Make it Happen

I really do consider Halloween my holiday, meaning it's my favorite and the one that best fits me. However, when I started seeing decorations come out at the beginning of October, it troubled me a little.

As much as I love Halloween, a whole month of celebrating it seems like a lot. On top of that, I really don't care for the big displays that some people put up. Despite their exuberant celebration of the holiday, the displays have never quite spoken to me.

In contrast, the do-it-yourself decoration tips I found on TreeHugger this morning captured my attention. As I looked through the ideas, memories flooded back to me, creating a closer connection to my Halloween than any of the many manufactured decorations I have seen recently.

I even remembered making faces out of apples in third grade. Also, it occurred to me that the costume I wore most in my life was a black cat outfit my mom sewed for me. It was warm and well-made, and I used it for years.

Above all, the Halloween things that mean the most to me are the experiences and creations that my family and I made. That's what I really mean when I say Halloween is my holiday.

It just feels better when I have ownership over my experiences rather than turning them over to someone else's manufacturing processes.