Decorating for Halloween

Over the weekend we decorated for Halloween. I tried to strike a balance this year - we don’t need to go overboard because Oliver doesn’t get Halloween yet, but this is when we start planting the seeds for future holidays and years of enjoyment. I know pumpkins and spooky things on our porch mean nothing to him right now, but I’m hoping his experiences this year will lead to some recognition and excitement next year when Halloween rolls around.

So this year we have a couple of real little pumpkins on the porch (more to come when we go pumpkin picking), alongside our two plastic jack-o-lanterns that I love because squirrels can’t eat them. This year I added a strand of lights with ghosts and pumpkins on them I found in a Halloween box from my childhood. I love the look! I hung up my usual bats from the porch roof and added a big inflatable bat to the rails. I took a chair from the back deck and placed an inflatable skeleton on it, but he seems to be slowly deflating - he might have to go back in the box until Halloween night.

Also for Halloween night we’ll carve up some big pumpkins into real jack-o-lanterns and pull out some of my favorite (but not very outdoor friendly) final touches - hanging ghosts that make noise and skull lights and a cauldron.

So far Oliver is pretty curious about the new stuff. He likes to carry around the small pumpkins and calls them balls. He likes to touch the skeleton. I think we’re off to a good start getting ready for Halloween. I’ll be watching the children’s Halloween movies without him, but we’ll be reading Halloween books and practicing trick-or-treating in costume. It’s really fun to now have a toddler to start some family traditions with - Halloween is such a fun holiday!