I Am Batty For Halloween

I must admit....when it comes to Halloween, it brings out the mischievous child in me every year in spite of my growing age .  Perhaps it is because most of my memories of Halloween stem from the many wonderful years celebrating the occasion with my children.  The costume Halloween parties that we had complete with food, pinatas and treats, the shopping for costumes and the evening trick or treating, all make up a history of fun and cherished memories for the whole family, especially for me. Some times I believe I was the one more excited than the children when Halloween came around each year.

I often think back with warm fuzzy feelings over these eagerly awaited times, especially that one particular year I decided to make my own witch's hat pinata filled with an over abundance of candy for that year's party. How accomplished I felt when the hat was securely covered with the strips of wet newspaper dipped in a flour and water paste and finished off with colorful black, purple, lime green and orange glitter crepe paper after it was dried.  I was super happy and excited and could just imagine all of the fun my son, daughter and their friends would have as they took their turn swinging at the spooky hat with a baseball bat while blindfolded.  I could almost hear the squeals and giggles as each child swung and missed and on the third or so try took a hit at the stored treasure of sweet treats. With each hit there was growing anticipation of the final break resulting in the tantalizing confections spewing all over the lawn.  Oh wait... could it be the year my husband and the other fathers of families attending the party had to use the chain saw to create a crack to help the children get the pinata to finally break? Whoops! And who worked so diligently to make a pinata like a concrete pillar and strong enough to hold all that candy?   Yup...That's right ...I did.  And who can I say had the most fun?  You are correct once again.  I did.
  

So now I confess that I remain a child when it comes to the Halloween season.  My excitement over Halloween still continues to this very day even though my children have  long been adults for many years now.  Thus, you will still find the carved and lit jack o' lanterns on my porch, the friendly witch standing next to her fire lit, flickering cauldron and, of course, my hallowed out treat spell book which stores the trick or treat candy and from which spooky sounds are made when opened to little clowns, robots, witches and other cutely dressed adorable characters.

So as I continue my long-standing tradition of celebrating this frightful holiday, I have included in this post some of this years various treats and budget-friendly decor.

Yum....it was fun making these whimsical cupcakes. 

I fell in love with this fabric and made them into these cute vibrant napkins.

A bat napkin fold is fun and easy and makes a spooky impression.

Hanging ghosts, spider webs and creepy eyes hang from invisible fishing line and make for a wicked welcome on the porch, especially at night.

Some haunting eyes made from painted toilet paper rolls can have quite a eerie effect when night finally arrives.