Saturday evening, my husband and I set up some quick and dirty Halloween decorations: orange twinkle lights lined our walk way, battery-operated tea lights set upon the front porch banister, and one latex decapitated head hanging from a tree branch. We sat on our front porch in the early evening darkness and waited for the little trick-or-treator’s….and waited, and waited. Soon, a group of 5 children came bounding up the path. The little ones were slightly hesitant, due to the scary head, but that’s what Halloween’s all about, being slightly afraid and having fun. (This year my husband had a cold and didn’t want to dress up in his leafy suit and lay in the lawn.)

In between groups of children, my husband and I commented on how few houses were participating, yet again, this Halloween. We noted that only one house across the street was participating, like they do every year. I walked out to the sidewalk and looked up and down, trying to see how many houses were participating this year, or at least had their porch lights on. Between my house and the corner, which is only a total of 6 houses, only two other houses had their front porch lights on or decorations, making it inviting for children to approach. The other direction, I couldn’t see any, due to some tall hedges. Across the street, only the single house with multiple decorations was participating.

We do live on a highly trafficked street. It’s also quite wide, so our neighbor’s across the street aren’t really neighbor’s in any sense of the word. The frequent flow of cars and the 4 lanes makes it a little impossible to be neighborly. But, I also realized, while scanning the sidewalk, that our block is really long. On our one block, there are maybe 20 houses. So, if a group of trick-or-treator’s starts moving down the sidewalk, and soon realizes only one out of every 4 or 5 houses are handing out treats, they soon give up. We saw a few groups of children, turn around and head the other way.

The fact that I live on a very long, busy block, probably discourages some houses from participating in Halloween. Perhaps they feel few children will want to walk down such a busy street, or that parents may feel it is unsafe. Last year, we had many fewer children than this year. At least this year, they came in large groups. That may have made them feel a little safer on the long block. The interior blocks behind my house are a little bit shorter, the streets aren’t nearly as wide, encouraging a zig-zag flow of movement. There is also less traffic, which makes it a little easier to cross over to houses that are giving out treats.

My husband and I don’t plan to be living in our rental house this time next year. My observations about the type of block I live on now, will help influence where we will look for a house to purchase. For instance, my husband likes the flow of traffic on our street, he says it motivates him throughout the day. He works from home, so the noise and motion are comforting to him. However, I don’t like how long our block is. If it were slightly shorter, or maybe a little less trafficked, I think it would help build more of a community feeling and more continuity within the neighborhood. There are so many things to consider when planning to purchase a house, this is just one more thing we will need to think about.

Does anyone live on a really long block? Do you feel that the community is less connected? How about the opposite?

Easy Halloween Costume - Cowboy Up

Yesterday, our entire staff dressed up in a Cowboy/Cowgirl costume theme for our Halloween Parade. When we all voted on this year’s theme a month ago, the cowboy theme seemed an easy enough costume to scrounge up. However, most of us found that we were missing an item or two to make our costumes complete. Some staff members had items they borrowed from relatives or friends, like a hat or vest. Others, were able to take an old clothing item they had lying around, like a corduroy vest, and make it appear western enough to complete their ensemble. Still others were satisfied to only commit half-way to this year’s theme; boots, a bandanna, and a western-style shirt were good enough in their eyes. And then, there is always that one person who out does everyone else; chaps, hat, sheriff’s badge, and the works. But, that one person isn’t me!

I, too, found that I could borrow only so many items from my husband’s side of the closet to make myself appear cowboy-esk. The boots, much too large for my feet, sufficed for the parade. My husband’s western shirt, many sizes too large as well, also did the job once I tied the dangling bottom portion into a knot. But I was still missing the essential cowboy items: a hat and a cattle-wrestling rope.

To complete my costume, my husband was able to stop by the Home Depot, a few days ago, and purchase a few feet of thick, cattle-wrestling style rope. Too bad I couldn’t figure out how to wrangle the children with it! Then, on our way home from the bank and two days before our parade, we stopped by a thrift store to find a cowboy hat. A straw cowboy-style hat with a thick black cord wrapped around the base worked quite well, especially after we tied my black bandanna around it. The total cost for my Halloween costume: $4.75.

I also passed along the advice of stopping by a Thrift store for a cowboy hat to a friend, and she purchased one similar to mine for $1.00 to complete her outfit.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

I want to send my thanks again to Wisebread.com for running my Halloween Crafts story. There are some craft and costume ideas, please check it out by clicking here.

For the last two years, my husband and I have decorated our house for Halloween at the last minute. We feel a bit of detachment on the house that we rent, and haven’t ever really gotten to know our neighbors well. However,  Halloween is that once a year event in our neighborhood when we actually get to see and greet our neighbors, even if they are disguised in costumes. Usually, the day before or the night of Halloween, we’ll change out our front porch light with a black light, wrap our orange twinkle lights around the porch banister, play spooky music from our bedroom window, and light the path to our front door with luminaries that are die cut with jack-o-lantern faces.

Here is a list of our decorations that are easy to set up in less than 30 minutes and inexpensive as well:

• Luminary bags purchased from the 99-cent store for 99 cents for a pack of 25. Or,  you can cut out the jack-o-lantern faces yourself using brown paper bags. Here is a link to some patterns you can use on either tin cans or paper bags.
• Black light for the front porch, purchased on sale from our local grocery store: $1.99
• Orange twinkle lights, also purchased on sale from the local grocery store: $4.99
• Haunted music on a CD purchased at a local pharmacy (Rite Aid): $5.99
• Tea lights purchased in a 24-count bag from Ikea: $5.99 OR you can purchase the battery operated reusable kind that come in a 10-count container from Bed Bath and Beyond for $10.99 (these are  not as bright, so you may need to put 2 in each bag instead of one real tea light)

Last, but not least, is my husband who dresses up in his leafy-camo suit, purchased from Bass Pro, for $60, mask purchased on sale at Rite Aid for about $18. He lays in the yard and blends in with the leaves on the ground. After the little trick-0r-treater’s have received their candy or pencil and eraser topper (144 count purchased from Oriental Trading Co. for $25.00), my husband jumps up and scares the daylights out of the children and their parents!

My husband, the scary leafy man!