Trick-or-Treat! {Tradition}

Halloween 2010 is now in the history books and was a success.  Of course each year is similar but a bit different too.  No matter how busy I am, or how much more I wanted to do that didn't get accomplished, everyone always has a great time!  When it is all over I always seem to realize that I never take enough of the right kind of pictures and the ones I do take don't turn out the way I had envisioned them in my mind!  Oh well I share my Halloween with you anyways.  This one is dedicated to my dear friend Monique.  She lives in Holland and has not experienced this fun and silly tradition.

Wendy the Good Witch with her cauldron of candy!  Greeting everyone at the door.  Yes every good witch needs a great pair of fancy purple Prada shoes to match her purple witch hat!!

Speaking of perfect outfits for witches, did you check out my Perfect Witch Ring?!  My husband got it for me years ago from a Paris flea market.  Great history to it too!  Isn't it creepy!  I just love it and wear it every year!

Some daytime views of our yard.  This year my children did the decorating!  They help every year but this year I was so busy that they really took charge!  Christopher hung this freaky guy from a tree.

 He had a flashlight shining on it at night!

Our graveyard.  Chelsea and Claire did this.  Claire hung all of the ghosts from our tree!  We have 100's of ghosts hanging every year!  These ghosts are something I have done for 19 years!

A sign in the yard and my bronze pumpkin stakes.  These little pumpkins each have a candle in them and they line the whole perimeter of the yard.   I have had these lanterns forever as well.

 The pumpkin lanterns look great at night.  Lining the way to my house.

Christopher and Claire putting up the cobwebs.

They placed monsters in between the bushes to scare people!  Unfortunately every year they scare too many little kids and their parents have to walk them up to the door.  The older kids love it though!!  My house is a favorite to visit.  I have people that travel from across town to come over.

Another weird creature waiting to scare someone!  My son will be 22 this week so we have a huge collection of masks and weird costumes to use that he has collected over the years!

Front porch this year.  Ghosts are hung from the top along with tiny purple light and ghosts lights.  We also have strobe lights and a fog machine.  Creepy.  Oh we also play a great CD of haunted sounds that freaks everyone out!  You can hear it when you are coming down the street.

This is the view of our music room window!  This is Mr. Body and he joined our family about 10 years ago!   My poor little neighbor children are afraid to walk past on their way to school.  He intrigues many people!

 His eyes glow red at night!  Spooky ghosts fill the upstairs windows too! 

Over by the garage and driveway I have three potted bushes that all get covered and made into ghosts on Halloween!  My house is on the corner of a cul-de-sac so I really have two front yards to always decorate!

Christopher appears with a freaky mask on!

 Our pumpkins carved into jack-o-lanterns outside on the bench!

Their faces glowing at night!

Claire and I getting ready.  Yes we see you behind the glass door in your blue shirt Christopher!

Oh no!!  Marie Antoinette's hair is getting away from her!  Doesn't Claire look fabulous?!  She comes up with the best costumes every year!

Chelsea is very creative every year too.  This year she went as Wednesday from The Adams Family and even won the costume contest at work!

My first trick-or-treaters of the night!  My neices son's first Halloween, with his little girlfriend too!  Aren't they adorable!

My brother brings his children to my neighborhood to trick-or-treat every year!  My mom lives 4 houses away so they have an early dinner at Grandmas before they go out!  Aren't they the cutest things ever?!

Two of my favorite little neighbors with their dressed up mom too!  Yes the little kids come around before it gets dark.

So the scene is set.  Wendy the Good Witch is as ready as she will be this year!  Candy is in the cauldron.  Creepy things are everywhere.  Lights are dimly lit.  Scary music is in the air.  Little trick-or-treaters are starting to appear.  When they ring my bell and say "trick-or-treat" I will say the treat is all mine tonight as I enjoy having fun with the kids.  Enter if you dare!  Oh I didn't even tell you about what is inside tonight!  My famous hot cider and cookies and more fun decorations and...well I will save that to share with you next year!

I leave you with a visual Halloween treat!  This is a favorite magical house of mine.  I found it many years ago when I lived in the L.A. area while my husband went to Law School.  It's in Beverly Hills.  Yes Toluca Lake and Beverly Hills are two of the top spots to trick-or-treat!  Been there,done that and it is fun!  Yesterday when I had to go the L.A. for a meeting I had to drive by and see it in honor of Halloween!

I hang up my Witch Hat until next year...