View Full Version : Just Not a Halloween Fan
I tried. Went through all the motions every year when the kids were growing up. As much as I'd love to just dress up and be silly for the night I just never caught the bug. DSIL's mother is crazy about it and starts sewing costumes for herself, DSIL and DD1 sometime in July! The three of them take it all the way to Hollywood levels of dress and makeup. Then I have to hear about how they did in the contest at this bar or that bar for weeks. Maybe I'm just jealous? Not this time, I just think its dumb. Also harmless enough, I guess. Fortunately DW's not into it either so we will hang out at home and help the cute little kids find their place on the road to diabetes and maybe give apples to the teenagers.
iris lilies
10-7-14, 10:28am
You are allowed this feeling. :)
Gardenarian
10-7-14, 1:35pm
You are allowed this feeling. :)
+1
I liked Halloween better when it was a one-day holiday. Now I get Halloween-themed catalogs in September. Halloween lights, curtains, tablecloths...we just stick with the jack-o-lantern and bags of candy. I do enjoy all the trick-or-treaters!
I prefer the one or two day holiday it used to be. I much prefer natural decorations. Does anyone still do up their front door or porch posts with corn stalks? Growing up I had some neighbors who did their houses very nicely for Halloween and the fall.
I think Halloween should be extended to include el Dia de los Muertos, a day to honor and celebrate the dead. I enjoy the costumes and macabre thrills of the holiday; the begging urchins not so much.:devil:
ApatheticNoMore
10-7-14, 2:04pm
I really liked it more (1 day etc.) ... and then it became ..... and I got as sick of it as I am of basically every single other thing in this culture.
Massive opening of temporary costume stores in every abandoned shop that exists was probably the turning point, there were costume stores before, yea one or two that actually did other business much of the year as well.
But I think if one avoids all that it might still be possible to have some fun with it.
Teacher Terry
10-7-14, 2:20pm
I love the kids coming to the door. I dress up & I dress up all my dogs. Then I put up a gate so the kids can see the dogs but they can't get out.
goldensmom
10-7-14, 2:50pm
I don't get all the 1-2 month hoopla, the Halloween specific stores, the massive front yard displays, aisles and aisles of Halloween trinkets in stores, the movies, etc.. I like the one night dress up, trick or treating for the kids. I dress up, dress up my cats and dogs and hand out candy. By kids, mean little kids, not teens and college kids which we get around here. Fall/autumn decorations throughout the season; cider, donuts, cornstalks, pumpkins and other yard decorations celebrating the harvest season are signs of gratefulness for the abundance we enjoy. Halloween is a day not a season.
ToomuchStuff
10-7-14, 3:19pm
When I was growing up, kids would only go around their block (walking distance). By the time I was a working teen, it was getting shocking to see grown up teens, out driving around from block to block to go for candy.
When I was around 14-15, was the last big Halloween thing. We dressed up as undead soldiers and went out to scare some kids. I can say I think the makeup probably saved our lives as well (before replica weopons had to have orange in the barrell, cops freak seeing kids with war era machine guns).
Yes it is ok to feel this way.
I have zero participation in the event. The idea of sending kids door to door to strangers and asking for candy, how weird is that in todays world? Even the trunk or treat, all the candy is that what we are bringing to the attention of the public today all the junk and candy consumed by kids. . Just do not turn the lights on.
Halloween was my fave holiday when I was a kid. As an adult with no kids, I have absolutely no use for it. At best, it's annoying.
I had a coworker years ago who was the only person in our dept. who came in in costume on the day.One year, she had a meeting with our boss and HR. She insisted on going to the meeting in costume. Bad move. She was eventually fired.
ApatheticNoMore
10-7-14, 4:01pm
The idea of sending kids door to door to strangers and asking for candy, how weird is that in todays world?
It's kind weird, but it shouldn't be. It's one of the things I definitely like about Halloween. Strangers or neighbors? See I'm sure some people definitely see it as the latter, although sure modern life can be alienating. The part I don't like is that which is both commercialized and adult really.
I ate candy as a kid and I'm still alive. I was such a skrawny kid too but that was just from running around all the time, not from passing on the halloween candy. It was pretty much the only time of year I got candy, the rest of the year I had to settle for homemade cookies. Woah was me.
