Bits of Our Weekend - Halloween!

This past weekend was Halloween. I loved Halloween as a kid. Dressing up and trick or treating was a blast of course, there were always Fall Harvest type events going on at school and in the community, and most memorably, my family had Halloween parties every year.

Two of my three siblings and I are close in age but our birthdays are spaced out through the year. Instead of having three individual birthday parties, my parents held one big Halloween party. Back then we lived in a big house with a semi-finished basement, so the party was set up down there. One part of the basement was turned in a little haunted maze, another area was reserved for games and the main area was set up for dancing. My parents owned their own DJ company back then, so they provided the entertainment. Even my grandmother got involved. One year she did up her makeup to look like a corpse, popped her head through a hole in a table and scared kids walking by.

So I have fond memories of Halloween as a kid. The excitement wore off as I got older, but now I get to enjoy the holidays as a parent. Not only is the holiday itself fun, but the build up to it is exciting - parties, Halloween themed events at preschool, checking out decorations in our neighborhood. I decided to take off work for Halloween this year so we could head out to the Poconos. Our neighborhood has awesome decorations, but its so insanely crowded. It has apparently become known for its Halloween enthusiasm, because people from other neighborhoods/boroughs come to Chelsea. Last Halloween was the first year we really went trick or treating (the year before was Hurricane Sandy, so we stayed in and the prior year Audrey wasn't even a year old so we didn't do a lot). We could barely walk, so I wanted to try somewhere less crowded this year.

 

Some awesome carved pumpkins at Chelsea Market

We went trick or treating in Stroudsburg, in the neighborhood I grew up in, and I'm glad we did. There were a ton of kids, but the streets were closed to cars so it was easy to walk, although the sidewalks weren't bad. Audrey had an entourage - my parents, sister, younger brother, man-friend and a family friend Audrey adores. My stepfather also invited his coworker and her daughter, who is only a little older than Audrey. The little girl showed up in the exact same costume as Audrey - same Elsa dress and crown. So the two Elsas had a blast together. It seems every other little girl was Elsa - I counted 30 in an hour and a half of trick or treating :)

Queen Elsa and Uncle Ian.

 

Audrey and her new friend. They called each other Elsa all night

 

Audrey said I should be a princess kitty

Post trick or treating dinner at good old Friendly's.

The weather the rest of the weekend wasn't great, so we didn't do a lot outside of my parents house. I ran some errands Saturday (party preparation - snacks and baking supplies and decorations, oh my) and Audrey hung out with my mom. Saturday evening man-friend and I had some grown up hot chocolate and watched Chef. We went home Sunday afternoon.

Mmmmm

Our Halloween in the Poconos increased my indeciveness about living in the city. The build up to the holidays in the city is unbeatable, but the day of - holidays you go out to celebrate especially, 4th of July, Halloween - are always intolerably crowded. I could never move back to the Poconos, but there are parts of New Jersey that are appealing. In a perfect world, I'd keep my apartment in the city but also have a country place, as well as a car to make getting back and forth much easier. But since I don't live in fantasy land, I obviously need to make up my mind sooner or later.