Halloween is one of the best times of year, and I’ve loved its spooky decor as long as I can remember.
One of the absolute nicest things anyone ever did for me was about this time of year in the early 90s, and while I may incorrectly remember some of the details, I always think of the bits I recall around Halloween. I was maybe six or seven years old, and I woke up for school only to find out some neighborhood teenagers had smashed our pumpkins, including my beautiful jack-o-lantern, in the street in front of the house. I was crushed. Crrruuusshhheeddd. Like it-all-happened-in-slow-motion crushed. My poor pumpkin.
I distinctly remember my mom driving me to school in her green Ford Explorer with the beige interior that I thousand-yard stared at the entire way there. I can still visualize the details because to my baby brain it was the worst thing that had ever happened. I have handled car break-ins better than I took this pumpkin smashing. I just could not wrap my mind around who would do such a thing. My mom even tried to lighten the mood by telling me there was a cool band called The Smashing Pumpkins, and perhaps my long-gone jack-o-lantern made me more rock ‘n roll. It didn’t help.
I solemnly told my best friend about it on the bus ride home. It was very serious to me, and my best friend took it as such. He was a year older and lived across the street, so he was able to offer his condolences the entire trip back. No time to play after school — my mind was clearly still in the pumpkin grieving process.
The next day I was still bummed but had moved past it to a degree — young attention spans aren’t always great. After school, once we got off the bus, my best friend sheepishly told me he had to go grab something. He wandered back to my house holding an orange-ish disaster with, if I recall, toothpicks sticking out of it. He’d corralled the pumpkin pieces and attempted to put them back together for me, only to discover the jack-o-lantern couldn’t nicely fit together again. But he’d done his best, he explained, and if I really wanted it fixed we could probably try assembling it again. Insert all the feels.
Festive figures, sign, and garland c/o Gordmans
These days, my best Halloween decor is inside. Gordmans recently asked me to check out their festive fall decorations and style a section of my home with it, so I was able to spooky-fy my bar and dining room. I had a few pieces already (spider web, pumpkins, and a table runner) plus my normal bar decor (bell jars, candles, and the white vase), and I was able to find all the right additions in the store’s amble selection. Best part? The items were $1.99 to $14.99 each, with $2.99 coming in as the most popular price.
Happy Halloween!
