Thursday, October 15, 2009

Fall...love it...Halloween..not so much.

I know, I know..I'm un-holiday not to love Halloween..

Around here, they decorate more for Halloween than any other holiday..


And I think it started when the kiddos were little and they got all dressed-up..

.. what fun it was, first deciding on what costume..then finding the money, or the time, or the resources to actually make the outfits...

Then to figure out the logistics of who goes with the kids and who stays home to answer the door..

What candy to buy so we don't seem like the cheap-o house..

..what neighborhoods might be better to take them to..who gives out full-sized candy bars and who gives out raisins...or old pennies..

..who has screeching, screaming music on the loud speakers at their house...

..who delights in scaring the be-jeebers out of the little kids at the door...

..all the time trying to convince the by-then hungry kiddos NOT to eat any of the candy before Mommy checked it over..and don't cry..that scary man was just trying to....uh..scare you..

Only to get home and try to sit down when your door-watcher has all of a sudden something important to do in the next room, or the next house, or the next country..and you're left to answer the door, make all baby-talk about the "cute little ghoulies and grim reapers"... and no, you can't have another and yes, you do need to say "thank you" and no, please don't throw the wrapper on the lawn..and please don't tease the dogs..

Then it's washing the faces, taking off the costumes (no, you cannot sleep in your Metalica make-up ) refereeing in the barter system of "this candy bar for that one" ..tossing out the suspicious home-made stuff from who knows..and fruit...

I'd prefer to just leave the bowl on the stoop, get a bigger bowl for me, turn off the lights and sit in the dark and main-line Candy Corn and Red Vines...


And what is it about all the ugly decorations? Creepy spiders...ugly half-dead zombies..gravestones?? yuck..

And don't forget the sugar hangovers the next day..not to mention if it's on a school night, having to get up after being awake late..and ingesting huge amounts of sweets??

Yeeeah..not my favorite holiday. I prefer "pretty" holidays..Easter, Christmas, Valentine's Day,

...National Pancake Day..

So, even though I do dress up and look ridiculous, humiliate myself by wearing balloons and a clear garbage bag and calling myself a bag of jelly beans..


..and even though I love pumpkins (before we manage to completely ugly-fy them by carving evil looking faces..)


I still don't like Halloween.

Signed,

-me

13 comments:

diane b said...

Well that is a breath of fresh air, I don't like it either but I thought all Americans were for it. We actually blame America for getting us involved in celebrating Halloween even though it originated in Ireland. Our younger generations are very much influenced by US television and movies and of course the retailers love to jump on any ideas that might help them sell more so Halloween has become commercialised here. BB and I often go to the movies that night to avoid the non stop interuptions. I guess we are party poopers.

RoeH said...

I hate it. It used to be a silly little kids day for trick or treat. Then the adults took it over and made it into a holiday for Satan. It's disgusts me. I never do it though that's not hard in my neighborhood. We don't get kiddos this far off the beat.

Unknown said...

I love Halloween! We do all those things you don't like: decorate the big front porch to the nines with stuffed mummies, huge spiders, bigger webs, graveyards in the yard, and the loud screeching music. The kids love it!

Lori R. said...

I don't care for Halloween in the traditional sense. I have been fortunate enough to be part of a group of people that decided to do something different over the years. On Halloween, we have a Harvest Party at our local town hall. A girlfriend of mine and I along with a few others started a Harvest Party 20+ years ago for all the local kids with a more Christian theme. We have games and prizes, food, a cake walk, and a costume contest. Everything is donated and we usually have anywhere from 40-60 kids ages up to 6th grade. It is a huge success and the fee to get in is a bag of candy. We take all the candy, mix it up and at the end of the night each child gets a bag of candy back with the assortment that was brought. My kids did all the Halloween stuff, but in this way.

Unknown said...

well i must say it is not my favorite holiday, way down on my list as a matter of fact, but it signifies the begining of the holiday season for me and that is why i enjoy it. i'm one of the idiots that will listen to that odd radio station here in utah that starts playing christmas music nov. 1. have a great day!

Jan said...

Oh Colleen, you had me in stitches! I feel the exact same way about Halloween. I'll decorate all I can for Fall, but you can keep Halloween. I'm that the one who dresses up as the cranky woman who doesn't give candy to children! : )

Ana said...

Hi there,
Just stopping by to say hello and to thank you for your very sweet comments. Oh and mustn't forget...thank you also for becoming a follower. I do hope you come to visit again soon. Until next time...Oh! But before I leave I also wanted to comment on your profile picture. I love it. Too cute. TTFN.

Smiles,
♥Ana~A Petite Cottage

June said...

I'm with you. It makes me tense. I do have a friend who loves it, and I manage to use her energy to get through the day. But I'm always glad to get past it and roll toward Thanksgiving, my adored holiday!

Thank you, Colleen, for the truly amazing attention you paid the girls' new blog. They are STILL laughing at your comment on the latest post. Your generosity warms my heart!

Laurie said...

HAHAHAHAH!! Love it! I too hate Halloween. It's my least favorite day of the year, it was ok when my son was a kid, but now I feel like Maxine! turn out the lights and lock the door. Leave the wee ones to fight over the candy left on the stoop.

A Wild Thing said...

Hope we get to see a rerun of Grandad dancing...I died laughing at that one...you da man girl...by the way, what was in the bag...?

Loved the shots of Ella, looks like there's one proud grammy that had a great time...she's an angel!

s

Pearl said...

Cute Post Colleen, I enjoyed it much!

Vicki/Jake said...

The only fun kinda Halloween thing is Witches Night Out at Gardner Village, but even that's getting so crowded! And I hate all the evil stuff, not the same as when we were young...
So turn out the lights and enjoy a movie in the dark!

Julie said...

I LOVE HALLOWEEN! But only vintage Halloween. I don't care for the modern stuff - too gory and creepy. And I have never really been into trick or treating. (Of course, we took Kristen out when she was young.) I thought that when we moved into our house we would have tons of trick or treaters but they avoided our street like the plague. So instead of buying candy that I won't give out I turn off the lights. I'd rather look at my vintage Halloween postcards and imagine what that holiday used to be like.

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