Halloween Can Be Elegant, Too!

It's that time of year when our thoughts turn to the upcoming holidays and, for most of us, one of the first things we think about is decorating. Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner — but first comes Halloween. Halloween is probably my least favorite holiday, and I don't really do anything special, decorating-wise, to celebrate it. I have a pumpkin on a table on our porch (we'll help our granddaughter Avery Grace carve it into a jack-o-lantern next weekend), and that's about as decorated-for-Halloween as it gets at our house. That's not to say that I don't enjoy looking at other people's decorating, though, and I even featured a Halloween Tour of Vicksburg Homes in a blog post last year. While leafing through a couple of new magazines recently, I realized that Halloween decorating doesn't have to be limited to scary witches and monsters and creepy stuff. I discovered that decorations for Halloween can be elegant, too — just like Thanksgiving and Christmas! Just look at some of these beautiful and imaginative creations (I borrowed all but a couple of these pictures from the Internet)... Hmmmm ... you'd think that seeing all of those pretty decorations would inspire me to come up with some of my own, but I think I'll just wait for Thanksgiving. How about you? — do you decorate for Halloween?

A Halloween Tour of Vicksburg Homes

One of the things I enjoy most about holidays is taking pictures of the way people decorate their yards and houses for the occasion. From the simple to the elaborate ... it's always fun to see the creativity and imaginations that go into the decorations. Yesterday, I drove around Vicksburg, and captured some Halloween decorations that caught my eye (you can click on the pictures to see the details, if you'd like). I found this little guy downtown, perched on some bales of hay, his jaunty little smile welcoming visitors to our fair city. Isn't he precious! And speaking of precious -- just look at these little fellows who were nestled in a flower bed around a mailbox ... This little black cat was on the other side of the mailbox, along with a rusty old wheelbarrow ... This old house is on a quiet tree-shaded street, and I can always count on its owner to come up with pretty decorations. I love the stacked pumpkins on the steps, surrounded by the mums and plants. If you follow my blog, you'll probably recognize the next two houses which I've featured in past posts. This house reminds me of a little ivy-covered English cottage. All it needs is a thatched roof! I love the pretty red door on this house, and its owner displays the flag year-round. My next stop was at this house. Gotta love the stone lions masquerading as Frankenstein. I love the simplicity of the leaves and raffia on this front porch. There's just something about vines and lamps and topiaries and little tables on porches that I can't resist, and this one had all of those -- plus a picket fence railing! There are several things I like about this blue house, too -- its unique windows for one thing. Notice how they are flush with the bottom of the fascia board. I like the front door, too, with its haphazardly-hung lace curtain, and patriotic garland left over from the 4th of July, or Memorial Day. I couldn't get a picture of the front of this house because a car was parked in front of it, but the side porch is what caught my attention. It just seems to beckon to you to "come sit a spell." Here are some of the other houses and decorations I saw ... Click on the next picture to see the neat jack-o-lantern collection on the steps ... I loved this cute little scarecrow ghost that was standin' on a corner watchin' all the cars go by ... When I'm out taking pictures, I always seem to find some lagniappe, and here's my lagniappe from yesterday ... This is a cross on the roof of the Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation in Vicksburg. I just happened to look up and see it and was so glad I did. It was beautiful against the brilliant blue of the sky. And I couldn't pass by this pretty lantana plant without capturing its flowers before they fade away for the winter ... I hope you enjoyed my Halloween tour, and will join me for my Christmas tour. It will be here before we know it.

Neighborhood Halloween Game and Decorating Idea

One night last week, at around 8:00 p.m., our doorbell rang. Since most of our visitors come to the side door under our porch, we couldn't imagine who could be ringing our doorbell that time of night.

By the time my husband opened the door, there was no one there -- but whoever it was left a package for us with this cute note attached.

This is what it says:

Good Evening! You’ve just been BOO’ed!

Since this is the time for goblins and bats,
For Halloween spirits, for ghosts and cats,
For weird happenings and witches’ brew,
These are the things I wish for you.

May the only spirit you chance to meet
Be the spirit of love and friends warm and sweet.
May the only goblin that comes your way
Be this Neighborhood Phantom you must give away.

“‘Tis much better to give than receive,” goes the old verse,
And something this easy won’t empty your purse.
It’s your turn to pass along a treat and a BOO!
Because now the Neighborhood Phantom is little ole’ YOU!

So by this time tomorrow, pick three friends sweet,
And give to them each a Halloween treat.
You have only one day – so you’ll need to hurry –
Leave a treat on the doorstep, ring the bell, and then scurry!

Signed,
The Phantom

Underneath the poem, were these instructions:

Now these are the things you will need to do:

Make three copies of this letter and a phantom ghost for each.

Post the phantom on your door or in your window until Halloween. This will ward off the phantom from returning to haunt you and yours.

Then take a letter, a phantom, and a treat and deliver them to three houses that do not have a phantom posted.

Attached to the note was this picture of "The Phantom" ...

And this is the treat our "phantom" left for us ...

Inside the bag was a pretty little Halloween hand towel, some candy bars, and a package of cute jack-o-lantern napkins. Isn't that a neat idea!

The next day, I went to Kroger's and had fun shopping for things to put in my bags. I bought some pretty fall napkins and a set of little plastic pumpkins, which I thought would make cute votive holders.

I bought black votive candles, put them in the pumpkins, and added a bag of corn candy.

On my way home from Kroger's, I stopped by Walgreen's and found some little Halloween treat bags to put my goodies in, and I was pleased with the way they turned out.

The next night, my husband, our granddaughter Avery Grace, and I played "phantom" ... I drove the "getaway" car and my husband jumped out, rang doorbells, delivered the bags to three of our neighbors' front doors, and made a hasty getaway without being seen or getting caught!

This was such a cute idea that I wanted to share it so those of you who would like to try it in your neighborhoods would have time before Halloween.

And here's another cute idea that I've seen on a couple of blogs (I'm sorry, but I can't remember whose):

I've had these Halloween candles for years and thought they would be perfect to use in an arrangement with corn candy.

I knew Avery Grace would want to eat the candy, so I put some in a jar for her (and anyone else who might want some). You can tell by the picture that someone has been enjoying it.