Happy October
So it's October 1st, which can mean only one thing in this house: let the countdown to Halloween begin! Even though it's not really celebrated here, we will be making lots of crafts and jack-o-lanterns (they do sell little pumpkins for this) and even a Haunted Castle Cake! The kids have the 31st off, because the Nov. 1st holiday falls on a weekend. So, there will be plenty of time to revel in the day.
Anyway, I am spending way too much time perusing the Halloween ideas at Family Fun. They have a Countdown Calendar, which I excitedly printed out, only to discover that it starts on October 19th. I guess they are not as hardcore as we are! I will have to make up different activities for it, because a lot of the ones on the calendar don't apply (map out your trick-or-treat route, decorate your candy bag, etc.) But, that shouldn't be a problem, as there is lots of Halloween stuff to do.
Yesterday we even started out early, making pumpkin cookies (a post from 2005 that has a picture of the cookies, which we seem to make every year but I guess I haven't posted any more recent pictures)-- it was a spur-of-the-moment thing, but we had all the ingredients on hand, so I said, why not? I use this recipe because it's so easy.
I'm also looking for healthy Halloween-themed snacks-- there are a lot of recipes out there, but most are not so healthy. A quick Google turned up several sites toting as healthy a recipe involving Ritz crackers and Nutella. Um, not quite. Though it is much better than the sweet stuff. We will be doing ghost toast (with whole wheat bread) today and Apple Bites tomorrow.
I have to say that this is an exciting time around here, as the kids are all about ghosts and pumpkins and bats, oh my! all year round, and to have it be the actual month of Halloween, well, it's almost too much. It's nice for me, because Fall used to be my favorite season (back to school-- yep, I was a geek-- but also for the amazing autumn colors of upstate NY, which I will probably not get to see in person again, at least until the kids are out of school and/or I am retired-- yikes!) and now I once again have a reason to enjoy the season.
5 comments:
We're also gearing up for Halloween, we're going to have a big party again, I have put in my order for many many squashes of about the right size and shape...the girls have begun planning....we have to chose a date for the party, and think of something to do on Halloween itself as we can't have the party that night what with the holiday....such fun.
oreneta, I remember your party last year (hearing about it on your blog, I mean.) The site I linked to has a lot of crafts and recipes (some healthy, some not) and party games, and of course there's tons of stuff on the web...
I love this time of year and love everything pumpkin! Pumpkin cream cheese, pumpkin butter, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread....oh man I love Halloween. It´s also a time I get really homesick cause Halloween parties never seem to happen here. I always talk about throwing one but never get it together to do so.
Sounds like everybody in your family does enjoy Halloween very much (LOL on the countdown calendar!). Do the Spanish celebrate it?
santi d, not really. It's not traditional for them, but the Anglo-Saxon influence will prevail as always, and the bars have Halloween-themed parties, etc. In the past couple of years, there has actually been a trickle of a few (very few) trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood. The supermarkets sell small pumpkins for carving and some Halloween-themed stuff as well.
bluestreak, definitely have a party! That would be fun!
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