Halloween round-up 2011

Halloween was Fang-tastic this year! (pumpkin on a Cobble Hill, Brooklyn stoop)

Happy day after Halloween! It's been a super-fun Halloween season and I thought I'd share some of my favorite moments of October, 2011 with you.

First off, a big shout-out to my Twitter friends and my friends on Facebook. I know that when it's time to discuss the relative merits of smooth vs. warty pumpkins or the true meaning of Play-Doh Ghosts, you guys will jump into the debate! Thanks.

Also, it was really fun talking to the variety of journalists who interviewed me and wrote articles about me and my Halloween book, Real Family Halloween Fun. Many of these folks are Halloween nerds themselves and I had some hilarious conversations with rather well-respected newspaper people and bloggers about bloody eyeballs and things like that. Special shout-out to the hardcore Halloween fanatics like 365Halloween.com and AEIOU ... and Sometimes Why for letting me be part of the spooky gang. 

I spent October talking to all of you about Halloween. (Sound like fun? Yes, it was.) When I wasn't discussing things like the history of National Candy Corn Day, I was out in my Brooklyn neighborhood taking pictures of the Halloween decorations.

Genuinely scary skeleton on Clinton Street 

Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, is a bit of a Halloween epicenter, drawing trick-or-treaters from all over Brooklyn - and the trick-or-treating starts at 2:30pm! Residents here really know how to show their Halloween spirit, and it was easy finding great decorations to share with readers. 

Some trends in decorations this year:

• giant, fuzzy spiders

• elaborately etched pumpkins

• body parts, often in planters

• using spider webs for blankets and veils

• flat witches that have supposedly crashed into windows

And then, just when we should all have been making candied apples and shopping for the perfect halo, along came a freak snow storm on 10/29/11. They said it was coming but we didn't believe them. This was Dave's reaction:

Luckily, NYC didn't get hit as hard as Westchester county or parts of New Jersey, where one of my friends got 19 inches of snow! In Brooklyn, the snow was all melted by Monday and trick-or-treating commenced directly after school.

Angel, Black Ninja, Red Ninja

And much candy was had by all. And a shocking sugar low was had at around 9pm, despite the pre-trick-or-treating snack. Oh well, it's only once a year.


My kids loved making all the crafts and recipes this year. My daughter is particularly deft at all this and likes to be involved with all aspects of my projects. When I cautioned her to be careful with the glue on one craft she informed me, "I'm always careful." Come on, Mom, get in the game.


Thanks to everybody for the fun & support. See you next year!


Maggie

To the victor go the spoils.

Bobbing for Donuts, the Movie

I posted earlier about bobbing for donuts as an alternative to bobbing for apples for little kids. Now, here it is in cinema verité. There's no audio, so don't drive yourself insane trying to turn it up.

Halloween Activity: Shoe Toss Fortune-Telling

Left shoe upside down: Beware mean and selfish people!

Fortune-Telling is a key activity at any Halloween gathering. 2,000 years ago the Celts believed October 31st was a night particularly auspicious for seeing the future. Take advantage of the rift between this world and the afterlife to check out what lays in store for you and your kids. If you can, have a quiet, darkened room set aside for the Fortune-Teller. Set the mood with candles, tarot cards, a crystal ball, things like that. Burn some incense if it doesn't make your neighbors think you're running a head shop. Like my neighbors would. Let your fortune-teller be disguised enough that it isn’t too obvious that she is someone’s mom. There are all kinds of ways to tell fortunes - with cards, tea leaves, palm reading, etc. But a Shoe Toss is particularly fun - kids think it's hilarious to throw their shoes up the air and have the fortune-teller read them when they fall. How to tell a fortune with shoes: First, have the subject take his or her shoes off and toss them in the air. After they land, read the ancient signs: • If both shoes are upside down and not touching, the subject will travel her whole life. • If they are both right side up and not touching, she will excel in business. • Left shoe upside down: beware mean and selfish people! • Right shoe upside down means the subject should be sure to follow her own dreams, not someone else’s. • If both shoes are crossed, the subject will fall in love and get married soon. • If the toes of the shoes are pointed in opposite directions, the subject is an independent thinker. • (You can make up your own.) Have fun and beware mean and selfish people!