A Fond Farewell to Halloween 2010 - Recap

Well Hallowe'en has once again slipped hauntingly into the land of pleasant memories. It takes its place in the boneyard of Hallowe'ens past. But like all Hallowe'ens before it....this one too, deserves to have a fitting wake. A trip down memory lane to recap the highlights of the magic it left in the hearts and minds of our Hallowe'en loving family!
Yep, it's official....the post Halloween blues have settled in. You would think it to be a feeling only experienced by children after Christmas. And it's true that I often feel quite childish in my fascination with all things Halloween. The excitement and the anticipation are very real for me. So the build up to the day is every bit as exciting as the day itself. Thus I often begin to mourn its passing even before the actual day has arrived. But I can honestly say that Halloween night this year was just as perfect as it could possibly be. Halloween falling on a Sunday made for a nice relaxing day. The kids and I even had time to catch some Halloween shows on TV and make the Gingerbread Haunted House we were given as a gift. I thought it turned out pretty cute.We had a gathering of friends and family over for dinner and treats before the evening's festivities began, and you can see some of them in the photo below. There are still several others that failed to make it into this shot, including me, because I was taking the photos. Although the intentions were there, some of us, myself included....did not actually dress up in costume this year. We just ran out of time and energy I suppose. But we did wear assorted hats and ears at least!
We had yummy Potato Bacon and Cheddar Soup for dinner with warm bread for dunking. It was the perfect hearty meal to fill everyone up so that our energy would sustain us through the night. And of course there were lots of cakes and cookies and dips and candy as well. The elders of the family come and dress up to stay back at the house to pass out candy, while the rest of us head out into the streets to take the kiddos Trick or Treating. These are my little nieces all dressed up and ready to head out for the night!
My daughter and her quartet of tween-agers giggled and chatted incessantly as they disappeared into the crowd of families. And we decided to take the new Electric Vehicle out and about. You can't really see it here, but we affectionately named our cart "Black Magic", and I designed a decal of the name, with a crescent moon and stars to put on the front. I figured if the neighbors weren't scared enough of us already....they would be now...muwahahahaha!
Now this might seem a bit like cheating, but I can assure you that we were just one of several folks on golf carts Sunday. Our neighborhood is very large, but beyond that, the lots are very large, which makes for a lot of walking. On foot, the kids and adults typically can only make it down 2 streets, 3 streets max, before your feet are aching. And since it's Florida, you're usually drenched in sweat too. But not this year....
Not only was the weather cool and perfect for a change, but we decided to deck the 'Golf Cart' out in jack o'lantern lights and Halloween decals, and use it to transport our large crew around. It seats six adults, but can take more when there are smaller children or smaller tushies on board! So we devised a system to work in shifts. The hubby and I always rode up front, then we'd take my niece, her husband, my two little nieces and my son to a street and drop them off. Next we'd go pick up my daughter and her 3 ghoulfriends from the street they were on, and drop them off on the next street, where we'd pick the first group back up again and take them over to the following street. That way everyone got to ride and walk and it was far less tiring. I had little mini lighted Jack O'Lanterns up on the dash and we had Halloween music on the CD player. It was heaps of fun. That's the hubby up front, and just a portion of the rest of the clan. Our neighborhood has truly morphed into Trick or Treat central. And literally hundreds of people come from all over. I like to think that I have been instrumental in spreading the contagion of Halloween excitement here. Oh...and I don't know if any of you remember earlier this year when I blogged about our neighbor who gives out candy to the little ones and beer in paper cups to the parents, but here is a photo of him. We heard the call as we approached his house..."who wants some beer"?! We took him up on the Heineken he had on tap in a mini keg in that little refrigerator you see in the background! His little beer station has become an institution here....ha! He and his wife have 2 young children themselves, so don't worry, he would never serve any alcohol to minors.
The house on the street over from us has a really good Haunted House every year. It's occupied by college age/young adults who seemingly have some connection to Universal Studios because their props are very professional and high tech. They certainly aren't available in any Halloween store around these parts. They do up the inside of the house, as well as lighting up the entire front yard. And you can hear their 'Halloween' theme music from several streets over. The image below is their yard, but again I just had my small camera so the quality is not that great.
While we were there, 2 John Deer tractors pulling big hayride wagons showed up and an entire fleet of Trick or Treaters young and old disembarked and swarmed the haunted house. I tried to take some photos to show not only the Haunted House, but also the flocks of people milling about. It's really a magical time, and the back section of the neighborhood where we live, is the most festive section of the whole subdivision. It always make me smile and chuckle to see hayrides coming through a golf course community. It lets you know that Halloween is serious business here! :o) Needless to say, there is always some debate over whether the residents approve or disapprove of the fact that people who don't even live here, come into our neighborhood to Trick or Treat. It obviously means that we must buy a LOT of candy which is expensive when you give out the good stuff. You don't even want to know how much we spend just in candy alone....it would SCARE you! BUT....all the extra people make the whole area so festive and exciting. And they are all usually very well behaved. I say....bring em' on! I will note however, that we have seen an ever increasing age to the Trick or Treaters here, including old teens, young adults and even an old granny this year, who had her bag out for loot. I like that...and why the hell not?! Life has 364 other mundane and responsible days to be a grown up....why not be a disguised kid again one night a year?We received many compliments on our yard haunt, especially the real iron gates we use for the little cemetery and of course our 10 ft. scarecrow. My parents said that people were stopping in front of the scarecrow and taking pictures of their kids and families standing in front of him. I love that!
And THAT right there....is why we do all that we do on Halloween. For those kids who will remember fondly when they are grown.....trick or treating in a really cool neighborhood where everyone totally got into the spirit. Where there were haunted houses, and hayrides. Where the candy givers all dressed up and tried to scare them right back, and where they gave out the good candy. The candy that you can't wait to sit down with at the end of the night for the big 'Candy Exchange'! That's one of our own kids' favorite parts of the night!
And one day, those same kids, long since grown up....will dig out their vintage Trick or Treat photos to show their own children and grand kids, or share them on their blogs. And those photos will show them standing in front of my graveyard and scarecrow....and people who love Halloween like we all do here, will ooh and ahh over the customs and costumes of those days of yore!
So it's time once again to wave good-bye to the passing year, and to another enchanting Halloween season! I bid thee a fond farewell old friend, and I await your return again in the coming year!