Halloween Musings

If you've been following my blog for a while, you know that I'm a bit of a nut for Halloween. If not, just click on the 'Halloween' label in the sidebar for some photos from past years. I didn't love Halloween this much as a kid. The day always came with a sense of disappointment, a let down. There is a promise of transformation on Halloween--for weeks I would dream about my costume and how I could be something other than myself. Then the night finally came, I would get dressed in my costume and feel just like *me*. I didn't feel transformed. The magic wasn't real.

Now that I am an adult, I look at Halloween differently. I can enter a world of imagination without the disappointment from my childhood. Part of the joy now is in creating a magical setting in and around my home for others to enjoy. It helps that my husband (and all around wonderful guy) is very artistic and can bring to life all the things in my weird brain.

This year, we are doing an homage to the world of Harry Potter. There is a quidditch match suspended over the driveway, we have platform 9 3/4 and the Hogwarts Express. Norbert the dragon guards by the front door and Voldemort and two dementors lurk near the forbidden forest. Several of the house ghosts hover nearby.

Is it realistic? No. These are set pieces on posterboard and foam core, painted with fluorescent and glow-in-the-dark paints. By daylight, you can see the duct tape and the stakes and wires they are attached to. But after nightfall, when the fog machines are warmed up and we turn the black lights on, a little magic happens. You can see it in the faces of the trick-or-treaters and their parents.

You can see it in the sheepish smiles of the teenagers who know they are too old for trick-or-treat, but want to see the house anyway.

It's a ton of work for one evening. Insanity? Yes. But the little girl who wanted Halloween night to transform her is happy.

Pictures to come.