I had a coworker years ago who was the only person in our dept. who came in in costume on the day.One year, she had a meeting with our boss and HR. She insisted on going to the meeting in costume. Bad move. She was eventually fired.
everywhere I worked some people have come in costumes on halloween. Exactly noone has ever lost their job over it, in fact the HR departments themselves often actively encourage it (amuse the employees on the cheap is how they see it probably). Now if the costumes is ridiculously suggestive or something, that is another matter, and might become an HR issue, but everyone knows you don't wear that to work pretty much.
flowerseverywhere
10-7-14, 5:14pm
I live in a 55+ community where trick or treating is not allowed. Yippee! I also hated it when I had kids. I really tried but the whole thing seemed stupid and overdone back then. Have you seen the price tags on some of these costumes?
I like the "adult" version of Halloween - dress up in a costume, go to a party or a club, dance with a few zombies and vampires, drink a smoking green concoction, dance with a few werewolves and Frankenstein's monsters. Oh and the candy - yes, I like the candy :-)! Don't have kids and don't enjoy decorating or handing out candy (MINE!!) so don't do that. And would rather it be a much less consumer driven holiday (started to see decorations and costumes in stores after July 4th! UGH.) as I do find all the hoopla pretty crazy. I also like horror movies so am just as contented staying home and watching some of those...alone...in the dark....
Now if the costumes is ridiculously suggestive or something, that is another matter, .
You mean you aren't planning on wearing your "slutty vampire French maid" costume to work? :-)! No one at my work (when I was working) ever wore costumes or decorated or brought in food or candy. I don't know if this was because I worked entirely with men (who didn't do anything for any holiday) or just the way it was a my work place. I know that some of the women who worked in the office (several miles away) dressed up, decorated and brought food and candy on Halloween though and I think it was OK - even at a government job.
You mean you aren't planning on wearing your "slutty vampire French maid" costume to work? :-)!
Just to be clear, there are aspects of this holiday I could get into...
As a child I didn't like trick or treating. It felt like begging. Dressing up for a party is fun, but I try to avoid going if I can. Yup, I'm a party pooper.
The after-Halloween candy sales are great though.
I enjoyed Halloween as a kid, it was/is a major holiday second to Christmas for them. So I've been fulfilling my end of the bargain as an adult and giving out candy every year. It only takes about $20 for candy and a few hours of my time, and seeing how very excited some of the little ones are is a highlight.
It doesn't bother me if older kids go trick or treating either - better than them getting into some kind of trouble somewhere. It's a pretty harmless tradition if you don't go overboard. Also a good time to meet and greet the younger neighbors, who are appreciative that their costumed kids have somewhere to go in the neighborhood.
Just to be clear, there are aspects of this holiday I could get into...Thought so :-)!
This Halloween I would like to do something spooky - visit an old New England graveyard kind of spooky. Probably won't (mainly because I doubt I'll be in New England) but it's a thought. I love old cemeteries and walking around them and would probably fun on Halloween. Besides that I'll have to rent some scary movies from Redbox.
One of our friends is hosting a costume hike which would be fun, but I should probably stick around to give out candy.
I don't mind simple costumes or giving out candy, but I hate that most women's costumes are "sexy X". Sexy witch, sexy vampire, sexy ghost, etc. If I do anything it'll be Rosie The Riveter, cause screw "sexy". I mean, that's Valentine's Day. Though I suppose I could very weird and macabre and do sexy Ebola victim...
ToomuchStuff
10-13-14, 1:02am
Though I suppose I could very weird and macabre and do sexy Ebola victim...
Ebola Elvira?
mtnlaurel
10-13-14, 9:32am
Thought so :-)!
This Halloween I would like to do something spooky - visit an old New England graveyard kind of spooky. Probably won't (mainly because I doubt I'll be in New England) but it's a thought. I love old cemeteries and walking around them and would probably fun on Halloween. Besides that I'll have to rent some scary movies from Redbox.
If you are ever in the mid-Atlantic during Halloween:
I had no clue that Sleepy Hollow was just up the Hudson River Valley from NYC, I thought it was up in New England.... we happened upon it on a leaf looking drive in mid-October. It was then a Must Do every fall that we lived in that area. My kids were too young for us to go on the cemetery tours, etc. and were usually crashed out in the back seat by the time we got there at sundown, so we didn't get to go too deep, but boy did it look fun to explore. (and I don't think I could handle it anyway :S)
In Philadelphia there is a prison from the early 1800s (eastern state prison) that opens for Haunted Tours. I nearly pee'd myself just driving past it in the middle of the day in April. Super Spooky looking.
