Halloween Shenanigans

I have to start this post off with my utter amazement at how fast October went by. I don't know where the time is going or how we're already two days into November! Husband was just saying last night that it's been two months since the start of September, and if time has gone that fast, think how fast the last two months will go until baby girl is here. Mind blown.

Let's just say I won't be taking November for granted. So I'm trying to slow things down, keep my plate fairly empty, and soak all the things in possible. But before bidding October farewell, we had to go out with a bang, or at least a small one. And what better way than to get festive with Halloween?! Take a peak...

This year, instead of throwing our annual Halloween party, we opted to keep it low-key, inviting just my mom and sister over to watch Hocus Pocus, nom on Chinese food and "spooky" desserts, and hand out candy to trick-or-treaters. Originally, we weren't going to dress up, but at the last minute a costume idea struck, and I couldn't let it go. 

So on Saturday, husband and I went as lumberjacks with little miss represented by a pile of logs that I was "carrying"....clever right?! This all came to me while brushing my teeth before work late last week. I think my best ideas come to me at the most random times, case in point. After some painting and crafting, our costumes came together smoothly, and we were both thrilled with how it all turned out! 

Like last year, we went with the candy chute as the way to get the candy down to the costume-clad kids. See, our townhome is three levels, the living level being on the second floor. So after our first year living here, we discovered that running up and down stairs all night just wasn't fun. Last year we remedied that with black PVC pipe and some clamps, making a candy chute that thrilled every single trick-or-treater. It also saved our legs and feet. A huge plus this year as I tote around a 32 week baby bump. 

Before the trick-or-treaters started coming around we did some food prep, which included punch (of course dry ice was involved), and desserts. We took it easy for dinner by ordering Chinese takeout.

If you're looking for a fun and tasty punch, try this: 2 liters ginger ale, 1 can raspberry lemonade concentrate, 1 quart raspberry sorbet, 4 cups water, and dry ice if you're looking for a spooky effect. This is a sweet drink, so I recommend adding more water or tweaking the sweeter ingredients until you get a taste you prefer. 

Just as darkness started falling, the trick-or-treaters started appearing. To say the candy shoot was a success this year is an understatement. We had children and parents alike that shared their excitement over our arial delivery, and who also remembered us from last year.

Because some of the quotes were too good not to share, I jotted down my favorite ones:

"I like your Happy Halloweeny thing!"

"It's like it's pooping."

"That's slick!"

"If you could only send beer down that thing!"
(thankfully this quote was from a parent and not a child)

And then your sweet and typical awe from the the smaller tikes:

"That's SOOOOOO cool!"

"That's awesome!"

"This is the coolest house ever!" 

Halloween was a good excuse to get dressed up, eat way too much sugar, and watch a favorite childhood movie. I'm glad we went simple this year, and of course I'm super glad we had a candy chute. By the end of the night, we had given out all of our candy (we're talking hundreds of trick-or-treaters), experimented with dry ice, and filled up on Chinese food and desserts. I'd say it was a good night!

And oh how I'm looking forward to next year when baby girl gets to really join in on the dress-up fun! I've already got ideas brewing! How was your Halloween weekend??