Oh, Great Pumpkin, Where Are You?!

Decorating for Halloween is NOT like decorating for Christmas. I can’t get into the Halloween spirit no matter how hard I try. What happens is the house looks half-assed (like much of what I do in life, as I judge it) … don’t you think?

 

Paper spider and yarn spider web

Paper ghost family and paper bats in the dormer!

Basically we made paper spider, ghost, and bat decorations – and the spider and web was recycled from last year! No flashing lights, no blow-up lawn pumpkins, no moaning skeletons. Simple and as little effort as I can.

But am I supposed to go crazy decorating for this holiday?

I’ll be honest, Halloween: I don’t care about you too much. You are like a forgotten stepchild next to Christmas and Easter. I’ve never gotten into Halloween, even when I was a kid. I had my costume (always homemade by myself or my mom), my pumpkin trick or treat bucket, and our carved pumpkins on the front stoop. No decorations, no special treats that I remember, no fancy crafts.

So why do I feel like I need to achieve more for my kids on this holiday so they “feel” it? Why do I feel like an inadequate mom when it comes to this holiday?

Oh yeah – Pinterest, creepy “graveyard” houses I drive past, and all the Halloween crafty crap at storytime and everywhere else I look.

But you know where I do put my effort? Into my kid’s costumes.

I’ve made all but one of my girls’ Halloween costumes so far, not because I love sewing (it’s fun but my skill level is medium-low), yearn to feel like a loser after trying to make a costume that looks as good as a Pinterest board, or want to Out-Jones every other mom. Not at all. In fact, I almost bought an Abby Cadabby costume online this year – and for $20, why the hell didn’t I?!

Because I feel guilty as a stay-at-home-mom, probably. I have time at home, so why not make my kids’ costumes from scratch – or mostly from scratch? It’s usually cheaper and a bit of an adventure for us. (Well, me – it’s always me making it at this point!) Plus, I always had a homemade costume growing up, so why change tradition for my kids?

(If you’re curious, I’ll post a photo of the costumes on Halloween. Judgement day….)

In a way I feel like Linus … I’m wondering where the Halloween Pumpkin is, and why he didn’t visit our house. I guess we’re not a real sincere pumpkin patch over here!

So, where do you fall on the Halloween love spectrum? Love it, hate it, or just warmed over?