My Halloween Plans – Old and New Traditions

This won’t be my traditional article about money. It will be about Halloween.

Halloween is the beginning of my favorite time of the year – fall! Don’t get me wrong, I love summer and sunshine. But there’s something nice about fall and the crisp air and the holidays that come one after another.

Festive…yea, that’s it.

Halloween for me since I became a husband and father has always has been about my kids and them having fun. As they have gotten older, my youngest in high school now, they don’t go trick-or-treating anymore. I can’t remember the last pumpkin I carved either. My wife still decorates the house inside and out with cute Halloween stuff. But for me, it’s kind of lost it’s luster.

I’ve been a bit nostalgic lately and wanted to get into the Halloween spirit. It all started with my daughter’s college visits this month. This was probably the most time I’ve spent with her alone in many years. I realized that she won’t be with me next fall after she starts college. Plus, her swim coach has a farm and has a tradition of a large Halloween party for kids and adults.

So it got me thinking that it would be fun to revisit a few of the old traditions and merge them with some new ones.

My plans for this Halloween will include a couple of pumpkins to carve with my kids. It will be fun to have some snacks and carve that big orange thing. I always let each of my kids pick a pumpkin and a decide on an image. Meaningful old fashioned fun. And of course, they’ll be required to put their smart phones away! That’s a not so new tradition at my house.

I’m really thrilled that Halloween is on a Friday this year! So my idea was to drag my fire pit to the front of the house. Start a warm fire which will be perfect for around 50 degrees. I’ll have some friends over, have some food and drinks, and hand out candy as the kids come by. A new tradition. My kids friends often congregate at my house, so it will be a nice little crowd. It will be like a Halloween campfire.

The following night is the swim team Halloween party. It will include dinner, a spooky hayride, and a haunted trail that goes through fields and a barn. My daughter has been helping plan it and will be participating to scare the younger kids. Old traditions to be sure.

So my plans are set. I’ll carve some pumpkins this weekend, pick up some candy and make preparations. Halloween will be two days of great fun!

What are your plans for Halloween?

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P.S. As I finish this article, I’m listening to several scary black crows outside my window! What could be more perfect? Happy Halloween!