Neighborhood Haunts--Post #2

This is the first one I spotted on my walk.

Even in a  large trailer park, there were so few decorated homes to be found.  Here are some photos I took while walking around yesterday afternoon, a pretty warm day for October.  More photos will be posted in the next few days.

A small cemetery decoration.

Best shot I could get of this one, since the decoration
was behind the van in the driveway.

"666 Elm street" reads this window sign.  Strangely, there IS
an Elm Street in the park.  

Love how the bronze cowboy boots and statues
look with the Halloween on this one.  

Neighborhood Haunts

Here is just one decoration put up by someone in one of the houses on the streets behind the grocery store across from my home.  I took a walk to this area last week and didn't find a lot of houses decorated.  I guessed some people just haven't gotten around to doing it yet. I plan to look for more later and to look around my mobile home park for my neighbors' haunts for upcoming blog entries.  Here are the photos for today's entry.  This was the best I could shoot from the sidewalk.

Love this pumpkin, but wonder what the orange and white
thing on the ground is. 

I really don't know what that decoration on the door is, but
 I love the sideways view of the scarecrow.

Fun graveyard decoration with monster.

Closer shot of the graveyard and monster.

Another Grocery Store Decoration Made From Soda Packs

This one was at Safeway.  It was in the front window, just in front of the checkstands, making it hard to photograph the entire display.  This ghost decoration was made from 12-packs of Pepsi and Diet Pepsi. The first two photos were taken inside the store, and the last one was taken from the outside. 

 

Grocery Store Display

This was at a grocery store across from my home.

This pumpkin is made from 12-packs of Orange Crush,
Pepsi One, and Mountain Dew.  This is one side of
the decoration, as viewed from the back wall of the store.

A closer shot of the same side above.

The other side, decorated with fake spider webs, and a
Frankenstein cut-out.  

"Eat, Drink and Be Scary" says a sign on the display.

Should You Choose Something Different?

This was me on Halloween in 2008.  You're probably wondering what this was supposed to be.  And so were a lot of others that year.  I was the Seven Deadly Sins. I'd already told the people at work I was going to do this, so they knew (my boss took this picture at work).  But I did suspect that others weren't going to know, so I had to find a way to explain that would not be too tiring. I managed to make it fun.  FYI, here's how it went:

• Pride: a tiara with a black skull with purple and black tinsel.
• Greed: a boa made from fake $100 bills (people noticed this the most).
• Envy: Green hair piece and green makeup (not very noticeable in the photo).
• Sloth: The bathrobe
• Lust: Fishnets and lacy garters
• Wrath: white glove stained with fake blood.
• Gluttony:  A belt made of plastic dog toys shaped like food, including donuts, Oreo-like cookies, a hot dog, cheeseburger and an ice cream cone.

Should you choose something different for Halloween?   That, of course, is your decision, but one thing to keep in mind is that though there likely won't be millions of others doing the same things as you, most people will likely not know what you are.  They might also assume you are something else that your outfit might seem to resemble.  And you may have to make the costume yourself, since it probably won't be sold in stores.  

In 2009, I bought the Pumpkin Spice costume from a costume website.  The pumpkin stem on the wig was unfortunately not very noticeable and many did not know it was supposed to be a pumpkin.  Someone thought it was a relative of the Flinstones or the Jetsons.  I thought that was kind of funny.  I was surprised when one person actually knew that it was called Pumpkin Spice.  

Can you see the pumpkin stem in the photo on the left? Likely not, at least not from the angle from which this photo was shot.  I have other shots of this one, but far too many to search through right now.  From what I recall, the stem must not have been too visible for most people.

Another thing that made me write this is something from the book "Blubber" by Judy Blume.  I never really red the book, but glanced at a used copy in a thrift store once.  In one chapter, the girl is deciding on a costume for Halloween, and doesn't want to be a witch again.  She decides to be a flenser, an idea she gets from another girl's class report on whales.   A flenser is a person who strips the blubber or skin from a whale.   She hopes to win as most original costume.  

And last year, on the TV show "The Middle" had a Halloween episode in which the younger son Brick donned an unusual costume.  He was Charles MacKenzie, Scottish sergent  from World War I.  But no one knows that, and they mistake him for everything from Shirley Temple,  to a Catholic schoolgirl to Groundskeeper Willie from "The Simpsons, " and even Hannah Montana.  No one knows, that is except the old man down the street, who claims not to know who Hannah Montana or Groundskeeper Willie are.  

