Halloween '12

Our Halloween was fun as usual.  We just stayed around our place this year -- that's the first time we've ever done that, and it was SO nice!

Earlier that day Hunter and I went to Great Harvest Bread and stocked up on their pumpkin bread bowls.  On the way home I stopped by our neighbors' house and invited them over for soup and caramel apple cider to kick off our night of tricks and treats.

After stuffing our faces with homemade clam chowder (easier than I thought, and pretty delish), we got dressed up and met our neighbors outside to begin the candy gettin'.

As far as costumes go, Tralee was a cat, and Hunter was Superman.  Both costumes required minimal effort on my part (hooray!) and my babes were happy in them.  Jim went as a scary VERY tall zombie man again this year.  Tralee asked me why I wasn't dressing up, then told me I HAD to wear a costume.  I ended up telling her I was a nudist on strike.  She looked confused, but didn't mind too much since I was at least SOMETHING.  Our neighbors' cute kids both went as oompa loompas.  They were so funny and adorable!

My kiddos didn't last too terribly long.  The last house we trick-or-treated at was our own.  Jim ran in and was ready with candy when Hunter rang the doorbell.  It was so nice to just walk right in and not have to drive anywhere.  Our friends stayed over for a bit to sip on some cider.  After the festivities wound down and our friends left, our own little family transformed back into ourselves (I was relieved to no longer be a nudist -- even one on strike), changed into jammies, and decided to watch a Halloween movie together and snack on our loot.

But before we changed, we took a few scary pics.  Halloween isn't Halloween without a little bit of scare.

Boo!

See what I mean?

Fall Family Fun Night

A few weekends ago Tralee's school hosted a fall family fun night.  Kids wore their costumes, there was a haunted hallway, book fair, games, snacks, crafts, and more.  It was a fun night!

Tralee went as a black cat.  She's wanted to be a black cat since last Halloween.  It was a super easy costume to put together - HOORAY!

Hissing

Jim found a superman costume at a friend's garage sale this summer.  We've been talking up Superman to Hunter every since.  So, when Halloween came around when we asked, "What do YOU want to be for Halloween?"  Hunter would (almost) always answer "SUPERMAN!!"  He's a cute little superhero if you ask me!

The kids had a blast at Tralee's school.  Tralee saw friends, both kids played games, did the craft, and when it came time for the haunted hallway I was a bit worried since other kids were coming out in tears.  I explained to my wee ones, "This is all pretend, ok?"  Tralee said she already knew it was pretend.  I held Hunter through the hallway, and he didn't really react.  Tralee went up to the scare-ers and told them, "I know you're just pretending!"  Everything that was supposed to be scary Tralee just turned her nose up and said, "That's just pretend!"  I wonder how she would react if we took her through a REAL haunted house/maze.  Would it scare her?  Or would she go up to a zombie and say, "You're just fake!"  I probably won't do that, anytime soon, but it would be fun to see.

Since the school fun night we've been keeping busy with lots of activities-- birthday parties, playgroups, after school activities, get-togethers with friends, family, and neighbors, just to name a few.  We've been busy, but I really have no complaints.  We absolutely love our new surroundings/situation.  I feel VERY blessed.

It's Halloween It's Halloween. . .

 . . .cute festive decor in my house can be seen!  Hooray!

Below are a few projects I've done either this year or last year to add a bit of Halloween flare to our house.

It took me about a billion years to roll each of these roses!  Good thing I love the outcome!  If you want a closer look, just come knock on my front door!

Here's our entertainment center with all the festive decor.

Close up of the garland.  I made the leaf garland with a few bunches of leaves I got at the dollar store.  I took them apart with my wire cutters,  then wound them back together to create a garland.  Total cost:  $3!  I made the "Happy Halloween" banner using various black and white papers.  Super cute, I think!  I'm also thinking of cutting out a mask to put (temporarily) on my kids' faces in the pictures above.

I think these two little pretties are my favorites!  The Bride of Frankenstein and the Frankster himself.  I cut them with my Silhouette, glued them onto some orange paper, then put them in some dollar store frames.  The little figurine was from the dollar store last year, and the old books are courtesy of my many trips to various thrift stores.

I love my little witch frame.  I bought a cool oval frame from the thrift store, spray painted it black, and then cut out the witch and letters with my good ol' Silhouette.  The pumpkin was a Craft Warehouse purchase.  I just decoupaged some cute paper onto it.  The old books are from a thrift store, and the vampire is a dollar store find!

I found the tutorial to make these little lovelies here.  Super cute idea!  Added bonus, I already had all the jars and lights.  I just needed to make a quick trip to the dollar store for my tissue paper!  I used my Silhouette to cut out the faces.

You've seen the pics above before.  I had them printed out (thanks Costco), put them in some dollar store frames I spray painted black, and cut out some vinyl letters for the wall.  The plate was a thrift store find, the bird and spider in the frame are vinyl I cut with Sylvia (my Silhouette).  The rest of the items are dollar store finds.

Who doesn't love a good Halloween song?  My kids love this witch one.  So, I used my handy computer to create this printable, put it in a frame I already owned, added a few dollar store and craft store finds, and WHA-LA!  Cute decor!  The printable is below, if you would like to use it:

The kids and I made these ghosties last year using cheese cloth, balloons, and starch.

All and all, I love my little decorations.  I always get overwhelmed when I look through home decor magazines and people's entire houses look like a catalog.  Then it hit me:  Just add a few new holiday decorations each year, and before you know it, you'll have a festive house in no time!  Right now just my front room looks like Halloween.  I'm sure in a few years, splashes of each season will be spread throughout my home.  If not, no worries.  It's always fun to do crafty projects that add a little flare to the home.