So, happy [insert holiday here], I guess

[Chalcedony]

Did anyone do anything for Halloween? Trick or treating with the kids? Trick or treating by yourself? Any parties or work celebrations or whatever? I'm so boring, I didn't do anything or go anywhere. Got no plans for Thanksgiving or Christmas, either. Not really feeling any happy-holiday mood this year. Sometimes, I wish I could tap into that excitement that I felt when I was a little kid, making construction paper Jack-o'-lanterns or helping my mom put up the Christmas tree. Age has made me kinda cynical about holidays in general. If not for the colorful decorations, because I like shiny things,  wouldn't care about them at all. 

[Darth Krawlie]

It’s 5pm and I’m on beer number four. Kids will be going out and I’ll be setting up shop to hand out candy. Planned ahead and took tomorrow off work cuz I’ve found going into that office with even a slight hangover doesn’t really work out for me.*
 

*I mean it only happened twice, but it was enough. Workday drinking is rare anyway

[Destiny Skywalker]

I better see some cute kid pics on Facebook, people.

Q is going to be Amelia Earhart and E is some weird ninja from Terraria but I just bought him a Costco ninja costume and that's plenty of effort from me.

[Darth Krawlie]

Best costume I’ve had so far tonight was Sauron, with Michael Jackson second. TBH I didn’t care much about costumes, kids of various ages having a wholesome time was all that mattered. Some might not have been dressed at all, but who cares.

[Jacen123]

We went for a brief walk around the neighborhood early in the evening and saw some young kids out trick or treating with their parents. One of our neighbors ors had a bunch of decorations and relatives or friends dressed up as vampires for people to take photos with.  It was a nice atmosphere, which was great to see.

It would have been even better if the church just down the street wasn’t blasting music with heavy bass for hours on end even before their trunk or treat event started, but clearly nothing can be done about that.  

[Ms. Spam]

People here is San Antonio pack into cars and go to certain zip codes to trick or treat. So I just get the same two or three each year that live in the complex before they head out. One of my friends goes all out and every year her house makes the local news. 
 

https://www.expressnews.com/lifestyle/article/Halloween-trick-or-treaters-flock-to-San-Antonio-15650850.php#photo-20114418
 

so I usually go after work and hang out drinking beer and celebrating as it’s also their wedding anniversary. So we eat sushi and drink beers 

[Destiny Skywalker]

My kids came home with a stupid amount of candy. My husband found out that I had no candy because I try to give out non-food items because allergies and picked up 2 damn bags on the way home. He is convinced our house will get egged if we don't.

[Darth Krawlie]

uh yeah big on Brad's side there

called it quits after two hours and gave out the vast majority of our candy. I'd call it a success, though learned that next year we need more lighting for everyone to know we're giving out candy. we're at an awkward spot, we're on a corner lot, with a park on the side of the street our front door is facing, so the only other super close house is directly across the street. I was set up with an umbrella, decorations, a huge bowl of candy, and a playlist going, so we got some good traffic, but not as much as we could have had there been more lights.

[Jedigoat]

I dressed up as Alan Quartermain for Halloween but everyone thought I was Indiana Jones.  Idiots. 

[Destiny Skywalker]

13 hours ago, Darth Krawlie said:

called it quits after two hours and gave out the vast majority of our candy. I'd call it a success, though learned that next year we need more lighting for everyone to know we're giving out candy. we're at an awkward spot, we're on a corner lot, with a park on the side of the street our front door is facing, so the only other super close house is directly across the street. I was set up with an umbrella, decorations, a huge bowl of candy, and a playlist going, so we got some good traffic, but not as much as we could have had there been more lights.

We have some neighbors that sit out in the driveway with fire pits if the rain isn't too bad.

We live on a very long cul-de-sac with a lot of greenbelt along one side, so we don't get many people who think the trek is worth it.

I think we had 4 pieces of candy left. FINE.

