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You Can Have Fun On Halloween Without A Haunted Garage |
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| October 22, 2008
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When we bought our first home before we had kids, I had big dreams of turning our garage into a scary little maze for the neighborhood children. Maybe I had seen too many Halloween episodes of Roseanne, but the eleven year old inside of me who tried to create a Haunted Forest wanted to give the kids a special Halloween treat. My wife, the one with all the common sense in this relationship, talked me out of it. She pointed out that others might view a man trying to lure children into his garage as creepy and that I would only be a single sequined white glove away from receiving a visit from the police. So I promised her I would put my plans on hold until we had kids. But even though I have yet to give my kids their Haunted Garage, we still pack in a lot of fun during the weeks before Halloween. We visit every fall festival, corn maze, pumpkin patch, costume contest, trunk or treat, and hayride in a thirty-mile radius. Basically, if you hold an event in October that mentions candy or pumpkins, we'll be there. If you're loading up your truck with straw to put on your lawn, there's a good chance you'll find us in the bed of your pickup, looking for a ride around the parking lot. But like most families, the pre-game festivities pale in comparison to Halloween night. We usually pick up a pizza to scarf down before the trick-or-treaters begin arriving. As the doorbell starts ringing, we dress the kids in their costumes. At 7:00 PM, we turn out the lights and hit the neighborhood. We usually only visit ten houses. We drop by the misanthropic old woman who leaves a bucket of candy on her front porch so she doesn't have to talk to the kids, yet she's always got her nose smashed against the side pane of her front door to ensure everyone's only taking one piece. We visit the guy down the street who passes out alcoholic witches' brew to the adults. We hit the kids' friends' houses and a few other neighbors. Then we come back to our house and sit on the front porch and hand out candy. After we put the kids to bed, I go over to the next neighborhood to watch '80s slasher flicks that are projected onto the side of a guy's house. Beer, popcorn, and blood: the perfect nightcap for Halloween! But this year we're going to try something a little different. I'm planning on taking the kids on a much longer trek through the neighborhood. They love ringing the doorbells, hearing the adults ooh and aah over their costumes, and watching the candy drop in their buckets. They like running into their friends along the way and seeing their costumes. You can never have too much of a good thing, right? That's why this year we're going to visit every single house on our street. If anyone passes out from exhaustion or a sugar crash, I'll just throw 'em in the back of the little red wagon and keep going. I'm also hoping that with a convincing pep talk, they'll want to go through the Haunted Garage two streets over. I saw it last year and must admit it wasn't bad for an amateur. But I could do better. One of these days, I'll get around to cleaning out the garage so I can create a Haunted Garage of my own. I only hope my kids are still young enough to enjoy it. If not, there's always the grandkids. |
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1. jamie
Oct 22, 2008 10:12
I share your love of Halloween, but am now realizing I should have set aside a trust fund for this annual spend-a-thon. It's a real sucker punch to the old budget, and then BAM! Christmas.2. missy
Oct 22, 2008 11:57
for as much as costumes etc. cost, you better be hitting every house. But, you are probably pressing your luck with the haunted garage. Unless you want kids on a sugar buzz in your bed.3. katie ~ motherbumper
Oct 22, 2008 11:59
Dude, I want to move to your neighbourhood. We aren't allowed to trick or treat in our building so we hoof it to a friends. But dang, free "witches brew" for the adults, I think I'd love to have that guy as my neighbour.4. foradifferentkindofgirl (fadkog)
Oct 22, 2008 14:29
I used to stay home and hand out the candy while my husband took the boys out trick or treating. Then a couple years ago, they got home and my husband was excited to tell me about the guy down the street who was handing out cans of ice cold beer to the grown ups. Guess who took the boys out trick or treating last year?5. the weirdgirl
Oct 23, 2008 13:39
A haunted garage would be totally cool! I know you'll build it someday. All we manage is a haunted sunroom. And the kids aren't allowed to walk through it.I'm a witch.