{Trick-or-Treat!}

I love this Halloween party invitation from our collection:

My boys are still young enough to enjoy Halloween. We live in a town home community and last year we decorated to the hilt! Bloody hand sticking out of the mailbox. Mailbox covered in faux cobwebs. Mammoth spider strung from the balcony. Tombstones in the yard. Severed head hanging from the garage. You get the grim picture. I noticed a few neighbors walking by and having their picture taken with some of the decorations, so I figured that people were enjoying the spectacle. Well, some of the homeowners were not pleased and we received in the mail a letter stating the HOA policies regarding decorations (basically, none are allowed). BOO! This year we will still decorate, but tone down the gore and put up the decorations just a few days before October 31st, rather than October 1st (smile).

We don’t get any Trick-or-Treaters (who would want to Trick-or-Treat in our neighborhood?) so the boys, Dave (my significant other…I’m divorced, just an FYI) and I head over to the “fun” neighborhood a mile away. Last year it rained, but we had fun anyway. The funny thing about Halloween in Charlotte, North Carolina, is that the weather can be really warm. I am from Buffalo, New York, and Halloween in Buffalo usually means a coat over the costume.

I have to say that my least favorite thing about the holiday is the choosing of the costumes. My boys only want to go to the costume shop that opens JUST for Halloween (where every costume costs an arm and a leg - ha!). Unfortunately, the majority of the time they get what they want. Why can’t I dress them up as super heroes anymore, in homemade capes with tights…sigh.

-Carrie