Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Halloween 2011 Recap


Halloween 2011

Whenever a holiday passes, it's a good opportunity to take stock.  As you pack away costumes and decorations, take a moment to reflect for next year: what worked and what could you do to make it more fun and less of a hassle? 

Did you wait too long to buy your children's costumes?  Did you break your diet eating all of the Halloween candy? 


Like all of you, I strive to create a beautiful and peaceful home.  As I mention often on my blog, I work outside of the home full-time.  Being a working mom, if I don't stay on top of things by planning carefully, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and stressed out. 

It may be old-school, but keeping an old-fashioned calendar to record party dates really keeps my family on track. 


My Gooseberry Patch wall calendar
 Little ones eagerly anticipate holidays so it's always fun to encourage their sense of excitement!   We had so much fun with our Pottery Barn Kids Halloween countdown calendar.  Instead of filling the pockets with candy, I wrote little notes for each day of the month with an activity to do for that day (create Halloween masks, read a Halloween storybook, decorate pumpkins with stickers, bake cookies, watch a Halloween movie, go on a hayride, collect fall leaves, etc...)


My little guy loved going to the calendar each day for some holiday family fun.

Even our fur kids weren't left out. 
We bought some special Halloween doggie cookies for Ollie and Autumn.


We decorated indoors and out to create a spooky and festive atmosphere.  Even the playhouse was decked out with orange icicyle lights and whimsical decorations.




I'm more a fan of the cute than the creepy at Halloween - especially with a young child. 


We made a few of these wooden pumpkin luminary boxes years ago.



Of course Halloween wouldn't be Halloween without carving pumpkins...

These were my son's pumpkins
I drew the simple designs, and he (with help from his dad) carved them.


Our big one was a bit more sinister
with marble eyes and fang-like teeth.


little touches inside look magical, too...



Magical scent of the season
Candy Corn Candle


Eerie mouse silhouettes running along the stairs...Eek!


And all dressed up for trick-or-treating...



We hope you, too, had your best Halloween ever!


8 comments:

  1. Judy I always think of you when I see a ghost display around a tree. Yours was the first one I had ever seen, and that was SEVERAL years ago!! Great pictures. I love your calendar idea with the notes. Andrew looks so big! My goodness, where does the time go!

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  2. Great pictures....love all your halloween displays. We do it big in my neighbourhood also. This year we had close to 400 kids due to my husband and neighbour really decking our homes.

    Thanks for sharing....

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  3. You had the most amazing and funny time!

    Thanks for sharing,

    Teresa

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  4. Wonderful pictures. We had a fabulous Halloween but ran out of candy...first time that ever happened. Yikes!

    The creamy throw is from Stein Mart...don't know if you have them in the north. They have fabulous house things at great prices.

    Barb

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  5. Great Halloween. You all had the best pumpkins! They looked great. Thanks for stopping by!
    Sherry

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  6. Hello Judy ! I'm from Brasil and I love your blog, really cute !!!!
    Congratulations,
    I put a few pictures of your work on my blog, I hope you enjoy ! I'm your follower and admire your work ! Kisses, Roberta
    http://www.docesinspiracoesporrobertagiovaneli.blogspot.com/

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  7. Judy, you made me cry with your seasonal quote. It's so pretty. Thank you for entering the giveaway.
    Your little one looks adorable, I especially like the picture of him with his cute furry friend. These memories are priceless.
    Glad you enjoyed your halloween. We had lots of fun too.
    PS-I like to keep a good old-fashined calendar too. ;)

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  8. Judy, would you mind sharing how you made your ghosts around the tree? One of my fave Halloween images - and I want to make them this year! Thank you so much!

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Thanks so much for your comment! I love hearing from you!