I have a daughter who is obsessed with Halloween.
I might be partly to blame for this, as I am an enthusiastic observer of all things holiday.
From the time Ainsley was little, she had several items of Halloween apparel - T-shirts, barrettes, socks, earrings, pajamas and more. She had a whole stack of Halloween board books we would read before bed. We've always decorated the house and hosted an annual "spooky dinner" for family and/or friends, with menu items like mummy hot dogs and "feet" loaf, complete with a leek masquerading as an ankle bone and cashew toenails. One year, one of my neighbor's kids - who usually loves meatloaf - was so horrified by the dish he refused to even try it.
OK. I'm entirely to blame.
But any observance of Halloween must wait, in my opinion, until Oct. 1. So I was a little surprised when we turned the calendar from August to September and Ainsley declared it time to decorate for Halloween.
"Absolutely not," I replied.
"But all the stores have Halloween stuff out," she countered.
And she was right. As soon as the stars and stripes merchandise came off the shelves in early July, it seems many retailers jumped right to Halloween. A "Halloween" search on Amazon this week generated 20 pages of products - everything from giant spider webs to pumpkin-shaped bandages to spooky "advent" calendars.
Starbucks doesn't help, releasing its pumpkin spice latte in August. This year it returned on Aug. 22, just two days before the temperature hit a steamy 86 degrees. (Perhaps that's why they've included an iced version this year.)
I think I've convinced Ainsley to wait until Oct. 1 to start decorating for Halloween, although she might just be distracted by homecoming this week and come at me hard on Sunday.
I know for sure that our "31 days of Halloween" viewing parties will begin Oct. 1. I'm looking forward to watching "Hocus Pocus," "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" and "Room on the Broom." At 15, I think Ainsley is more interested in "Halloween," "Scream" and similar horror films. Maybe we can compromise on "Carrie" - or she can watch her slasher movies with her father while I'm at village or school board meetings (and wake him up if she has nightmares!).
I have been stocking up on pumpkin and pumpkin-spice flavored items - cereal, coffee, muffins, cookie mixes - and hiding them in our basement "pantry" until its time for their debut in a couple of weeks.
I suppose some could argue that I should lift my September boycott of pumpkins and Halloween. After all, the 31 days of October goes by fast, what with visits to the pumpkin farm and Morton Arboretum and Hinsdale Fall Festival. This year we're also going to check out the Mayslake by Moonlight House Tour, which takes place by flashlight. Plus I need time to replace my dying summer flowers with colorful pansies and mums. And then there are all the pumpkin dishes I want to make from scratch, from pecan pumpkin pancakes and scones to pumpkin chili and curry pumpkin soup.
But I don't want to rush my favorite month of the year. I want to savor each and every day for as long as I can - before all the stores put their Christmas decorations out.
- Pamela Lannom is editor of The Hinsdalean. Readers can email her at [email protected].