I too can't stand the general Pornification of our culture since the Internet and that everyone that has kept their figure, or not, feel compelled to slut it up on Halloween. A little cleavage, OK, but the whips & chains... oh please.
I like most anything silly and lighthearted, so Halloween is right up my alley.
It's got to be easy though or forget about it - I'm a lazy, low-hanging-fruit kind of goodtimer.
One time we spent a Halloween in Santa Barbara and were directed to a neighborhood where the whole neighborhood just went completely over the top. Each house having a different theme and whole families dressed in costume with garages open, huge huge block party. Truly a sight to behold. It was like trick or treating on a movie set. Totally fun to see.
For us, Halloween is just a piece of the Autumn puzzle.
My dad usually comes to visit. We make chili. Do some trick or treating.
I do put some effort into the kids' costumes with last minute whipped up homemade'ish' costumes from thrift store plunder, stuff we already have and an ebay purchase or two.
For those that like to decorate their pets.
I love this one
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/6c/cc/1f/6ccc1fa00cc9e17ae822cc78d2dae0db.jpg
And yes, I validate OPs feelings of not feeling Halloween.
mtnlaurel
10-13-14, 9:48am
I think Halloween should be extended to include el Dia de los Muertos, a day to honor and celebrate the dead.
That just may be happening...
there is an animated movie coming out this month 'Book of Life'
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/new-film-book-life-animates-day-dead
Also, lots of el Dia de los Muertos product in stores
I saw colorful skull decals at Dollar General just yesterday
And if you look on Pinterest, it's hard to escape the colorful skull face painting photos
Now whether or not anyone knows what the holiday means is another story, but it does appear to be catching on.
If you are ever in the mid-Atlantic during Halloween:
I had no clue that Sleepy Hollow was just up the Hudson River Valley from NYC, I thought it was up in New England.... we happened upon it on a leaf looking drive in mid-October. It was then a Must Do every fall that we lived in that area. My kids were too young for us to go on the cemetery tours, etc. and were usually crashed out in the back seat by the time we got there at sundown, so we didn't get to go too deep, but boy did it look fun to explore. (and I don't think I could handle it anyway :S)
In Philadelphia there is a prison from the early 1800s (eastern state prison) that opens for Haunted Tours. I nearly pee'd myself just driving past it in the middle of the day in April. Super Spooky looking.
I too can't stand the general Pornification of our culture since the Internet and that everyone that has kept their figure, or not, feel compelled to slut it up on Halloween. A little cleavage, OK, but the whips & chains... oh please.
I like most anything silly and lighthearted, so Halloween is right up my alley.
It's got to be easy though or forget about it - I'm a lazy, low-hanging-fruit kind of goodtimer.
One time we spent a Halloween in Santa Barbara and were directed to a neighborhood where the whole neighborhood just went completely over the top. Each house having a different theme and whole families dressed in costume with garages open, huge huge block party. Truly a sight to behold. It was like trick or treating on a movie set. Totally fun to see.
For us, Halloween is just a piece of the Autumn puzzle.
My dad usually comes to visit. We make chili. Do some trick or treating.
I do put some effort into the kids' costumes with last minute whipped up homemade'ish' costumes from thrift store plunder, stuff we already have and an ebay purchase or two.
For those that like to decorate their pets.
I love this one
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/6c/cc/1f/6ccc1fa00cc9e17ae822cc78d2dae0db.jpg
And yes, I validate OPs feelings of not feeling Halloween.Oh a haunted prison - what could be spookier? Well maybe a haunted old insane asylum. They had one somewhere in New England that was really huge, old and dilapidated that was on the water but I can't remember where it was. Had been empty for decades and was just the giant gray building. Very creepy.
Yeah I did know Sleepy Hollow was in NY somewhere from reading the book when I was a kid - and then again when they did the Jonny Depp remake. Guess there is now a TV show on Sleepy Hollow but haven't seen it myself.
I met Cassandrra, AKA"Elvira" in person ,one time. Hope that helps you kids some.
I met Cassandrra, AKA"Elvira" in person ,one time. Hope that helps you kids some.
Lucky you! I remember all the guys in my high school, back in the 70's, thought she was the sexiest thing ever! :0!
