Welcome to a series called, Notes for Next Year. Please tell me I'm not the only one who has grand aspirations for the month, but then gets to the end and realizes there are movies or meals or events I forgot (or couldn't muster the energy for). Welp, this may seem a little counter-productive but hindsight – as they say – is 20/20, so I'm going to reflect on our October 2023 and make notes to plan for October 2024. Make sense? Maybe these ideas can inspire you, too. Here goes!
MOVIES
Here's what we watched this year:
Haunted Mansion (2023)
Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021)
Under Wraps 2 (2022)
Casper (1995)
Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)
Now & Then (1995)*
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Invasion (not a movie but a series on Apple TV)
There are lists floating around with Halloween-y movies for every day of the month. I would have loved that kind of commitment, but we did what we could with what we have (a common theme here, you'll see).
*A quick note about Now and Then. When watching Casper, I mentioned to G that Christina Ricci and Devon Sawa were in another movie that came out around the same time in the 90s called Now & Then. It was one of my favorites growing up and G was interested in seeing it, so we borrowed it from the library (since I couldn't find my copy). I hadn't seen this movie in years and was surprised that, even though it's set in the summertime, it had a bit of a spooky element running through it – no spoilers but I'm talkin murder-mystery, graveyard visits, and a creepy character who only comes out at night. See? Kinda unexpectedly fun for Halloween.
And here's what we could try and watch next year, when G will be 10 (!):
The Curse of Bridge Hallow
We Have a Ghost
Hubie Halloween
Nightbooks
Goosebumps
Beetlejuice
Hocus Pocus
Haunted Mansion (2003)
FOODS
Here's what I made this year:
Chili and Cornbread (pre-trick-or-treating tradition)
Mummy Calzone with Caesar's Ghost Salad
Pumpkin Muffins
Orange Rice Krispie Treats
Pumpkin Ravioli
Ghost Toasts
Again, I would have loved to make something frightfully-themed every night, but it didn't happen. My Pinterest board is FULL of amazing ideas. Next year, I wanna try:
MUSIC
I have a not-so-traditional Halloween Playlist on Spotify. Here are some of the songs I added this year:
Bones by Imagine Dragons
Lil Boo Thang by Paul Russell
Take it to the Graveyard by LVCRFT
Lily by Alan Walker
Halloween Waltz by moon blues
DECOR & TRADITIONS
I used what I had and it was enough. We have a pretty small space, so I keep the decor pretty minimal. This year:
I did buy a new door mat that I'll save for next year
I jumped on the Occasions Bin bandwagon, it was an easy way to add a little festive fun everyday so I'll definitely do this again
Our Switch Witch, Sandy, made an appearance
Trick-or-treating with friends was super fun
Costumes were really low-key
Next year:
Our city puts together a map of decorated homes, so maybe we'll make time to drive by them
Halloween Horror Nights?
I do not need any more Halloween napkins! I'm all set. If I remember nothing else, I hope it is this.
So that's it for my 2023 Halloween Notes for Next Year. I'd love to know what made your October memorable and what you might be planning for next year.