(And pumpkin spice everything).
If I’m honest with myself, I’m still not sure how I feel about Halloween. I like pumpkins and chilly weather. I like seeing children dressed up as bumble bees and princesses, their excited faces reciting three words I grew up saying every year,
“TRICK OR TREAT!”
But I don’t like witches or ghosts or monsters or spiders, or a celebration of scary things. I don’t feel good inside about celebrating things that are demonic in nature. As a Catholic and a parent, it’s my job to figure out the boundary for my children: do we accept some aspects of the “holiday” or reject it altogether?
One thing I can feel good about celebrating is the concept of the abundance that God has harvested for me. Instead of hanging spider webs on my door or carving ghoulish pumpkins, I have put together a short list of things anyone can do to acknowledge Fall Abundance:
1. Decorating with Apples. I have a beautiful, rustic wooden bowl located in the center of our living room coffee table and I fill it according to the holiday/season. Filling the bowl with gorgeous red apples is not only visually appealing but very practical as well! We eat the apples more often when they are in plain sight versus hidden in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator.
2. Carving Pumpkins. You’ve seen the photos all over Pinterest: tumbling piles of beautiful and interesting pumpkins spilling across the front doorsteps of impeccably manicured homes. While the effect is very striking, it’s also expensive (and not as fun, in my opinion!) I like to buy one large pumpkin for each family member and dedicate a night to carving the pumpkins. It’s a creative venture and my husband and I love procuring and eating the roasted pumpkin seeds. The pumpkins look pretty with a simple electric votive hidden inside and don’t necessarily need to be displayed on the front doorstep. This year I plan to carve a cursive “B” on my pumpkin.
3. Pumpkin Spice Everything. I love celebrating the ever-abundant squash by getting my fill of pumpkin spice. I make my own pumpkin spice lattes in the morning; I make beautiful pumpkin spice fudge and gift it to my darling neighbors; I buy fall candles and harvest hand-soaps to my heart’s delight. Once October and November have ended, I’m ready to put away the pumpkin spice until next year.
4. A Neighborly Treat. Growing up in Tucson, our neighborhood followed an annual tradition every October: surprise a neighbor with special treats on their doorstep with the request that they pass on the surprise. Neighbors who had already been treated hung a simple paper ghost on their front door or doorstep to avoid double-dipping.
Instead of hanging a paper ghost, families can hang a drawing of a pumpkin with the words “TREATED” written above instead. This year, I started the tradition on my street in Redondo Beach and filled a plastic pumpkin bucket ($1.00 from Target) with fall goodies and crafts.
To re-create my BUCKET O’ TREATS, include the following:
-Pumpkin spice cookie kit
-Pumpkin cookie cutter
-Orange-tipped silicone spatula
-Pumpkin-shaped peanut butter cups
-Customized notebook
-Face paint
-Sour gummy worms
-Crayola model magic clay in black
-Gold glitter glue
-Paper pumpkin drawing with this poem written on the back:
“Hello neighbor!
Happy Fall!
In honor of the season,
We hope you’ll answer the call.
Please put together
A bucket o’ treats
And surprise another
On our street.
Should you see a pumpkin
Above their door,
Surprise another
Without the gourd.
We hope you enjoy
Your special treats.
Please don’t delay--
In three days repeat!
Do you celebrate Halloween? Why or why not?