Unpacking Halloween

YoungerSon and I went over to the storage place to put away a couple of things from the house but also to bring back our huge amount of Halloween items. Four big bins plus several trash bags full of foam and plastic pumpkins. We do Halloween up pretty big and we've collected an inordinate amount of decorations and such.

Our discovery last year of Fun-Kins, realistic hollow foam pumpkins, was a big turning point for us. We've always done very elaborate pumpkin carvings and tried to have about ten pumpkins out for Halloween. Unfortunately, because of work, school, Scouts, clubs, etc. we were carving them later and later. The past couple of years we were carving them right up until 6pm on Halloween. These new foam pumpkins let us carve them in the evenings days and weeks before Halloween and we get to reuse them year after year.

For instance, I've been carving the same Virginia Cavalier pumpkin for years. It's very detailed and takes me quite a while to get it all carved up. Some of the cuts leave only a very thin strip of flesh to hold things together. As the pumpkin ages over the evening, it begins to sag and fall apart as you can see in this pic from 2005. Last year, however, I carved it into a foam pumpkin and could get it just how I wanted it. Better yet, it's just waiting to be put out this year so I can spend my time on a new pumpkin design.

polMom just finished a new William and Mary foam pumpkin last for CollegeGirl. She made a one with a real pumpkin last year because CollegeGirl thought that making a permanent one would tempt fate and she might not get into W&M. No worries about that now so polMom created an absolutely beautiful pumpkin. We'll have to get pics of it up after CollegeGirl gets to see it this weekend.