Halloween 2011

This was a transition year for us - our girls are definitely growing up. Neither girl had plans to go out trick or treating or with friends; it looked like they would both be here at home that night. Emily decided she would take on the task of decorating the front porch for the holiday. She wanted it to look good and spooky.

She spent a lot of time planning her look. She found some creepy fabric, cut it to fit the windows on either side of the front door, and then ripped it up to make it look old and worn.



She bought new spiderwebs to string from spot to spot, flanking both sides of the doorway. Her traditional carved jack-o-lantern was joined by numerous candles and a "lighted" cauldron to illuminate the area.

   

A skeleton on the door, the Bates Motel sign in the window, our Halloween flag and spooky music completed the atmosphere.

 

After all her hard work, Emily decided a couple of days before Halloween to go out with friends. Her costume - executed solely on her own - was very last minute, but effective. Old sheets torn into strips make a convincing mummy! She hot glued the strips onto existing pants and a shirt from another costume for ease in getting on and off. Worked beautifully!

Emily joined Elise and Sydney and they trick-or-treated in Sydney's neighborhood. The weather cooperated for once, dry with mild temps, so no coat was necessary. Certainly not always the case here in Portland, and much appreciated!



Happy Halloween, all!

Halloween 2010

The Bates Motel was once again open for visitors on October 31st. Although Halloween was rather low-key around our house this year, we did enough decorating to get into the "spirit" of the season, and to welcome brave children in fitting fashion...




I felt strangely calm since I was not in charge of costuming this year. This was the first year Sarah has not gone out trick-or-treating in some form. She and her friends did, however, dress up at school on Friday. Cleverly, they dressed as characters from the Clue board game. Sarah was Professor Plum.

Emily was in charge of her own costume. She decided to be a voodoo doll this year. We went to Goodwill for white shirt and pants, which she proceeded to stitch with black yarn. She attached a heart to the front and fashioned a hood with netted eyes from a pillowcase. Chopsticks served as pins and completed the illusion. Her friend, Corey, joined her for the evening, and they made a good haul from our neighborhood homes.

 

Costumes may have been in the hands of my daughters, but I took charge of the jack-o-lanterns. I've been wanting for a while to do a "pumpkin pi", and decided this would be the year. I also designed a bat flying out of a cave, and  carved it, as well. Not too bad...

 

The bats have flown away now, and the Vacancy sign is gone. But the voodoo doll remains... Be afraid; be very afraid...

Halloween 2009

Halloween was on a Saturday this year, and there was a full moon. I don't know about your neighborhood, but things were not the norm here...

To start out, both Sarah and Emily were invited to parties and sleepovers, which included trick-or-treating in other neighborhoods. Sarah and her friends trick-or-treated for the Troops; Emily and her friends for themselves. :-)

It seems that all the teenagers in our neighborhood took off for places unknown. All we saw last night were young kids. As a result, it was an early night. Things started hopping around 6:30 and went non-stop for about an hour or more. By 7:45 or 8:00, it was all over. We went through a lot of stuff in that period (we give out trinkets instead of candy); next year we'll have to start fresh.

Sarah resurrected her Hogwarts uniform that she put together for the Harry Potter convention, and went as a student from Hufflepuff House, complete with robe and wand.



Emily, always on the quest for inanimate objects to dress as, went as a gumball machine. It was quite the challenge to make, as the concept was for the bag to inflate to give it that round appearance that a good gumball machine should have. We layered two clear garbage bags together, cut arm- and leg-holes and taped those openings together. Emily blew up several dozen water balloons with air and placed them inside the layered bags - instant gum balls! We taped the top of the bag, and turned it down to make a casing that we put a drawstring through, thus allowing it to be drawn in at the neck. Next, we devised a valve and placed it on her shoulder, so that if the bag needed reinflating along the way, it would be easy for her to get to. The result, though not as perfectly round as would have been ideal, was pretty cute!



We carved our infamous jack-o-lanterns - two this year - and were quite proud of the results.



We had a spooky tree...



... and a haunted house.



All in all, a success - though we don't have as much candy around here as usual! Whatever shall we do?!