Trick-or-treating in our neighborhood is completely different than anything I ever grew up with, so it never ceases to blow my mind. And, yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. It's November. You're ready to forget all about Halloween. So am I. I have already mentally started setting up Christmas trees, so I get it. But I have these photographs I want to post, so PFFFFFFFT. November 1st is almost still Halloween. Close enough to count, anyway.
So trick-or-treating around here always blows my mind, and this year was no exception. While there was a steady rain all through the festivities, there were still a ton of kids roaming around in costume. If it hadn't been so dark, there would be photos of some of the better dressed punks. There certainly were a ton of them, as evidence by the fact that we went through $50 worth of candy in no time flat.
(It's a good thing I like Halloween or that dollar amount would make me twitch. A lot. OH, WAIT. IT DOES.)
Just about every house hands out candy, and the vast majority of homeowners set up shop at the end of their driveway. This year many of them feared melting in the rain, so they moved to their garages when possible. Others did this weird thing I haven't really seen since we moved. They stayed inside their house and waited for kids to knock on the door. I vaguely remember that being the standard mode of operation in my childhood . . . many, many moons ago.
I like the whole end-of-the-driveway thing better. It means less walking and less risk of a sidewalk or stairs reaching up and trying to punch my kid in the face.
Oh, and I like this.
Both the police department and fire department roam the neighborhood handing out candy. For some reason, I find that to be pretty kick-ass.
This also kicks ass.
Mostly I say that because it amazes me that people can leave giant bowls of candy unattended and they manage to last the entire night. I'm pretty sure that if I had encountered that when I was a kid, I would have gone back a few times to grab a fistful of candy. Or two.
There is hope for our next generation. Maybe.
While I'm busy proclaiming my love for Halloween, I suppose I could show you just how deep that love runs. Behold, our yard!
Part of it, anyway.
Those tombstones are going to be the death of me. Every year I fight with them daily because they fall over and blow away and generally just suck. And yet every year I put them in the yard again. Is that the definition of insanity?
Or is this?
How about this?
Big thanks to @rockingpony for contributing to my madness with that Woody. He's amazing!
I set up my usual jack o' lantern that makes it very clear how I feel about princesses.
And Alexis and the husband collaborated for this masterpiece.
It looked pretty good once it was dark outside.
What didn't look good after dark was my ghost lanterns.
I was going to post the steps for making them, but then it rained and rained and my little friendly ghosts decided they didn't want to light up anymore. Apparently plugging in eight ghosts was enough to send our electrical system into a frenzy. I tried to find a way around the whole disaster, but it didn't matter where I plugged them in, a circuit blew. I like hot water and I like being able to turn on lights in the house, so I had to give up. They're cool lit up, though. Trust me.
Alexis' contribution to the house looked good lit up at night as well. I didn't remember to take a photograph after dark, but these things?
Are awesomeness.
They're easy to make. Black wrapping paper (Party City and Walmart both have it). Trace a human (that one is Alexis-shaped). Cut it out. Tape it to the window. DONE.
Alexis made the one in the left window. It's me. I'm sure you figured that out based on the ape arms and tiny head.
Alexis was also responsible for this.
Times two.
I bet you can guess which of the dogs has forgiven Alexis and which is plotting ways to get revenge.
It's a good thing the Bulldog can't figure out how to climb the ladder to Alexis' bed.