From the decorating side of things, I am going to call Halloween 2014 a success. But it was cold and rainy and snowy and GROSS, so we only had about 500-600 kids instead of our normal 1,000+. Oh, well. So, we have a lot of extra candy, but it was still a fun night, with a semi-impromptu porch party filled with a great group of friends, soups and bread and cheese, warm mulled cider, and lots of children dressed as parkas for Halloween coming to our door.
I put the last of the Halloween decor out on the night of, since it was breakable and I thought it might walk away. Since I was going for sort of a “potions” vibe, I found these great labels (Martha Stewart) and the bottles at goodwill.
For the Skele-tonic, I mixed up powdered laundry detergent, water, and milk.
For the Bottled Blood, I used Black Cherry Kool-Aid.
The Bat Wing Elixir was Balsamic VInegar and Soy Sauce.
And the plastic eye balls were encased in lime jello. The eyeballs floated, so I put another heavier glass on top of them until the jello set. I should’ve taken a picture, but I FAIL AT BLOGGING.
On the porch they went.
I really REALLY wanted to light all the candles, but it was just way too crazy windy. And the dollar store skull looks fancy under a cloche. But seriously, what DOESN’T look fancy under a cloche?
When I have the DREAM set-up for Halloween, I want to make the front parlor where the kids go for candy, and REALLY have a whole apothecary set-up in there, complete with dry ice. SCIENCE!
But for now, this little station is adorable.
Another Dollar Store find was this picture that morphs a couple into zombies. This is something I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to be able to make myself, but I don’t know if it’s possible. Anyone? If I could switch out all the art in the Entrance Hall and Front Parlor with things like this, I would be in heaven. Or Zombie-land.
My neighbor thought he found a dead bird in his yard. But it was just one of these that blew away. Happy Halloween!
I put out a few more things, and we were pretty much ready to go. Luckily, so was the soup.
But the apothecary station was my favorite. So was the woman who yelled, “Look, y’all! Look at them dead bones on that house!” It was precious.
It was rainy and gross, so the night was pretty slow. We didn’t count, but it was probably just around 500-600 kiddos.
Shockingly, there were about 10 times the number of TMNT that showed up compared to Elsas. Was NOT expecting that one.
Bowl-zilla can handle about 10 pounds of candy at once!
Jen and I took turns passing out candy, and being judgmental regarding the various levels of effort in the “High School Costume” category. The favorite : A kid who, when asked about his non-costume, said he was a sociopath : “We look like everyone else.”
Street scenes! It look so sparse. Picture taking was awful, because it was raining and snowing when it was light enough for pictures, and dark when it was dry and people finally came out. PULL IT TOGETHER, MOTHER NATURE. It’s probably Elsa’s fault.
And our winner for favorite costume! This lovely little lady’s robot was FANTASTIC. Also fantastic was her inability to get down the steps, so she just jumped each step with both feet. It was awesome. I wish I had gotten video. WELL DONE, YOU!
So, the first Halloween with decorations was fun. I can’t wait until next year!
If you missed the previous Halloween Posts, here they are!!!
Amy, I have absolutely loved your posts about Halloween! Your house certainly was decorated. I love how you guys get into the holiday spirit! Sure hope the weather corporates better for next year.
Linda
Thank You, Linda! You are the sweetest!
Hello, I was really fascinated with your post and pix. Glad you had fun and your house looks really nice. Wish we knew more about you and your decorations. Oh and really glad you included our home In your article.