ApatheticNoMore
10-22-14, 12:34pm
I think I like funny costumes the best, not scary or sexy, but just those that become part of a joke, then you riff on the joke as your playing the part. They can be a very "in joke" (like just for one's coworkers or friends because only they know the context).
ApatheticNoMore
11-1-14, 1:29am
I was just reminded today (Halloween) of how much I love Halloween, not because anything that special happened, but I had just forgotten how much I love it. Perfect time of year too.
Tussiemussies
11-1-14, 6:03am
I don't participate in Halloween either. To me it is a meaningless day, there are no Christian roots behind it although there are the pagan ones, but it just Isn't for me. Also I don't believe in children having so much candy, it just Isn't healthy for them. If I had children I would bring them around to see family that is all.
Tussiemussies
11-1-14, 6:07am
PS I do decorate my front porch with different color mums and uncarved pumpkins. Sometimes we add corn stalks. It gets very expensive I would like to grown my own pumpkins and gourds some years ago. I tried it once with pumpkins and had a good yield but I had planted them too early.
rosarugosa
11-1-14, 8:59am
Tussiemussies: We often decorate with things like acorn squash that we can eat afterwards. That makes it almost like free decorations, since you are decorating with groceries!
Also I don't believe in children having so much candy, it just Isn't healthy for them.
The amount of candy is totally off the richter scale for sure. I have one child that can regulate himself on sweets and another that is a sugar/carb magnet.
They had a ball with their friends last night and that's what it's about for me. We met a lot of new neighbors.
The amount of candy is pretty obscene though - we'll go through it today put it in bags and dole it out through the new year....
Here's one thing that's interesting. In both my kids classes the party food was veggie,fruit heavy instead of junk.
one had Witches Brooms that were cheesesticks stuck on pretzels to looks like brooms
peeled clementine to look like pumpkin
and a veggie skeleton
The kids liked it.
Kids get so much junk food on a regular basis, it hardly makes any of the holiday treats special anymore.
ApatheticNoMore
11-1-14, 12:15pm
My decoration was an old plastic that looks like terracotta jack-o-lantern plant pot (as bad as that might sound it's really quite attractive as I have a lot of real terracotta and it's indistinguishable) that some renters in this apartment building abandoned when they moved. I've never much liked buying pumpkins that were just going to be displayed though (though gave in to temptation once or twice and bought some minis - now I have the free plastic jack-o-lantern thing though).
Turns out my mom was handing out the full size candy bars, I tell her that was ridiculous that candy for kids was alright but noone needs that much (ha we never got that much trick or treating as kids), and she's only reinforcing certain neighborhoods being seen as candy hubs. But I wasn't going to argue much as frankly I just didn't care that much, and it was seen as generosity to the kiddos (and generosity is in short enough supply in this world as is - even though noone needs that much candy!!! :0! ). Had free cupcakes at work and I'm quite glad we didn't have carrot and celery sticks instead :~).
iris lilies
11-1-14, 12:50pm
DH and I hid out from the Treaters by going out to dinner last night, usually a no no for us on Friday night. Our neighborhood has a very nice event for kids where they all meet in one spot, dressed up, and they walk down a line of neighbors who bring candy. Then, it's over.
But there are always children and teens who do not attend that event, usually kids from the projects, and they go out to get treats. Even with our lights off and big iron gate in front, they aren't always deterred from knocking on our door. So we just leave, it's easier all around.
DH managed to give away about a dozen of his small pumpkins from the gardens, but we are still left with several dozen.
Uh huh, I treated myself to dinner at a new Jamaican restaurant around the corner and then went to a great movie. The whole holiday doesn't do anything for me, although I find myself nostalgic for the evening smells of fall I associate with Halloween in the east; burning leaves, singed jack'o lanterns, just that crisp Fall smell and rustle. I'm also quite convinced that sugar in any quantity is poison, so I'm not comfortable handing out candy, and really just not interested enough to find an alternative. I've thought of handing out travel sized toothpaste, but it's too expensive.
Trick Or Treat. Bah Humbug. Stay Home, Answer The Door, But Tell 'Em To Get A JOB & Buy Their Own Candy! Stand Your Ground, Implement The Castle Doctrine, & SHOOT 'Em If They Try Soaping Your Windows! Ha.
DH and I hid out from the Treaters by going out to dinner last night...
Was it a real snooty place?
lol. Glad it's been long enough I can't remember your original moniker, Packy. You've mellowed a bit!
