Friday Five: Halloween Edition

Happy Halloween!  I hope your day is filled with many treats and few tricks!

I got in to a discussion with some co-workers yesterday about Halloween traditions, and we all agreed that the holiday is not as much fun after the age of about 14.

My brother (3) and me (6) dressed up to trick-or-treat

You're too old to trick-or-treat but you still want to dress up...you don't want to stay home and pass out candy....it's tough stuff!

So today's Friday Five is going to focus on five things that I like to do to celebrate Halloween as an adult.  I'm joining the DC Trifecta bloggers (Courtney from Eat Pray Run DC, Cynthia from You Signed Up for What?!, and Mar from Mar on the Run!) for their Friday Five Link-Up this week, and I'm really excited to do so!

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1. Carving Pumpkins
This is something I loved doing as a kid, and I continue to do it as an adult!  Joe and I started our tradition of carving pumpkins together the year before we were married and just did so on Wednesday this year.

Can you guess who carved which pumpkin??

As I've gotten older, my pumpkin-carving skills have advanced in that I now use the more complex patterns for carving.  As a kid, I made typical jack-o-lanterns with triangular eyes and a toothy grin.  I'm much better now, though, even if I have to follow a pattern!

Another tradition we have is Joe putting his pumpkin in front of his face when I want to take his picture.  He's a silly one!

Tequila joined in on the fun this year by waiting at our feet for pieces of pumpkin to fall to the floor.  She gobbled them up very quickly.  Is pumpkin safe for dogs to eat??

Another part of this tradition that I enjoy is buying our pumpkins from a local church!

Our church has a pumpkin patch, and it's great to know that the money we spend goes to support the youth group at church.  I also enjoy volunteering in the patch and selling pumpkins to others!

2. Passing out candy to trick-or-treaters
Even though we don't have children to take trick-or-treating yet (Baby Fish will be a little young to go next Halloween!), it's still fun to participate in the tradition by passing out candy!

Joe and I watched movies while waiting for trick-or-treaters last year, and we'll probably do the same thing again tonight.  I look forward to seeing all the cute kids in their costumes (and sneaking some candy in the process)!

3. Creating fall-themed treats or gifts for neighbors, friends, and co-workers.
Two years ago, I put together this Fall Party Mix and gave it out to co-workers in Halloween-themed bags.  Everyone loved the treats, and I had so much fun putting the bags together!

I plan to do this again this year and will put the bags together this weekend.  It'll be fun to let the Halloween celebrations continue next week at work.

Another quick and easy idea--remember these lollipop ghosts?

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They'd be so easy to make for friends, or even to pass out for Halloween candy!

4. Decorating the House
This is one I need to work on a little bit more, but I do enjoy decorating for Halloween!

Our decorations are minimal, but I always go by Wal-mart on Halloween or the day after to buy more decor on sale for the next year.  Our collection is slowly building, and I really enjoy being festive around the house.

5. Eating Candy
This is one tradition you are NEVER too old for!

My Halloween favorites include candy corn, candy corn pumpkins, and 3 Musketeers.  You better believe I have all three of those to snack on during the next few days.

Even though celebrating Halloween looks different from when I was a kid, there's still plenty of things I enjoy doing to celebrate as an adult!  I look forward to starting new traditions as Baby Fish joins us before next Halloween!!

Question for you: How do you celebrate Halloween now that you're older?