I've always liked Hallowe'en. The idea of a holiday explicitly about the horrible and the icky appeals to my contrarian nature. Still, my appreciation for it has mellowed over time. When I was younger I thought the idea of everybody dressing up as whatever they liked was exciting. People could be creative, and be something they weren't for a night, and that was very cool.
Now that I'm a little older I think I actually liked the idea of Hallowe'en more than the implementation. Coming up with a costume idea is always hard and I don't have the skill set to pull it off well. Some people can produce amazing costumes in no time flat, but I've grudgingly come to accept that I'm not one of those people. The Hallowe'en that I like is more like the kind of Hallowe'en you see on television shows when there's a talented and well-funded makeup and wardrobe department to turn everybody into ghouls and monsters, and a staff of writers to figure out the most appropriate and entertaining costume for each person.
Clearly I need better writers and special effects staffers.
Best Hallowe'en episode ever? Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 2, "Halloween". The one where everyone becomes their costumes. When ghost-Willow walks in on Giles in the library? Gold, baby. Honourable mention to the Babylon 5 episode Day of the Dead, written by Neil Gaiman, which isn't actually about Hallowe'en per se, but still, you know what I mean.
Hell yeah.Candy Patrol
I'm handing out candy tonight. At the moment, though, I'm just blogging, waiting for the wee bairns to turn up.
As usual, my lovely wife has assembled an impressive display of treats. She puts together great little treat bags with all kinds of goodies and loads them into hallowe'en bags decorated with ghosts and witches. The Hallowe'en lights are up and the decorations are out. The pumpkin we carved at the Rocket's is out and lit up, slightly soggy.
Arrivals!
A pause in the blogging to hand out candy.
My awesome neighbour stops by with his two kids, the very littlest one dressed up as Tigger, the slightly older one an adorable little witch (a good witch, she clarifies gravely).
My lovely wife put out a plastic mat on the porch which makes this screaming noise when you step on it. One kid dressed up as Zorro turns to leave, then pauses, and pushes at it with one toe. When it screams at him again, he gives us a huge grin. Cool!
Three little kids, one dressed as an elephant, try to figure out where the noise is coming from. Their mom has to come back to see what's taking them so long. They're fascinated.
One kid dressed up as a fireman peers at me from beyond the edge of the doorframe, most of him hidden, carefully keeping off of the mat. I don't get the feeling he was too impressed by the screaming. I give him a treat bag and he thanks me politely, and then carefully navigates his way off the porch without touching it again. His mom seemed to find it much funnier than he did.
Most of the kids have these tiny little pumpkin-shaped bags which can't hold much loot; it's not easy to get the treat bags my lovely wife prepared into them. My lovely wife points out that they have mom carrying pillow-cases to empty their loot into periodically, allowing them a vast carrying capacity without having to actually carry it themselves. Smart kids, these ones.
Magic Night Interlude
Magic night at my place. Mister T brought a sumptuous repast of spicy cajun meatballs, stuffed peppers, and a corn & tomato side dish. Mmm! Optimist Prime, Serdic and Null also attended, and the Dutch Nasty managed to make it out for a game, which was great. Good times were had by all. I won a couple with Prime and T, and lost a couple. Serdic and Null got into a Clash of the Titans between Serdic's artifact deck and Null's zombies/clones/Ith deck. Ach! Ith!
The Dutch Nasty hit Bulk Barn on his way over and so we were also well supplied with M&Ms and Reese's Pieces. Well after he left, you'd still hear that familiar sound ...
(munch munch) Fucking Muis ... (munch)
Good times as usual. I like that this is a fairly regular thing that we can all get together for. Good friends, good times.
Oof!
Blogging while handing out treats gets you quite a workout when your computer is upstairs and your front door isn't.
We've got the radio on and their Hallowe'en mix has been pretty good. We had the Monster Mash and Thriller already. Right now it's Ballroom Blitz ... ?
Anya being scary.Traffic Analysis
Our crescent sees a lot of turnover, and we're right next to a long and well-travelled street, so it's always hard to tell how many people you're likely to get. So far it looks like a pretty light night, although those are famous last words. Oh well, if there's leftover candy then my co-workers get presents. The ones who don't hand out candy to trick-or-treaters tend to appreciate it more than the ones who already have large stockpiles on hand, but you know, I'm all about sharing the love.
Tired of Running
I think I'm going to sign off on this blog entry and sit down by the door. Happy Hallowe'en, everybody.
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