[Jacen123]

We completely forgot to get candy to give out this year because we didn’t do it the past two years due to the pandemic and we have had a lot going on recently, so it didn’t occur to us to buy any until we went out on our walk early in the evening. We made sure to turn out the lights anywhere near the front door. However, we still had someone ring our doorbell later in the evening.  We just completely ignored it, so I was initially worried we might get an egg or two thrown our way, but fortunately that didn’t happen.

[Chalcedony]

Where I live, there are a couple of neighborhoods that go all-out for Halloween. They're very well off and live in beautiful Victorian houses, so they have the biggest, most elaborate displays. Huge animatronic figures, creepy graveyards with smoke machines, music playing, etc. and some of them give out full sized chocolate bars. THOUSANDS of people show up on trick-or-treat night. I went a few times (I think the last time was around 2017 or something) but it was so crowded that it was difficult to walk. You had to wait in line to get to some houses. There are cops assigned for security duty, and there's an ambulance/first aid station on hand. Halloween is SERIOUS BUSINESS here, guyz! There were loads of great costumes, though, wish I had pictures. I stayed home and did nothing this year. 

[Chalcedony]

18 hours ago, Darth Krawlie said:

Best costume I’ve had so far tonight was Sauron, with Michael Jackson second. TBH I didn’t care much about costumes, kids of various ages having a wholesome time was all that mattered. Some might not have been dressed at all, but who cares.

I remember one year, a kid dressed up as Prince in a purple sparkly suit, and he was so spot-on, it's like Prince had a Mini Me.

[monkeygirl]

I went over to JacobE's the Friday before Halloween so I got to see his awesome kids in their awesome costumes (Spiderman and Edward Scissorhands, which I misgendered as Freddie Kruger). It was pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good!

 

[RUAJedi2]

What's everyone doing for Thanksgiving. Staying home with 1BoldHussy and The Spawn. Ordered pickup groceries yesterday, and they put a 20 lb turkey in the order, so there should be plenty. Also mashed taters and gravy, cornbread dressing (yes, dressing, because it will not be cooked inside a bird), green bean casserole (because It Is Required), my retro cranberry jello salad thing (aka The Placenta ), and rolls. 1BoldHussy is having a celebratory endoscopy on Wednesday, so she might be sipping a mug of hot turkey broth. Thanksgiving is my legit favorite holiday, and I'm moderately bummed it will be so low-key. Anyone near me come by and grab a to-go plate. Oh! There will also be apple pie, made with heirloom local apples.

 

Everyone share, because I'm in a deep pre-holiday state of blues.

[Ms. Spam]

This year I am going to my cousins house in Houston. Very different than previous thanksgiving things. My Aunt will be there with my uncle. Tasha is my cousin and she is not a cook so expect some catered affair. So I made my own leftovers last night. 
 

usually I go to my weird family not family thanksgiving with a very close friend from second grade who I love like a brother. (I dated him for years and thought we would marry but he came out as gay). 
 

I also miss Tina immensely right now. So I totally get that weird sad depression. Not that this weather is helping much. 
 

looking forward to the day after. Where I am planning to go to a birthday party. 

[Gamevet]

On 11/1/2022 at 10:46 AM, Jedigoat said:

I dressed up as Alan Quartermain for Halloween but everyone thought I was Indiana Jones.  Idiots. 

LMAO!

[Destiny Skywalker]

We are doing Friendsgiving this year with our friends who are from Australia. I'm making some side dishes and bringing wine, and she is making the turducken. I volunteered to make Mac n cheese and a potato dish, and bring a pumpkin pie. She is making stuffing and Cranberry sauce, I hope she send me some leftovers lol.

[Hobbes]

We went on a Disney Halloween cruise with the in-laws.  It was okay.  The kids had a good time.  My kids are really into costumes and have like a dozen or so.  On the cruise they were Bumblebee and an Ender Dragon from Minecraft (I always wondered how Minecraft were never sued by OSC over this).  For Halloween they just picked out random Spiderman and Batman constumes. 

