31 Days of Halloween: Feels like Halloween! (Pt. 2)

When I was a kid, I always wanted Halloween to have the cache of Christmas, and as many traditions as Christmas. So I was thrilled one year in the ' 70s to get a book of carols to sing at Halloween-- The PEANUTS Book of Pumpkin Carols.


It featured some appealing Halloween themed art emphasizing gift-giving--


And sending cards to friends to celebrate the season!

Just like Christmas.

In my post 31 Days of Halloween: Feels like Halloween! (Pt. 1) from a couple of weeks ago, I'd groused that I hadn't really truly been in a Halloween mood.

Then, in the same week, I got Halloween cards from friends AND "Monster Mash" by Bobby Pickett was played on a local station! ("Monster Mash", though I've heard at least 40 different covers of it and heard the original a hundred times or more-- hell, I even sang it in a stage musical back in the Nineties-- is the "Jingle Bells" of the spooky season. I need it to kick off Halloween.) It felt like Halloween!

I send out cards when I can for the holiday to those friends I think might like them. I try to send out as many as I can afford-- but my house-hunting (Jane and I have bought our first home) has put a crimp in my Halloween plans, time- AND money-wise. Still, Jane and I sent out a good number, and we got many cards as well. Here they are (below), ranging from cute, to creepy, to crass, and I celebrate them all.

Of course, we got a card that was the same as one I sent (I won't say which one). That happens every year at Halloween and Christmas, and amuses me every time. The fact that this year I got only one means I found some less common ones for my friends, I'm happy to say.















Of course, the Voodoo Queen and I exchanged Halloween cards and gifts. I bought Jane a cat-themed card because, well, she likes cards with cats on them.


And she bought me a cat-themed card, because, well, she likes cards with cats on them.

Our thanks to all of our friends who sent Halloween greetings-- Dixon, Jeff P., Jeff C., Sara, Jill, Rob, Raymond, Eyrdie, John C. (whose wonderful card was too big to scan), John R., Polly, Craig, Jim, Dale, Nancy, Karen, Lee, Brian, Mirek, Gary, Gord, Dave, and my family.

Now it's time to go be with my wife and enjoy the holiday AND our anniversary. YOU have a happy Halloween, whatever you are!