Well, that's creepy! Since our kids are grown, we abstain from Halloween. If my wife is in town though, she gives out candy. I can't go near the stuff - zero self discipline in that department...

 

We have a lot of creepy props and such. Scary clowns, bloody, burned, possessed dolls, beheaded woman, evil pumpkins, skulls and spider webs galore. 👻 Last year my husband built this huge pumpin head scarecrow that he situated in our front yard. The scarecrow will make another appearance this year.

I shouldn't go near the sugary stuff either, but I do, and I always regret it. Still, it doesn't stop me from coming back for more!

 

I like when some people dress up their houses with graves and skeletons and cobwebs along with those scary sounds to make it feel like Halloween.

 

My son's favorite 'holiday' is Halloween. For me it's a zilch. And there aren't any kids in my neighborhood anyway so I don't even bother. Because I guard against going hypoglycemic I always have Snickers in a tub in the cupboard so if anyone did show up I'm prepared but I put out zero effort. Holidays aren't much when you live alone.

 

I understand. I hope at least for a few of the more meaningful holidays you have the opportunity to spend time with others if that's your preference.

Although we decorate and have a party for Halloween, it's primarily now because our friends expect it and we don't want to disappoint. For me in general, holidays aren't the same anymore.

 

I have to laugh at my critique of holiday consumerism. I know few people who are more consumer than I. We own two houses, full of stuff. I collect many things (less so than in years past): books, records/CDs/Cassettes), audio gear, cameras, furnishings, collectible art in various forms, and the clothing. Always the clothing... sigh.

 

Normally kids are respectful of not ringing if the light are off.

 

Love sucks.

Happy Halloween!

 

Nobody rang or doorbell last night on Halloween, it was a quiet day after I came home from work.

 

Last year we had a ton of kids. This year probably less than half. We were bummed. The good news is we got rid of most of the chocolates by giving each trick or treater a large handful.

 

I live in an HOA, not really a city street. Only one group rang our doorbell. A quiet night, no noisemakers at all.

 

Where I live, 15 miles to town where neighbors are a half mile apart and all the kids out here are grown and gone, a trick or treater would be suspect. Wife was at our place in town where it's still like (mostly) the 1950's-60's, and got rid of all her Halloween treats but 8 PM. Most of the kids are out and about 6-7 ish. It's quiet as the police chief lives across the street.

 

The Halloween tradition of going door to door asking for candy has pretty much died down, could be a COVID thing.

 

That’s awesome about the Trad guys coming to the party, haha. It's always fun seeing different styles come together. The khakis sound like a solid choice, but yeah, the collar roll is definitely missing the mark.
Speaking of parties, I went to this event from brutparty.com last year—it was a blast! They had such a cool mix of people and great vibes. It reminded me of a Halloween party I threw where everyone showed up in the most unexpected outfits. One guy wore a vintage suit and everyone was chatting about his collar.

 

We love Halloween so much too, @Preppy Climber. We sit outside so we don't have to deal with the dogs and have wine for the parents. There are few kids in the neighborhood but the neighbors come by for a drink so it works. I wish we had more Halloween decor (clutter) and we probably can if we reduce the Christmas clutter by 50-75%.

 

That all sounds wonderful, @Hyacinth! We're the reverse of you guys--too much Halloween decor and very little Christmas stuff!

 

Does anyone dress up these days?

 

I do!

 

Oh surprise us, what do you wear?

 

It's a surprise.

 

It is curious, but although I enjoy well done decorations in public, I am a minimalist at home. For Halloween, it's a pumpkin and a Mexican tin sign of a skeleton wishing a happy Halloween. The irony is really that the image comes from a culture for whom Dia De Los Muertos is the big event. For Christmas, some time during Advent we hang a wreath, put out a few artificial poinsettias (real ones are poisonous and there is a toddler around), and red candles on the mantel and dining table. Right before Christmas the tree comes in from its bucket and gets decorated with a hodge podge of ornaments collected over the years. I really like the quiet of Advent. Lounging with a good book, listening to something Christmassy like Bach's Christmas Oratorio, and, if the weather cooperates, having a fire.

