Who Are You Calling Crafty?

Do you remember when Halloween was ONE night?  I do, some of my fondest memories are of Halloween.  Your costume planning started in July because you were competing for the “Top Prize” for your class – I won several times:  I was $100 Bill (it was a pillow case that my grandma drew the 100 bill in magic marker – my hair was spray painted Gold and my face was painted green), a devil, an old man (one of my guy friends went as my wife – lol).  You visited thrift shops or convinced grandma and mom to make a really cool costume ($100 Dollar Bill, Alice and Obi Won).  You planned your route months in advance, you knew what houses has the “good” candy and you had the biggest pillow case you could find.  You were the first person on the block to knock on the neighbor’s house to get candy.  After sneaking several pieces of candy before getting home, you would then walk over to the school carnival, eat dinner (they had the best sloppy-joes) and try to win the cupcakes at the cake walk (the holy grail of the cake walk).  One of my favorite memories of the Halloween Carnival was the Haunted House that the class parent’s did in the 3rd Grade.  Keep in mind this was before you could buy 90% of the stuff at Wal-mart.  My parents worked on the “witch’s room” for a month – it was built in the garage and then taken down and reassemble at school.  There was black, green, red and strobe lights, fog made with dry ice, it was an amazing haunted house, scary as hell for a third grader.  I remember one year taking my younger brother trick or treating around the neighborhood, we had so much candy, he dragged his pillow case for three blocks, my mom was furious.  That is what we did, one night to get a ton of candy, you had paper Halloween decorations my parents had a Frankenstein who was so cool, his arms and legs moved.  It was advertised everywhere when Trick or Treat was and no one ever knocked on your door after 8pm.

It is not like that any more, it is a week long of Trunk or Treats, parties and Carnivals, it is overwhelming.  For example Friday, we had a class party, a Kiss a Pig Dance, Costume Parade and Trunk or Treat at night.   I can’t even tell you how much sugar was consumed by my children.  This was our second Trunk or Treat we had one on Thursday, we also have one Sunday and a Carnival on Monday night.  We are not going traditional “Trick or Treating” because we have done so many Trunk or Treats.  It has been fun and cute but part of me misses the old days of planning your route, haunted houses and of the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (which Jeff and I did watch this year).

My daughter knew for months what she was going to be Rapunzel.  Booga on the other had went from wanting to be Toby (which I did make – blog post coming soon) to A.J. Hawk and then he finally went as the Once-ler from the Lorax.  The only reason he went at the Once-ler was because I told him her needed a costume to get candy.  My Truffula Tree Stump is a piece of Poster board wrapped with Duct Tape around his “buddy – a backpack leash, pet combo).  The tuff ot the Truffula Tree is Poly-fil dyed with Glimmer mist and Alcohol Ink (taped to the Pumpkin Bucket.)