I love any excuse to celebrate, dress-up and have fun. And Halloween is as good an excuse as any…
Here’s what I love (the good), dislike (the bad) and hate (the ugly) about Halloween.
The Good
- Pumpkin Carving: No longer will triangle eyes and a jagged jaw make the cut for the best Pumpkin parade. Oh no, Pumpkin carving is actually a profession. Look at my friend Jonny Lundy’s awesome creations…
- Waste not want not: No longer shall the slimy insides of a pumpkin be thrown away. Oh no, there’s tons of delicious Pumpkin-inspired recipes, from soups to pies and cookies, to make the most of it. (When I first met my hubby Chris, he made me a pumpkin curry and served it in the pumpkin itself).
- Community Spirit: Forget unwanted spirits and ghouls. It’s a great time of year for families to get outdoors and go trick or treating together. It’s a good excuse to greet a neighbour or someone in your local area.
- Pumpkin Picking: It’s the new strawberry picking and some! Well, according to the photos of multi-coloured pumpkins growing in a field on my social media timelines… Check out this farm Farmer Copley’s near us in West Yorkshire.
-
Photo By Chelle Lundy
The Bad
- Kids costumes: Thankfully the rules have become tighter on the flammability of fancy dress outfits, after Strictly Come Dancing’s Claudia Winkleman’s daughter went up in flames one halloween., but still proceed with great caution around candles and lit pumpkins. And be wary of costumes or so-called “toys.”Watch this video about the dangers on Channel Mum.
- Trick or treat: Be careful of giving out food to kids with allergies. A good idea instead is to give out non-food items.
- Your bank balance: Tis the time for paying out for all those Christmas social events and to think about Christmas gift lists. So no need to splurge too much on Halloween!
- “No trick or treat” posters: Beware of these houses as they probably have a genuine reason for going to the effort of putting up a poster e.g. dangerous dog, an elderly person and/or somebody with young kids/babies… Nobody wants a wailing baby!
And The Ugly
I’ll tell you what is actually scary this Halloween
It’s not “killer psychos” or “men in straight-jackets” you should fear this Halloween.
Nor should you worry about being locked up in a “mental asylum.”
Why?
1 in 4 of us have a mental health issue so the likelihood of your joke being detrimental to someone seeking help is high.
“Psycho rats” sweets: Can we please be more inventive this #Halloween @PostOffice #mentalhealth #loaded #language @TimetoChange @MindCharity pic.twitter.com/AfwOIovbMQ
— Mama Mei (@MamaMeiBlog) September 30, 2016
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
So spit out those “psycho rat” sweets and swallow a dose of reality because mentally ill people are no more likely to attack you than “sane” people. And in fact, I’ve read that mentally ill people are more likely to be attacked themselves.
Now I’ll get off my high-horse, and temporarily leave the PC brigade… Happy Halloween!