I watched for the first time in my life The Santa Clause.  It hit like every single one of my most hated tropes and I have so many questions.  like, what happened to the Santa Claus who died?  Why aren't the elfs mourning him?  He has to give up his family?  There was a really fantastic Neil Gaimen short story about santa being a slave to the the elfs.

But, the most important part, is I felt fat shamed.  At one point in the movie he gets on the scale and he weighs 194.  I fluctuate between 205-210.  Everyone is making fat jokes.  So I think maybe Tim Allen is short so I look up he is 5'10.  I am 5'11--an inch taller is hardly a game changer.  So I am officially fatter than Santa.

[Darth Krawlie]

oops

[Odine]

1 hour ago, Hobbes said:

We went on a Disney Halloween cruise with the in-laws.  It was okay.  The kids had a good time.  My kids are really into costumes and have like a dozen or so.  On the cruise they were Bumblebee and an Ender Dragon from Minecraft (I always wondered how Minecraft were never sued by OSC over this).  For Halloween they just picked out random Spiderman and Batman constumes. 

I watched for the first time in my life The Santa Clause.  It hit like every single one of my most hated tropes and I have so many questions.  like, what happened to the Santa Claus who died?  Why aren't the elfs mourning him?  He has to give up his family?  There was a really fantastic Neil Gaimen short story about santa being a slave to the the elfs.

But, the most important part, is I felt fat shamed.  At one point in the movie he gets on the scale and he weighs 194.  I fluctuate between 205-210.  Everyone is making fat jokes.  So I think maybe Tim Allen is short so I look up he is 5'10.  I am 5'11--an inch taller is hardly a game changer.  So I am officially fatter than Santa.

Be all them $3 Big Mac and fries combos with your app 

[Ms. Spam]

That's Hollywood vanity weight. I GAURANTEE that that's not Tim Allen's real weight. 

[Hobbes]

Nicholas Was... 

older than sin, and his beard could grow no whiter. He wanted to die. 

The dwarfish natives of the Arctic caverns did not speak his language, but conversed in their own, twittering tongue, conducted incomprehensible rituals, when they were not actually working in the factories. 

Once every year they forced him, sobbing and protesting, into Endless Night. During the journey he would stand near every child in the world, leave one of the dwarves' invisible gifts by its bedside. The children slept, frozen into time. 

He envied Prometheus and Loki, Sisyphus and Judas. His punishment was harsher. 

Ho. 

Ho. 

Ho.

[Destiny Skywalker]

No way in shit is Santa 194 lbs, unless he has chicken legs and chicken arms.

[Cerina]

Halloween - my little kid was Siren Head. Feel free to Google it and then question my parenting. My oldest didn't really want to dress up, so he went with his 3 younger cousins and brother (3, 4, 6, and 6) in plain clothes and told everyone that he was an "underpaid babysitter begging for sympathy candy". Apparently that was a big hit. 

My mom, sister, and I stayed behind to give out candy and such. This year we had 3 bowls set out - chocolate candies (Reese's, Milky Way, Snickers, etc.), fruity candies (Baby Bottle Pops, Laffy Taffy rope, Nerds rope, and something else I don't remember), and Rice Krispie Treats. We also had small individual things of scented Play-doh. Kids of all ages went nuts for the Play-doh. The Rice Krispie Treats were the first to empty. The chocolate didn't even get halfway empty. Next year I told my sister I want to have a potato as an option. Kids are wild. 

Thanksgiving - we're going to my sister's house, and I'm going to help with the cooking so I don't have to be on the clean-up crew. We were all going to see my grandparents in Houston since my grandpa had open heart surgery 2 months ago, but instead, my dad decided to import them to Austin so he can take them out house shopping over the weekend because they need to move up here to be closer to the rest of us. We moved my mom's parents last year, and I swear it added 3-5 years to their lives, so now it's my dad's parents' turn.