I had to run some errands yesterday and as I went into one store I had to do a double-take as there, on the sidewalk in front of the store window was a display of Halloween items for sale. Halloween! How is that possible? Here it is, a sweltering August, with temperatures constantly hovering in the mid to high 90’s and stores are displaying fall colors and scarecrow yard art for sale. Now, while urge to enjoy the crisp cool temperatures of autumn is very tempting, isn’t it a little early to be thinking of October so soon?
I guess that means bargain hunting for pool toys and summer gear is probably nearly over. I’m always late for those sales somehow. So there I was looking for new shorts for the kids and finding them in limited supply. Well, at least the prices were pretty good. A neighbor mentioned they were in a home decor store in the mall and the store even had Christmas items on display. I was floored enough by the Halloween decor, so I’m glad I wasn’t the one to view the Christmas goodies.
While we haven’t even had a chance to enjoy Halloween, people on the radio on mentioning how many shopping days are left until Christmas! Forget a mention of Thanksgiving - is it because there just isn’t enough money to be made marketing that particular holiday? Well I for one wish it would just slow down a bit and that the stores would stop pushing Christmas before we’ve had a chance to enjoy living in the moment and the current holiday.
Halloween is fun but Thanksgiving is probably one of my favorite food holidays and family get-togethers. I enjoy the big turkey and all of the delicious side dishes. And what’s not to love about all the yummy pies and desserts. While writing this I do realize it might sound like I love it most of all for the food, but truly it’s also fun to be with some of my favorite relatives and siblings. Especially when we cook together for the day - half the fun is messing around in the kitchen together. Cleaning it up is another story!
I know I’m dating myself by saying this, but when I went trick or treating as a child we were given things like candy apples, homemade candy, and loose candy packaged in a small paper Halloween bag. Now of course it’s all pre-packaged candy for safety reasons. If you’re having a small get together at home for the kids or friends you can still have some fun making homemade goodies. The Food Network has some great ideas for treat recipes that would be a lot of fun to try, and they don’t look too difficult to try to make either.
I love their ghouly cupcakes, covered in a froth of icing with floating eyes on top - cute idea! Then there are other goodies like a witch’s hat cake and a delicious looking creamy pumpkin cake roll. You’ll find everything from cheese ball ideas and pumpkin seed roasting tricks that you might want to try. There’s something for everyone at every level of cooking. A little homemade fun can make any holiday special, especially for the kids. It makes for great memories too! So while they can’t get candy apples going door-to-door anymore, they can still enjoy them right at home. And they can even help make them.
It seems everywhere I look these days there are pumpkins for sale. I don’t recall seeing them everywhere when I was younger, and certainly not in September. It seemed they used to just be around closer to Halloween rather than over one month before the holiday. And they were only in a few places, like a garden center or a pick-your-own farm. Or maybe that’s just how I recall it. Now I see them outside every grocery store, gas station, home supply store - you name it. Beautiful mum plants too that are hard to resist. It makes me wonder where they are all being grown.
So now I have to fight the urge to buy them too soon, especially the mums since I like them to last until Thanksgiving and if I buy them too soon they look pretty sad by the time late November rolls around. In the meantime I think I’ll concentrate on cleaning up my messy yard and putting away some of the decorations before the cold weather arrives. Then I can go wild and buy some of the beautiful fall decorations I can’t seem to resist.