My office had a Halloween potluck lunch yesterday. It was nice. I didn't appreciate my immediate manager pressuring people to dress up, though. However, I did miss most of that pressure since I was on vacation for a week and only returned to work Wednesday. I worked until 8, so I missed any trick-or-treaters being out. I don't get any at my door since I live in an apartment.
Even with our lights off and big iron gate in front, they aren't always deterred from knocking on our door. So we just leave, it's easier all around.
We hid out, too. Didn't stop a few kids from coming up the front steps before someone/something reminded them that a dark house with no decorations and no porch light on probably equaled a waste of their time -- even if the house next door was all decorated and "open for business". The few times we surfaced for something to drink or just to check on things it was mighty quiet despite the show next door. It also was relatively cold for the recent weather, so that may have had an impact, too. I don't mind the little kids at all; they're usually pretty cute. But the teenagers who don't even bother with costumes ... c'mon, get with the program!
Geez… all you Halloween Scrooges!! I had to travel to Chicago yesterday but took the latest flight possible so I could catch a few trick-or-treaters in my neighborhood. I love seeing the little kids in their costumes, and I even love the big kids in their lame costumes that they threw together to get a free candy.
Plus, I'm sorry--proud Grandma alert--but here's another reason I love Halloween:
Edited to apologize for the super big picture--didn't mean to be THAT obnoxious of a proud Grandma
http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/ac56/cmboyd/IMG_8357_zpsbbb28477.jpeg (http://s885.photobucket.com/user/cmboyd/media/IMG_8357_zpsbbb28477.jpeg.html)
DH managed to give away about a dozen of his small pumpkins from the gardens, but we are still left with several dozen.
Hey, IL, do the squirrels attack your pumpkins? I bought pumpkins this year to put in my front yard and when I saw signs of squirrels trying to eat them, I actually put the small ones up on a window sill and those brazen squirrels actually jumped up on the ledge and knocked down a couple of clay pots, breaking them, and ate the pumpkins! That's never happened before.
catherine: that baby is too cute!
I agree with seeing the kids in costume - it's only for 2 hours/year so why not. As stressed as our culture is, we could do with a few more costume days every year if you ask me.
The sweetest one last night was about 3 years old who apparently forgot what to say, so he came up to my open door and just asked "hey somebody, hey somebody?" I came to the door and gave him a treat and his mom was standing to the side and shrugging and we both laughed.
ApatheticNoMore
11-1-14, 8:00pm
As stressed as our culture is, we could do with a few more costume days every year if you ask me.
+1 yea exactly, a few more holidays where we dress up in costumes I'm all for that. Not that there's any guarantee I'll be in a Halloween mood, but I was.
Catherine, that's actually a good-looking baby--I didn't have to dissemble one bit! (It's usually "Oh, what a happy boy--look at that outfit!")
iris lilies
11-1-14, 9:29pm
Hey, IL, do the squirrels attack your pumpkins? I bought pumpkins this year to put in my front yard and when I saw signs of squirrels trying to eat them, I actually put the small ones up on a window sill and those brazen squirrels actually jumped up on the ledge and knocked down a couple of clay pots, breaking them, and ate the pumpkins! That's never happened before.
Cute baby!
The nasty treet rats leave pumpkins alone because (I assume) we have apples and other veg out there. We still have tomatoes, for instance.
Oh Grandma Catherine, Baby Pumpkin' is just too cute. I spent the night at home with BF watching horror flicks and occasionally going online to look at very cool Halloween pics. Saw one on MMM web site that totally cracked me up - drunken jack-o-lanterns. Turned out the lights so no kids - not that they come around here much anyways. Rained also - first rain in a year! So that was very nice.
domestic goddess
11-16-14, 5:19pm
I love Halloween. Don't get me wrong; I don't love the weeks long "celebration" that seems to start earlier and earlier each year. But I love having the little kids all dressed up in their costumes coming to the door to show off their finery and get a treat. It is very different out here in the 'burbs than it was in the city. We've never had a "trick" here. I don't dress up, or any other crazy stuff, though. This year we didn't even get decorations up. Since the weather turned cold and rainy, we didn't have more than 4 or 5 kids anyway. There are so many other activities that are indoors that kids don't have to go out in the weather, as we did in my day. But it is a purely fun day and I do enjoy it.
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