still so magical and getting to watch others enjoy it made my treasured night even more precious.
It’s been 2 years since my church stopped hosting Pumpkin Palace. They wanted us to move into our own communities & neighborhoods instead of leaving them to be at church. At first I felt robbed of my prize night & felt rather devastated over the ending of such a sweet era. But, “Necessity is the mother of invention” (Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott) and with my family we planned out a wonderful new way to celebrate Halloween.
We will be carrying on this tradition tonight!
Here’s what we do:
We invite friends & family over for chili & a bonfire set up out front in our fire-pit with plenty chairs & warm blankets. We have loads of candy for trick-or-treaters and coffee travelers from Starbucks for the weary & chilly parents – this was a HUGE hit last year cause honestly, isn’t it nice for the parents to get something too? We have candles lit in the house, all our lights outside covered with those plastic jack-o-lantern from Target, and of course creepy movies playing in the background to set the mood (my personal favorites include: Sleepy Hollow – lots of spooky moments, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas – you have to sing-along, and The Addams Family – hilarious!).
We polish the night off with pumpkin pies, s’mores and a reading of “The Hallowiener” – seriously one of the cutest children’s books I’ve ever read. It had all of us in stitches! Go get yourself a copy!
Via Barnes & Noble
Last year was one of the most pleasant surprises as it kept the magic of Halloween alive for me even in the new setting.
I encourage you to put a fun little twist on your evening. See what you can do to serve & love others in your neighborhood even if it’s as easy as having some hot coco for the kids & parents. It’s a wonderful time to greet others, shed love on lives & be a place of light and joy on a dark evening.
Have a very Happy Halloween!
What traditions are you keeping up this year?
24 Comments
Hi Molly,
I love that picture of you and your brother!!! So cute, I love old pictures of different costumes. What an awesome memory. Thank you for sharing!!
Thanks Shayna!
I thought about doing a post with pictures of all the different costume duos we were. Maybe next year! I think everyone would like to see the Skipper & Gilligan year!
Because of you, I put on Nightmare Before Christmas in the living room and opened the curtains and windows for the kids who came to the door. Thanks for the idea!! I’m gonna try some other things next year, Molls, you’re the BEST!
oxoxo
kari
Kari,
That’s what we played too & just left on repeat. It was so fun to walk into the house & be greeted with the songs & Halloweeny images. I’m so glad you were a bit inspired, what a sweet compliment! I want to hear more about your Halloween, thanks for reading & sharing!
Scully –
Classic photo of you and Mulder, I remember that photo from days ago!
Well, Jesse loves turning on our Pumpkins and Ghost in our front window ever night. Jesse will say “SPOOKY” when he is turning them on, I love it! It is amazing to see life through a child’s eyes, everything is new and fun. We go to a friends house in San Clemente, there are about four or five homes that look like a Disney set. You would love this street, probable 5000 plus kids are on the street having a great time. Jesse had two pieces of candy, I know we are so generous with his candy, no I did not eat it all. I think this is the last year he will be limited to two pieces of candy. I love your post and photos! Great job!
Thanks so much Neil! That Halloween tract of homes sounds absolutely insane!! What fun & chaos!
I love “seeing the world through the eyes of a child” – it’s something I feel myself losing sometimes more than I’m gaining. I find Disneyland is the place where I most quickly revert back to my child-like vision & it’s such a joy to me when it does!
Enjoy that little Boy, I love hearing about all his funny words & phrases. Thanks for sharing!
Molly,
Great picture! Thanks for sharing you wonderful Halloween Traditions. It sounds like so much fun.
Amy
Thanks Amy!
Molly
I so remember you then! And I remember the Pumpkin Palace – the games – the kids . . oh the kids!
Halloween is so much more fun for me now . . I watch my grandkids turn themselves into all kinds of crazy things. Some even I can’t figure out. But at least the little ones still dress up . . the older kids just wear regular clothes, regular faces, carry a king size pillow slip and think their gonna get candy. No way! Costumes or nothing!
This was our little 3 year old Ella’s first Halloween that she could understand. Her TIA (aunt Kari) showed her all the ropes and she really got into it. I love your families tradition. It’s all about being together, enjoying the little ones and making new memories.
Love you to bits!
AP
Yes yes! It is all about being together, rewarding good costumes with candy & making funny memories to last you forever – just like this photo!
I’m so glad you enjoy Halloween & that you have so many grandchildren around you to make the holiday more festive.
Thanks for sharing!