I have perused the website Costume Idea Zone for several years now.  Many of the ideas included are unusual ones, and many are plays on words,  such as Lawsuit:  Wear a nice suit and carry a briefcase. Attach legal documents all over yourself.  See the picture at left. And if you want any other ideas, look for other fun ideas on that website.  I've seen so many I like but haven't gotten around to using any of them. 

Now there is nothing wrong with doing something unusual for Halloween, as it's your chance to be creative and stand out.  There's just the unfortunate consequence of most people knowing what you're supposed to be.  But you can make it fun and come up with away of explaining your idea that will be fun too, and not tiresome.  Do what you like, whether it's original or traditional or one of the hot ones for the year.  Just be who or what you really want to be, as is always that case on this one night of the year. 

Quiz: What Does Your Favorite Candy Say About You?

You Are a Zany Trendsetter

You are energetic and full of inspiration. You never slow down, and you're constantly leaving people and ideas behind. You are a true visionary. You are constantly thinking about the future. You love living, and you stay flexible. You're open to going wherever life takes you.

What Does Your Favorite Candy Say About You?

Blogthings: Free Quizzes for Everyone

Costumes: The Sacrifice

Bag of jelly beans made from balloons
and clear plastic bags

Classic grapes costume from
purple balloons.

I've liked a lot of costume ideas over the years including the classic bunch of grapes or bag of jelly beans (both pictured at left). But have never done these because of having to use balloons for the grapes or jelly beans.  I just get fearful of how long the balloons will last before popping or
deflating, and just how will I drive to the celebration at the bar
or wherever with a bunch of balloons attached to me. And they will also restrict movement, and make going to the bathroom difficult.  I once thought the jelly beans could be done with the balls you see in kids' play areas such as those at McDonald's.  These won't pop or deflate, but two problems exist with this idea.  One is where to buy these things for your own use, and the other is that they won't make it any easier to move, drive, etc., than with the balloons.

Other ideas I've liked but avoided are using boxes to make costumes, an idea given on this site.  A lot of these seem like fun, some of you might say, and I think so too.  And you can get boxes free.  But just how do you move in these get ups? Something I have always pondered when considering making one of them.

Homemade skill crane costume.

Aquarium costume made from a box.

  

Classic Rubik's Cube toy from
a box.

These all appear to be examples of something I came across sometime ago.  In this hubpage article, that author describes what he calls "Common Stereotypes and the People Who Wear Them."  One stereotype he mentions is "The Sacrifice," which the above costumes and anything similar to them all seem to fall under.  "The author describes "The Sacrifice" stereotype as:

Sometimes being really creative means paying a price. Whether wearing your movable, awesome-looking Transformer costume means you can't go pee or that by being a fully-functioning condom dispenser keeps you from raising your arms above your head, sometimes you have to be willing to give up some things for the sake of Halloween. These types of costumes mentioned are officially known as The Sacrificeand are what you have to be willing to deal with all night if you want to take your Halloween costume to the next level.

Not all sacrifices are equal either and although you might not be welcomed on the dance floor with your life-size paper mache Sponge Bob Square Pants costume, you'll be laughing last when you walk away with the best costume prize money at the end of the night. I mean, who cares that you can't even get a drink at the bar without knocking out every other person within a 10-foot radius? You look damn good and the 450 hours that you've spent building your Halloween masterpiece is paying off 100%.  

Here are some images presented in that hub that illustrate this idea:

Moveable Transformer costume.

Another Rubik's Cube
costume

I loved that line about a "life-size paper mache Sponge Bob Square Pants costume."  Seems a bit ambitious and a lot of work.  Most would just use and paint a box for Sponge Bob, a lot less work. Or even use a paper bag.  See this link. 

SpongeBob made from a box

SpongeBob from a
paper bag

Not only would a grown-up have trouble driving in most of these costumes, but a small child might have trouble walking to and from school or riding the bus in one of these things.  And how will this restrict the child's movement while going out tog et candy on Halloween night?  Just wondering how some have done this, if they have. 

In some cases, if you use a box to make a costume, you might be able to come up with some way to make it so you can remove it when needed.  Unfortunately, this won't work in all cases, and it won't work with the balloons.  

I guess the author was right when he said being creative means paying a price.  If you can give up some things for the sake of a costume, then do so if you wish.  Maybe one day I'll be up to doing one of these things, despite the things I'll have to sacrifice.  But it seems driving is the main problem involved here, so going to a celebration is what I'll have to sacrifice.  So I guess these ideas are what I'll have to sacrifice.