Halloween Tree

If you have been keeping up with the Year In the Life of a Christmas Tree blog, you are well aware that I lost my tree mojo sometime between the Easter tree and August. It had grown in to another to-do in an already hectic life of too many to-do's. Just at the point when I was ready to admit defeat and dismantle the tree for the final time, I happened upon some Halloween tree decorations in a craft store. They were meant for one of those little table top trees that are so popular now and way to small for a full size tree, but their inspiration was huge. In first deciding to do this year long event the one thing that truly excited me was the idea of creating a Halloween tree. Of course, back then Halloween seemed so far away but before I knew it I was steering down October 1 on the calendar.

Halloween has long been one of my favorite holidays. At our home in Florida we had a good size front porch that allowed me the opportunity for a very theatrical display. I spent the entire day preparing it for the evening's festivities. Some years, I obviously spent a little too much time in my creativity causing the youngest children to be frightened to come forth and ring the bell. ( note to readers...this is a great way to save on candy expenses) Over the years the displays increased and we were thrilled to find return visitors year after year who made the journey to enjoy the decorations; often times opening the door to find people with video cameras. I should explain that we lived in a fairly rural area outside of Orlando and although our housing development was small the folks out in the country would load up pick up trucks with children to bring them in to town for the ability to trick or treat. One year, I opened the door to find a costumed cowboy...ON A PONY...there...on my front porch!

We moved to our new house in Ga. two days before Halloween nearly 11 years ago. What a fabulous way to quickly meet our new neighbors! Unfortunately, our new home had no porch and my yearly Halloween display that brought me so much enjoyment was now a memory. I did get to use my skills in another way...participating in our new housing development's Haunted Trail event, but sadly that too has gone in to the memory books. Fortunately for me...I had a whole new way to experience the fun of Halloween decorating in transforming the tree. Going up in to the crawl space in search of long forgotten Halloween items proved to be a wonderful walk down memory lane.

There is no doubt in my mind that once this year is over...I will definitely be packing up the Christmas tree. It was a fun experience, but one I don't feel the need to repeat. I will however admit, chances are another Halloween tree will be in my future. As the days are turning darker earlier and the night air is becoming crisper...the glowing orange lights are a warm reminder of wonderful memories. I can't help but smile every time I look at the tree. I wonder however if I will still be smiling when it comes time to try and get those cob webs off....

To be continued....