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Friday, October 28, 2011

Recipe for Halloween Spirit

It has come to my attention that not everyone loves Halloween. Some people can't wait for it to be over, in fact. I don't know why anyone would hate Halloween. Maybe they had a traumatic childhood experience? Maybe they don't like being scared? Maybe they are allergic to Halloween candy? Maybe a witch stabbed them with her broom? Maybe Frankenstein won't take the hint? Whatever the reason, I'm going to try to cure you Halloween Grinches of your Grinchy-ness.

Here are Elizabeth tips for getting into the Halloween spirit!

1. Buy a bag of candy corn. Eat 5-10 candy corns per day leading up to Halloween - no more than that in one sitting or you will turn against Halloween forever.

2. Listen to a Halloween playlist. I made one for you, in fact! Listen to this while you read the rest of the list.




3. Choose a Halloween destination. Not necessarily a haunted house, because if you don't like being scared, that will only make your resentment grow. Next thing you know, you're punching the guy in the mask with the chainsaw and there's no way that's ending well. But I digress. Choose a fun destination to get in the spirit. Last year a couple days before Halloween, I went with a few friends to Hell, Michigan which was perfect. This year I've been to the Greenfield Village Halloween nights, a haunted corn maze, and tonight I'm going to a restaurant called Bone Heads that's reputed to be haunted... I'll let you know if I hear any chains rattling. These destinations put you in that spooky Halloween spirit. Don't hide from it!

4. Take a plastic bag, or better yet, a pillowcase, and stuff it with 10 of each of the following: Smarties, Tootsie Rolls, Snickers, Reeses, Dum Dums, pennies, one toothbrush, and a handful of some kind of gross pink gum. Now shake it all up, open the bag and take a big smell. That's the smell of Halloween night.

5. Acknowledge the pumpkin. I don't care how you do this. You can carve one, you can buy a pumpkin scented candle, you can make a pumpkin recipe, you can go to a pumpkin patch, whatever works for you. But you must acknowledge it or you're not truly trying to get into the spirit.

6. Watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! Or Hocus Pocus, or any other Halloween movie that puts you in a state of nostalgia reminding you of all those wonderful childhood memories. Unless you're suffering from a childhood Halloween trauma, in which case, do not do this one!

7. Read a scary story or book. This month we read some Edgar Allan Poe short stories in my book club. Very spooky stuff, and very fun to read. I brought eye themed candies since Poe was obsessed with the scariness of eyes. (I'd recommend The Tell-Tale Heart, The Black Cat, and The Masque of the Red Death to start.)


8. Put up some kind of Halloween decoration - I don't care what it is. A spider web, a fake skull (I felt like I needed to say "fake" just in case), a pumpkin, etc. Just do it.

9. Every night before going to sleep, quietly recite to yourself, "Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat."

10. If you hate dressing up, but people put tons of pressure on you to do so, just put on some cat ears and call it a day. That'll shut 'em up.

Any other tips, Halloween lovers? And to you Halloween Grinches, let me know if any of these tips work!

6 comments:

Katherine said...

Those are perfect!!! I feel like I've missed a lot of this great stuff due to the pressure of my last semester, but just reading about all of them put me in more of a Halloween mood! I really do love Halloween. It's just so fun and silly! And thanks for the playlist! I'm going to listen to it all weekend! Maybe I'll play it during the class I'm teaching Monday night (seriously, why does it have to start on Hallowe'en?!).

Unknown said...

This is great! Let me tell you, Halloween is super fun once you have kids. Getting them dressed up is SO FUN, and they are still young enough that Ryan and I can eat some of their candy without them getting mad or noticing too much.

Another great book is Seinfeld's Halloween. I am not sure if it is still in print or not, but I bought it a few years ago after Halloween. It is awesome, and sums up our generation's Halloween experience perfectly, but also is enjoyable for children too. It is in the children's picture book section, and is not scary at all.

I'm doing the cat ears costume tonight, but that is just because I spent all kinds of money on cute costumes and candy for the kids, as well as attempted to decorate my front porch like a fall pottery barn catalog. It isn't entirely "halloween", but screams fall, so hopefully I can keep most of it up until Thanksgiving.

Heather said...

I like the part where when the kids get home they have to turn over all of a certain specifed type of candy to The Coach and I. Bwa ha ha ha ha!!!

Savd said...

"Acknowledge the pumpkin"...cracking me up! That is some great advice! :)

Claire said...

I wouldn't say that I dislike Halloween- I just haven't really been into it since i was about...12. Haven't dressed up, gone trick or treating, probably not even to parties.

This year, however, my roommates and I decorated our apartment at the beginning of the month, we went to a haunted cornmaze, and tonight- I went to Dracula...the ballet. And it was the best ballet I've ever been to- and I've been to plenty.

So this year, I'm feeling it more.

Still won't dress up, though.

Liz Hughes said...

Pennies?! In my opinion giving out pennies as a treat means your getting TP'd and possibly egged.