10 Things I'd Love to Do for Halloween (But Probably Won't)

I tend to be very ambitious for Halloween -- thinking about Halloween that is...two months before it's an actual reality. But because the holiday falls so close to Abby's birthday, I end up having very little energy left in the inspiration bank once its time to dig out the hanging ghost for the front door. To look at my facebook feed and Pinterest page, however, this does not seem to be a problem for the rest of the world -- or at least the virtual world that I travel in. So in order to not leave you completely in the (creepy, scary) dark, I thought I'd present a quick Halloween inspiration hit list (what to read, bake, dress up as, play on the iPod) based mostly on other people's ambitious ideas.

1) One thing I know for sure I won't have to do this year is scramble to find treat bags, because the personalized ones you see above, which I ordered for each of the girls on their first Halloweens, are still going strong. Crushing to think that they've been around for nine and ten years respectively.

2) I found these Owl Cupcakes via Pinterest, traced it back to a site called Kara's Party Ideas, but couldn't find the specific post itself. No matter, the reason I love it so much is because looks like the baking-challenged among us (me) would figure it out without written instructions. Looks like all you need is your favorite cupcake mix, chocolate icing, M&Ms and Oreos.

3) How funny is this Awkward School Photo costume? (Via Cup of Jo.) My kids are going as Medusa (any leads on a snake headdress that doesn't cost $35 are welcome) and a Detective (badge, hat, magnifying glass, my old trench coat, done). I really love seeing creative kids' costumes, so please send them my way or share them on the DALS facebook page. You never know, I might be in my random-prize-awarding mood when I see something I go crazy for.

4) Costume ideas for Siblings (photo credit: imgur) I can't imagine my two hyper individualistic little monsters agreeing on a theme costume idea (they each eat different salsas, for crying out loud), but you might have better luck.

5) A Zombie playlist to blare from behind the bushes. One thing I DO get around to is downloading creepy sounds from iTunes (you can literally search -- and find -- anything: creaky door, howling wind, witch's cackle, creepy scream). I play them on repeat from an old CD player strategically planted near my front door.

6) Naturally, it would feel wrong to have a post about Halloween that didn't include Martha. I like the Milano tombstone part on this Graveyard Pie the most. You can probably steal that idea on any pie or chocolate cake or a cupcake you're making for the School Halloween Fair.

7) Inchmark's Brooke is back from an excruciatingly long maternity leave! (Well, excruciatingly long for me at least.) She hasn't logged any Halloween posts for this year yet, but a quick search unveiled some gems: A cool tip for lighting jack-o-lanterns, potted pumpkin pies, a seemingly easy Luke Skywalker costume.

8 Sara's Eyeball Cupcakes, from last Halloween, of course. I've used this red velvet cake recipe for the rest of year, too and it's a winner.

9) The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Book/CD. To quote George Saunders from an earlier DALS interview: "Featuring scary-as-heck music, great moody illustrations by Robert Van Nutt, and a masterful reading by Glenn Close...If you want to terrify your kids so much that they will never leave home or go outside in autumn and will totally forevermore avoid the Catskills. And pumpkins. And Glenn Close." We live only a few towns over from Sleepy Hollow and it's an abomination that I haven't played this for my kids yet -- happy to say I just one-clicked the CD. (For younger kids, check out Design Mom's round-up of Ten Halloween Books.)

10) For ambitious carvers in the New York area, it's absolutely mandatory to take a field trip to the Great Pumpkin Blaze in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. Five thousand individually carved illuminated pumpkins. That's all I need to say on that one, I think. Oh, except one more thing: tickets go fast, so act sooner rather than later.

Please head over to Dinner: A Love Story's facebook page to share your own photos and ideas. Or do it right here in this post. I'm sure the DALS community would appreciate it. I certainly will.