Halloween Wrap-Up

Yesterday was so much fun! I dressed up all day and Sym wore her costume to school. I spent my break (the daycare kids’ naptime) putting up decorations outside because I figured I wouldn’t have time after work, and I was right! The first trick-or-treaters came at around 5:20 and it built steadily all evening- we ran out of candy by 7:30 and I spoke to a woman up the block who had over five hundred kids come by before 8:30! This is really the neighborhood to be in Vancouver’s West End on Halloween night!

Anyway. Pictures!

Sym as an Evil Doll.

Me as a strawberry with a little Sleeping Beauty (this is the only full length I got of my costume).

The dogs were not exempt from dressing up.

Georgie wore her ghost shirt and was miserable about it. Kichou wire his Aloha shirt and I made him a tiny Detroit Tigers hat so he could be Dognum, P.I.

Taylor was an eggplant and was very gracious about wearing a purple track suit and silly hat. I’m actually wearing the purple pants right now and they are really comfortable so I guess it wasn’t all bad. This was taken when we were outside giving out candy, I didn’t want to have to keep opening the door every time kids came down the stairs and have the dogs freak out and try to escape so I set out a little outdoor area for use to sit in, with lots of decorations and my iPod stereo blasting my ultimate Halloween party playlist.

I had my coat on because it was cold and people kept asking if I was a pumpkin. PUMPKINS ARE ORANGE MY COAT IS YELLOW. To my left is this great decoration I made by stuffing some green twinkle lights in a cracked jar (it was the one from my terrarium, which I killed by forgetting to water it, OOPS) and hiding it in the ferns and ivy.

Because the trick-or-treaters started coming so early I didn’t have time to take pictures of all my decorations last night. Most of them are still up so I went out and got some this morning instead. First is the stairs outside my apartment.

I wrapped this whole hedge in cobwebs and foil spiders.

Some glittery skeletons on the fence.

Most of these decorations were up in the house all week- Sym’s flying pumpkins, my Trick or Treat glitter banner, and the hanging foil decorations. I also put some of those in the trees in the backyard but they are hard to see.

A few years ago it was wet on Halloween night and the whole backyard was churned into a muddy mess. The grass still hasn’t fully recovered so every year I put a fence of bamboo sticks and caution tape around the lawn to keep people off of it.

I made the “Beware” and “Just Leave” signs using the wire frames from some election signs I found vandalized on the side of the road, garbage bags and Sharpie markers. I traced Sym’s and my hands for the bloody handprints on the “Beware” sign, and the “Just Leave” was inspired by the classic Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace

Since all the pumpkins from my carving party had turned to mush already, I quickly carved this toothsome jack-o-lantern and some more little vampires in the afternoon.

Of course, now I have to take it all down so I can start decorating for Sym’s birthday party on Friday, and then next week, for CHRISTMAS!!! Just kidding. Sort of.