Halloween | BulgingButtons

October 26, 2014
by BulgingButtons 6 Comments

Why I Decorate For Holidays

Have you been inside a store lately? Someone thinks it’s Christmas already. It’s not. It’s still October. I’m not ready for Christmas. Or Thanksgiving. Or, frankly, even Halloween. In fact, I went out looking for some cool yard decorations for Halloween yesterday, but apparently you’re supposed to do that further in advance of the holiday than one week. Who knew? I did pick up a few small Thanksgiving decorations, on clearance, no less.

I’m slowly trying to rebuild my Halloween and Thanksgiving decoration stock, as I foolishly allowed most of it to be given away by my ex. It wasn’t his fault. I moved out of the house and left behind lots of things to donate. Somehow the box that contained some really wonderful decorations (including some handmade items and some treasures that my son made in his early years) ended up in that group. I’ve been mourning its loss for three years now.

The stacking jack-o-latern boxes, the ceramic haunted house candle holder, the cross-stitched ghosties, the tole painted pumpkins, the elegant ceramic pumpkins that used to grace my Thanksgiving table… all gone. So are the mini-pumpkin lights and the larger jack-o-lanterns stake lights for the yard. It still makes me sad to think about it.

As we speak, my house has a hand-made fabric wreath on the front door and a small wooden sign with a jack-o-lantern. There is a doormat in orange with a jack-o-lantern face on it, and a plug in jack-o-lantern that isn’t plugged in, because we need an extension cord. How is anyone going to know that we’re a house to trick-or-treat at? I know, I know… turn on the porch light and they will come. But it’s our first year in our new neighborhood, and I want to make a good impression. There should be some sign on Halloween on the premises!

When I was a kid we had a large plastic jack-o-lantern. We would place a small lamp inside of it and put it in the front window. It looked awesome! Then we would carve a pumpkin or two and stick those out on the porch, with candles in them, of course. I loved how it looked. It was the only time our house was ever really decorated for a holiday, at least from the outside.

My parents were immigrants, and my family is Jewish. We never did Christmas lights. In fact, it made my mom a little uncomfortable when my dad would bring home a wreath for the front door, which he did a couple of times during my growing up years. Our house basically always looked the same, inside and out.

Back in those days people didn’t go quite as crazy with the decorations as they do now, of course, but there were lots of Christmas lights in our neighborhood. They looked especially beautiful in the snow. I loved visiting my friends during the holiday season and seeing their Christmas trees and other decorations. I was always fascinated and enchanted by all the things that people would do to make their homes different and special during holidays, whether it was embroidered hand towels or special placemats or garland along a bannister. I always wished that we could do that at our house, but it was never going to happen.

We did have out our menorahs at Chanukah time, and one year my dad built a huge gingerbread house. We also dragged home a small evergreen and put it in a bucket in basement one year, much to my mother’s horror. Then there was the year that my dad and I built a “tree” out of dowels. I’m not sure if that was cool and creative or just plain pathetic. Anyway, our holiday decor was extremely limited.

I vowed that when I had a home of my own I would decorate it for the holidays, and I did. I still do. I don’t fill it to the gills with junk, I try to use pieces that make me happy individually, and that collectively create a festive feeling. That’s why replacing items is so difficult. The missing items were collected over years, and each had its own story. You can’t just load up at Target and call it done. Well, I can’t.

So now I’m back to clearing out clutter so I can enjoy my holiday decorations, such as they are, and I’m planning a trip to the hardware store for that extension cord. Who knows what I might pick up along the way? Maybe something spooky.

October 30, 2013
by BulgingButtons 9 Comments

Where Do I Even Begin?

No doubt many of you have already seen this little gem by now and have formed your own opinions about it. My first reaction? You have got to be kidding me. My next reaction involved some choice words that I prefer to keep out of print for now.

I think the story goes something like this: a woman in the midwest wants to do her civic duty by proclaiming her neighbors’ children obese and giving them notes to that effect instead of candy on Halloween night. The notes not only explain what a wonderful service she is doing them, but go on to suggest that the parents ration the candy the children happen to accumulate from the disappointing neighbors who might stoop to give them any.

Jeez, talk about fat shaming. This is fat shaming and parent shaming and just plain old nastiness all rolled into one self-serving holier-than-thou pile of crap. Let’s face it, this note is just plain mean.

Here’s the deal, I’m usually a pretty open minded individual. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, and I generally try to convince myself that people have others’ best interests at heart. In this case I just don’t see it.

If you think giving candy to some kids and mean spirited notes to others is somehow going to improve their health, you’re out of your mind. You’re worried about childhood obesity? Don’t give out candy. Better yet, don’t give out anything. Turn off your light and stay away from the windows. Your neighbors will probably thank you. Especially those with the chubby children who you will target with your ill conceived notes.

Notes which, by the way, you apparently spent considerable time on, including a cute graphic. Which makes me wonder if this is even real. Who shared this with the world? Halloween hasn’t happened yet. Is someone pulling the wool over our eyes? Are we being pranked?

I hope so , because you don’t know every child’s story. You don’t know every family’s story. Neither do I. If they’re letting their kids trick-or-treat that’s their business. If you don’t want to participate, don’t. You don’t get to pick and choose which kids get a treat and which kids don’t. If you don’t have something nice to say, say nothing. Sit this one out and admit that maybe you’re not the expert on everything. You want to help kids? Help your community? Fantastic. This is not the way to do it.

October 29, 2013
by BulgingButtons 9 Comments

And So It Begins – Six Months of Temptation

Ah yes, the end of October. It’s the unofficial start to what I like to call the eating season. It’s more than a season, though. It’s actually approximately half the year.

October brings with it Halloween, which used to mean a night of trick-or-treating and the bowl and sack of candy that accompanied it. Not anymore. Now it means specialty cupcakes and impossible to resist orange filled oreos. I know. I’m weak. And I should never grocery shop when I’m hungry.

After the sugar high of Halloween, we get into the comfort food of Thanksgiving. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Yum. And if we must throw in a veggie or two why not put them in a casserole with extra calories and deliciousness? Of course we finish the whole thing off with pie. Um, I mean pieS. Who can choose between apple, pumpkin, and pecan? Why choose? Have some of each. And yes, please, I would like some whipped cream on it.

Then, the very next day, we’re into the Christmas season. Hot chocolate and Christmas cookies are in abundance (even if the low temperatures in my area don’t even require mittens). Specialty items are everywhere, including those cursed Trader Joes candy cane chocolate dipped oreo knock-offs. They are insane.

And don’t forget Hanukkah. Whether you celebrate it or not, those hot golden fried potato latkes are a tradition not to be missed. And what’s Hanukkah without a little bit of chocolate gelt?

Before you know it, February shows up on the calendar, with heart shaped boxes declaring your love for your sweetheart. The bigger the box, the more you love them. Or the more of them there there will be to love, anyway.

It seems that the minute those heart shaped boxes hit the clearance aisle they are replaced by Easter candy. It used to be jelly beans and chocolate bunnies, but now it’s so much more. My personal Achille’s heel are the Cadbury mini eggs. These are not the chocolate goo filled eggs (which, not surprisingly, I also enjoy), but the small candy shelled bits of yumminess. They must be milk chocolate, though. The dark chocolate ones just don’t do it for me. And the Christmas version of candy shelled red and green balls isn’t quite the same either. Apparently I’m a Cadbury mini egg snob.

So there you go, a breakdown of the October to April feeding frenzy that I’m hoping to navigate with some type of success. My only saving grace is that I also bought fruit, and I know how to eat it!