 

A sneak preview of Preppy Climber in her Athena Halloween costume:

 

I think I'm more becoming here (PC on the right). 🤣

 

Chilly this morning, so I put on a Pendleton. And read this thread for the first time and realized my Pendy looked Halloweeny.

(Have never posted a picture with the cell phone in it, don't care for that when others do, put some effort into it for Christ sakes, but this morning I fall prey to my own obnoxiousness about this and snapped the quickie below.)

Fans of large hips on tiny bodies, pan down to the lower left. For those who are cane bound, you're not alone, pan down to the lower right.

This Pendleton is what Pendleton called either a Topster, or sometimes a Topsman. I had not heard that nomenclature until recently. My crowd has worn these all their lives and we call them smokers, for smoking jacket. This particular one, and the others I have and I have quite a few, have had all the patch pockets removed. And that's because Pendleton had the very bad, cheap habit of placing the plaid of the pocket on the diagonal. Strong aversion to that, so off with the pockets. (One has been resewn to the inside, because these come with no inside pockets.) The buttons here have also been switched, from giant leather twists to simple plastic. My jackets have also been darted, though looking closely at this particular pic, I'm not sure I darted this one.

The uniqueness of the smoker is that it is blazer-like, completely unstructured except a strip of rayon across the inner upper shoulder and the standout is the shirt-like cuff that buttons.

 

I have a Topster and detest the fact they placed the pockets on the diagonal. However, I like pockets and so shall live with this design flaw.

 

Today was the first in the 40's, Moleskin, and corduroy car coat to walk in the low 50's.

 

^

What's that got to do with Halloween? Come on, Ran, pay attention.

To the @Vecchio Vespa post just above the spooky, ooh I'm scared out of my wits look out for them ghosts post of Ran's above...

...Yes and they were great pockets too, big and roomy, large enough to hold dad's pipe and tobacco pouch, or so Pendleton ads would have you believe the dads who wore these things used them for. Hated to see my pockets go, but they spoiled completely the look of the unique Pendleton plaids, for what you seldom hear is that the Pendleton Mills actually designed and wove these plaids straight from their imagination, not copies of anything; a Pendleton plaid design is a one-of-a-kind. Still, the pockets were so damn big that the jarring effect of the plaid being on the diagonal ruined the look. Years ago, looking at one of mine on a hanger from the rear I saw the same shape of the jacket as it looks from the front, but voilá, with no big splotchy diagonal interruptions. So that's when I went to work on the front. And now, it's all too sweet.

Besides, I don't smoke a pipe.
I once told an individual that when wearing a Pendy on a cold winter's night with the cat in my lap for both of our warmth, that I would fill those big pockets with litter so Egdon could pee without leaving my lap. That listener was a follower of a certain political party who will believe anything, and thought that was a swell idea, that it was too sweet. (Play it again and get off on the best tune of the summer.)

 

Not as many kids in my neighborhood as their used to be and so not a lot of trick or treaters, plus I have a little "get out of jail free" card as my birthday is Halloween and so the wife and I usually go out to celebrate sometimes and don't pass out candy. When I did pass out candy I had a pretty strict "no costume, no candy" rule.

 

Why do you think there are not as many kids as there used to be?

 

Not sure, the kids on my street have just grown up (some are already done with college) and then there's a possibility that there are less families here in town, either due to the home costs or the local Industries (high home costs and IT don't really go hand in hand with starting families)

 

I think back then Halloween was a thing to do during the 80's and 90's but now with the rise of social media kids don't really go outside anymore or lack thereof, they're playing with their phones.

 

The Curious Case of Preppy Climber.

October 2022.

 

Is it The Preppy Climber or A Preppy Climber?

 

Alfalfa's nerdy female cousin.

Halloween 2018.

 

Or Urkel's Sister?

 

My usual fancy dress costumes (please don't ask) are no longer considered palatable amongst polite society and so, here I am newly 'kitted out' for 2024. 😇

 

You can pull off Billy Idol quite easily.