I had almost forgotten about this blog--in fact, I had to google to find it! Does anyone else miss reading blogs? Seems as if Instagram and Facebook have become the platforms of choice now, at least among the over 40 group. But concise has never been my strong suit. I do edit myself, really I do, though you probably can't tell.
So yes, I've continued to do the Halloween thing--just haven't posted pictures from the past few years. I'll have to update the blog with the ones I can find. I have to confess, I miss my old neighborhood. Since most of my neighbors only did a few jack-o-lanterns, and no one else went all out the way I did, the kids and parents would linger and look around. Sometimes they'd leave for a while to get more candy, and then come back to wander around the yard. It was great, and I loved watching them check everything out.
Here in my newer neighborhood, it's almost a competition. The whole subdivision is filled with all kinds of things to see and houses lit up and inflatables and fun graveyards. People bring their kids from other parts of our small town and let 'em loose! My particular street is a long one, and the kids are always in a hurry to get to the next candy-giver and check out their yards.
This year, it rained all day, slowing to a fine mist about 6 pm, then stopping about 6:30. That, plus it being a school night, kept a lot of kids away. I think parents were watching the forecast, and took them to a bunch of trunk or treats and festivals over the weekend--which was a particularly beautiful and mild one. Last year I made 250 goody bags--and had to shut down by 7:10 because I was out of candy. This year I made around 340--and had about 80 bags left over at 9 pm.
Since the kids weren't in such a mad rush, and maybe because I didn't dress up this year, they were a lot more talkative and I got good looks at their costumes. Even the teens were friendly! lol! My yard was pretty bare compared to what I usually do, but I realized I was working myself to death with details that weren't even being seen. So this year, I gave away a lot of items in my Buy Nothing group, and kept the more solid items: all my skeletons, my 4 heavy (okay, commercialized) tombstones, foam pumpkins, and lots of lights. I also grouped things together more closely.
Did I miss the items I gave away? Some, yes. I miss my crows, snakes, bats, rats, and other props--but it was always hard to see them in the dark, anyway. Instead of dressing up my skeletons, I left them bare and just posed them. I added purple net lights that would twinkle or flash or fade, and I omitted the fog machine this year because it was warm and wet, with no wind. And I sat inside the front door in my white shirt with the appliqued bat, candy corn, and jack-o-lanterns and turned on a black light. I was more comfortable, it was a nice creepy factor, but didn't scare the younger ones.
So here are the pictures for 2022:
The other side of the door.
Still using the wishing well.
Pretty much keeping it to one side of the driveway now, except the wishing well. It's DEFINITELY too heavy to move.
My arms just aren't long enough to show the whole shirt and effect, but you get the idea.
All in all, I wasn't so rushed or frantically trying to finish everything up, only to be disappointed that it couldn't or wouldn't be seen. I had more fun this year. And I made some notes about what worked, what didn't work, and what I may try or want to buy next year. It was time for a revamping anyway; things were getting stale. Time to hit the blogs and Pinterest again, and maybe track down some Instagram accounts!
