Well, it’s officially October. Spooky season is here!
When I was a little girl, I’ll never forget the jack o’ lantern pumpkin that hung in my window during Halloween. A round, flat pumpkin face that hung flat against my window and lit brightly on fall nights. He greeted people driving by on Roosevelt Ave. The warm orange glow from it in my room gave me comfort as I slept. My brother had one in his room, too. It’s just one of the things I will never forget.
I love that my parents did that for us. I think it is so special as a kid to have things like that. Something that just makes a holiday extra special. Just google ‘Hanging Window Blinky Glow Light.’
It’s funny because I have some from the marketplace on Facebook that keep popping up, and I am so tempted to buy two since we don’t know where ours got to. It was so nostalgic seeing them — just as I remembered them!
I may have to buy a few for next year to add to our collection.
We live in a cape cod, and I could shine them upstairs from my very own bedroom double-hung windows, just like when I was little. I’m getting excited just thinking about it! Haha.
Each year, we add more and more to the outside of our home. I love it.
Christmas is my time to shine with the lights, but it has been so much fun collecting more and more Halloween stuff to light up our home outside.
Last year, I wanted to buy a 5-foot skeleton from Party City. I thought about how much fun I could have with it. So Kenzy and I headed down to purchase one last year. Much to my surprise, when I walked into the store, they were buy one, get one free!! I hit the jackpot!
“Oh, my goodness, Kenz! We get to bring home two skeletons instead of one!”
I don’t know who was more excited, me or her. She insisted on sitting in the back of the car with them on the way home. We seat-belted them in and headed home. The looks we got from passing cars were great! People loved it. The next day, I took Ty to school with them in the back, and the kids loved it. How fun.
Until I decorated the outside, one rode around in the car, and the other sat on our front porch. I said they needed names. We came up with Bonnie and Clyde because they were always up to no good. Plus, my best friend Tania Myers and I always, ALWAYS have to sit together for Friday lunches at the Bonnie & Clyde table at the Trail Inn. Bonnie & Clyde just seemed to fit them.
I had to come up with a cute idea for these two crazy critters. You can bend and flex their bodies so they can stand, sit, bend, and do everything.
Last year, Bonnie and Clyde sat around a campfire at the very end of our driveway. Logs stood tall with orange lights for flames and real stone for the campfire. There they sat in their chairs around the fire. Clyde was cooking up some marshmallows for Bonnie while Bonnie waved to everyone who drove by. That Bonnie sure is a little social butterfly. She has that country kindred spirit. Well, everyone just grew to love ole’ Bonnie & Clyde. I wanted people each year to wonder, “What will they be up to this year!?”
So, this year, we had to come up with a new idea!
Chris, Kenz, and I headed off to Target a few weeks back, and boy, did we end up throwing something good together. We finally completed it two weekends ago and have gotten so many compliments already. Everyone just loves driving by and seeing what’s new this year.
My dear neighbor, Sue Wagner, said how much she loved driving by and seeing it all lit up. Always makes me happy when the neighbors enjoy it. She said she and her hubby Dale drove by the night we finished, and both just loved how it was decorated. That’s why I do it. I love making people’s evenings with it.
I love-LOVE Halloween houses. Whether it’s a single strand of orange lights wrapped around a porch with a garland of leaves or full-blown Halloween statues in the yard, I love it. It makes me happy. I want people every year to look forward to seeing what Bonnie & Clyde are up to. Make it something special, just like my simple pumpkin that shined in my window all those years ago.
This world can be a scary place, but if I can bring a glimpse of happiness to someone by just driving by and giggling at our crazy skeletons, then it is worth every minute put into it.
I wish I could just give you my address, but unfortunately, I don’t want to put that out there. So here is the thing: if you do know where we live, come by and see what Bonnie & Clyde are up to some night! If not, the week of Halloween, I am going to tell you what they were up to this year and if I am able, I will include a picture of them that Halloween week!
Each year, I will have a Bonnie & Clyde column, and even my readers can look forward to seeing what they are up to. It’s so fun and something I will do as long as possible. My kids look forward to it, and someday, I hope even some grandbabies will look forward to coming over and seeing the famous Bonnie & Clyde and their crazy activities each year!
Since my column was about skeletons, I will include Kenzy’s lunch I made for her last Halloween for school. I have always made my kids a fun Halloween lunch. Ty officially grew “too cool” for it last year, but Kenzy said she would want one till she is married and gone. Here’s to more years of fun lunch ideas and surprises from Bonnie and Clyde. BOO!
Jack Skellington Lunch
Make any sandwich and top with a Jack head made from a slice of provolone cheese.
With a sharp paring knife, cut out his face. Listen, I am no artist. If I can do it, you can.
I then drew Mr. Oogie Boogie on a mandarin orange with a black marker.
Again, no artist, just took my time.
Google a picture; it’s so much easier.
I added the touches of some spiders in goldfish and a special cookie from Wegmans.
If you start planning now, you have the whole month to create something special. Each year, I think of a new theme and have already purchased some things for this year’s lunch.
Just have fun with it; make it your own. It doesn’t have to be hard. What a special surprise for a child on Halloween. Kenzy even made it on the school’s Facebook page for her cool Halloween lunch and had a shout-out saying, “Way to go, Mom!” She loved it!
