Halloween & How-Do-You-Do

Fall is a favored time of year around our house, with Halloween being Himself's favorite holiday. The moment summer's heat broke, he began sniffing the air for signs of autumn and now that the evenings are chilly, there's a definite bounce in his step.

I enjoy watching him slip back into boyhood as we pass the pumpkins & gourds piled high out front at Wal-Mart. The only reason he isn't peering wistfully over the side of the pumpkin corral with the other kiddies is that he's 6'4 and can scope out the choicest specimens from a respectable distance. Of course, he isn't fooling anyone, grinning ear to ear like that.

To keep things manageable, I've been doing a little each day to transform our apartment for this year's Halloween Party. Himself comes home from work at night and prowls around, saying "Wow!" each time he finds a new spooky feature and giving me a hug. Wow! for the black & orange-striped witch's tights I stuffed (with newspaper) into a pair of my old shoes and left poking out from under the patio table. Wow! for the motion-sensitive, black cat candy dish on the mantle. (Word to the wise, here. Do not put the batteries in until Halloween.) Wow! for the magnificently creepy way I set the dining room table. I got two hugs for that! And now we can enjoy the spooky theme all month at suppertime. It may seem like a lot of work for one evening of fun. After all, who's going to see it before then? Just us. The thing is, I love seeing him excited.

We are party people. Both love nothing more than flexing our culinary creativity and throwing a bash to remember. Himself is already knee-deep in Halloween party details: where to find straw bales? Should we have bugs in the ice cubes or eyeballs? Dry ice in a cauldron or a fog machine? Bloody Mary's or Mauled Cider with Cinnamon Schnapps for the signature cocktail? He is an accomplished cook and consummate host. Any party benefits from his jovial manner and thorough attention to detail. I'm thrifty and relish finding creative solutions to otherwise expensive party dilemmas. My mantra: Why spend X when you can make something tailored to your party for much less?

If you're stumped for party ideas, take heart. All this month, I will share my favorite ideas, recipes and inspiration for a fabulously memorable Halloween. I'll also throw in quite a bit of holiday joy. We're big on that at my house. Actually, we're big on joy in general. And on making memories. It would tickle me pink to help you make some too. Thank you, gentle reader, for perusing this first post of Ordinary Wonderment.

*photo by talekinker*