Halloween

A Journey Through Halloween History

I was a little worried we weren’t going to make it to Legends and Lanterns this year…we had to wait until the final weekend to fit it into our schedule, and the weather forecast for Saturday wasn’t exactly promising. But the rain held off long enough for our visit, and, as always, it was fun!

The characters are always the main attraction. We saw some old favorites, and a few new faces as well.

Also new this year was the addition of some do-it-yourself passport stamps for some of the characters. I really loved this activity…the lovely embossed stamps are such a fun, tactile inclusion to the passport, and they’re really beautiful!

It’s always fun to catch a performance by the Angry Villagers!

I am also always captivated by how charming and lovely historic St. Charles is, especially in the fall! The decorations are top notch, and the glorious fall colors are outstanding!

Scarecrow Glen is another favorite stop. At this point, they’ve run rather far afield of the concept of scarecrows, but I don’t care…I just love seeing all of the creative displays! The homage to Jack Frost was definitely my favorite…I’m already looking forward to Christmas Traditions!

I’m glad the weather was clear long enough for our visit!

Sartorial Saturday…On a Tuesday–Halloween Inspiration from a Dirndl

I thought it would be fun to build a Halloween look around a dirndl, so I decided to use my purple dirndl to create an Evil Queen costume!

I left off the apron since I don’t have a solid purple one to match the dress. I added a red ribbon lacing to echo the red belt on the Evil Queen’s dress. I also wore a black cape, which I secured with (what else) a mirror brooch from Erstwilder. And the Evil Queen wouldn’t be complete without a poison apple…luckily, we just happen to have a Lego poison apple in the school room!

I thought this was a really fun way to style a dirndl! Next year, maybe I’ll use this dirndl to dress as Jack, the Czar of Halloween!

Mani Monday

Just in time for Halloween, this week’s manicure features shades of orange and purple. I used Holo Taco “Box Office Bomb,” “Anti-Hero,” and “Queen’s Curse” to achieve the look.

Tasty Tuesday–The Nightmare Before Christmas Cookbook

For the month of October, Ladybug and I decided to make recipes from The Nightmare Before Christmas cookbook. Our goal was to make one dinner a week (three total recipes each, from either drinks, side dishes, main courses, or desserts), plus a special Halloween meal. We met our goal, and made a few bonus recipes, too! Not only did we make something from each section of the cookbook, we made all of the drink recipes! Every single thing we tried was excellent, and we have some new family favorites that we’re looking forward to making again!

  • Vampire Brothers Bloody Party Punch
  • Snake and Spider Stew
  • Oogie Boogie Meringues
  • Frog’s Breath Floats
  • Cucumber and Mint Limeade Love Potion
  • Jack Skellington Shepherd’s Pie
  • The Mayor Two-Faced black and white cookies
  • Jack Skellington Black Bean Dip
  • Full Moon Queso Dip
  • Igor Cheesy Breadstick Bones
  • Worm’s Wort and Frog’s Breath Soup
  • Lock, Shock, and Barrel Spiral Peppermint Cookie Pops
  • Mummy Boy Dogs
  • Oogie Boogie Bag of Bugs
  • Christmas Town Gingerbread Snowflakes with Spiders
  • Homemade Christmas Eggnog
  • The Mayor Chocolate Pretzel Spiderwebs 
  • Halloween Town Band Zombie Mocktail
  • Oogie Boogie Pasta Worms
  • Oogie Boogie Double Chocolate Dirt Cake
  • Witches Cauldron Brew
  • Christmas Tree Empanadas
  • Sally Patchwork Layer Cake

This has been a really fun cookbook to work our way through, and I’m looking forward to trying even more of the recipes in the future! Eventually, I hope we’ll get around to some of the craft projects in the book, too!

Return of the Boo Bucket

I’m pretty sure that every child of the 80s remembers the McDonald’s “Boo Bucket.” You know, the Halloween pails that came with the Happy Meal around Halloween? I know they’ve been rereleased through the years, but there was something about this year’s offer that really spoke to me…maybe it’s simply because it’s been a pretty long time since they were last available. Whatever the reason, I was tickled when Ryan came home with the ghost, and he even filled it with candy!

A Spirited Journey Through Halloween History

Yesterday we went back to Legends and Lanterns in St. Charles, MO, for the first time since 2019!

It is always a good day when we visit St. Charles, and yesterday the weather was especially perfect! Some things were different from our last visit (we really kind of missed collecting a sticker or stamp of some sort from the characters to prove we had seen them), but most things were the same.

We were there just in time to see the Angry Villagers take to the streets to warn the gathering crowd of the monsters lurking on Main:

The cast of characters was excellent. We didn’t see them all (we never do), but we visited with most of our old favorites:

We don’t tend to take as many pictures with the characters at Legends and Lanterns as we do at Christmas Traditions, but we did get a few:

There were some very clever entries at Scarecrow Glen:

The storefront signs in St. Charles never disappoint:

I will never pass up an opportunity to take a picture of the Fab Five!

We missed out on Legends and Lanterns in 2020 because of the pandemic…last year, we simply couldn’t find time. I’m really glad we made time to visit this year, because it’s so much fun!

Reformation Day/Halloween 2021

Today was the rare occasion where Reformation Day/Halloween actually falls on a Sunday. We started the day at church, where we enjoyed some especially amazing music featuring hymns written by Martin Luther:

We went for a short walk in Forest Park after the service, where we enjoyed the beautiful fall colors (in spite of the wind):

I was so excited to pick up a box of Monster Mash cereal for the Fab Five for breakfast!

This afternoon, we watched The Nightmare Before Christmas for the first time, as well as It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. For dinner, I made potato-parsnip soup, cheese and jam turnovers, and butterbeer…it was the perfect meal for today!

Dessert was the Jell-O Halloween Special, as advertised by Harlow Wilcox in the 1940s…”Looks like a dish of sunshine all dressed up, doesn’t it?”

I chose my costume in Animal Crossing: New Horizons with great care…I’m a hot dog!

I tracked down the Czar of Halloween right away.

I think my neighbors enjoyed the festivities, too!

This was a busier Halloween than most for us, and it was a very fun day!

Costumes, Animal Crossing Style

Jack, the Czar of Halloween, will be visiting in just a week…here’s a look at some costume ideas I came up with that seem equal to the event. (My personal favorite for this year is the hot dog suit.)

And just for fun, a Roald cosplay I put together. The beak isn’t quite right, but I think it’s a pretty good approximation, don’t you?

What costume are you planning on wearing this year?