Call me crazy, but I actually love the day after Halloween. First, there’s Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) to celebrate with a vibrant altar, Mexican food, and margaritas. Secondly, while it’s sad to bury another Halloween up in the attic, there’s a profound sense of relief. I'm not sure why I feel the need to be so secretive about this as if I'm betraying the spirit of Halloween. There's no more worrying about getting things done on time, writing posts, fixing props, dragging people to haunts, running around town like a madman attempting to find supplies, and spending all my money on just one more Halloween thing. Again, it’s sad to see it all go but the emotional and psychological break is a sweet release. Plus I can finally catch up on all the tv & movies I missed.
My ritual begins at 12:01 a.m. sharp on November 1. I start breaking down my front yard display with a goal of having it completely out of sight by sunset since technically, Samhain ends at sunset. I think the neighbors appreciate it and makes them do a double take: was it all a bad dream?
This year we had 346 trick ‘r treaters – and guesstimating about 900 more visitors (parents, families and friends) – which was quite a feat for a school night. The weather thoroughly cooperated although I was sad to hear that so many people across the country were experiencing rain and even snow storms.
I was very lucky to be joined by a group of fiends, mostly from work, to help me hand out candy and count the tots. In exchange, I made a giant pot of my once-a-year Texan Chili, buttery sweet corn bread, and a creamy pumpkin bread pudding, Pumpkin Tres Leches cake to be exact.
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