October is the Month of . . . Back to Blog
Update: The winner is…Kate N. (Yzhabella)! Congrats!
Thanks so much to Cynthia for inviting me to her Halloween blog party.
What does October symbolize to you? I was thinking about that the other day because I have a brand new release and it’s . . . can you guess? A Christmas anthology – The Naughty List. Okay, I love this because I’m in a book with Cynthia Eden and Donna Kauffman! But, hmm, Christmas stories, coming out at the beginning of October? That’s just a little too early for me (actually, it’s about 2 months too early for me!)
For me, October means a lot of things, and Christmas isn’t one of them. LOL. It’s the month when I can no longer fool myself that it’s still summer. The red and gold autumn leaves and the chill in the air won’t let me forget it’s autumn. I’m Canadian, so it’s also the month of Thanksgiving. (We Canadians are so much more sensible about that. We get a long weekend in October, and we get to eat turkey in October then again in December, rather than twice right in a row.)
Of course October is also the month that ends with Halloween. When I was a kid I so looked forward to that special evening. I’m not so much a spooks and goblins girl, but I did love planning a costume and, for one evening of the year, transforming myself into someone else. (Cowgirl was one of my favorites.) It was so much fun joining up with another family for fireworks – and yes, I’m old enough that we had fireworks and even firecrackers. I wasn’t so keen on the things that went bang, but I loved sparklers. Fairy wands!! And of course it was so terrific to be out after dark, trick-or-treating around the neighborhood and collecting sacks of candy.
But for me, the very best part was what happened after those bags were full. I always trick-or-treated with my best friend Anne, and afterwards we’d lug all our loot to the kitchen of one of our houses and empty our bags on the table. Then we’d share. Because, you know, sometimes different things go into each bag and neither of us wanted to come out better than the other. Aw, isn’t that sweet? I can’t believe what nice little girls we were. And then, of course, she liked some treats better than I did, and vice versa, so we’d swap those off. (I still, to this day, don’t understand the point of milk chocolate. I’m sorry, but if you want chocolate, eat the real stuff – the rich, super-dark, exotic, orgasmic . . . Oops, off on a tangent there. Excuse me a minute while I go grab a slice of a Terry’s dark chocolate orange . . .)
So, anyhow, after childhood experiences like those, is it any wonder that, when I began to write fiction, friendship was one of the themes I just had to write about?
What’s your favorite memory of Halloween – be it spooky or sweet? I’ll do a random draw and one person who comments will win a copy of The Naughty List, with a bookplate autographed by Cynthia, Donna, and me. (And, if you’re like me and have trouble thinking about Xmas before Halloween, then don’t even open the package when it arrives, just save it to put under your Xmas tree.)
Susan Lyons/Susan Fox http://www.susanlyons.ca
Tweet It
I grew up in the midwest, so October always meant beautiful trees and sometimes lots of snow (Lived in Minnesota!).
Now that I’m in the desert, October means cooler weather so I can go out and enjoy my patio which has been covered up all summer due to extreme heat.
I’m excited to get out there and do my writing out there instead of inside. So, I LOVE October now. 🙂
October is my favorite month : ) I live in a very small town in the mountains of VA, and when I was a kid my mom would take me trick-or-treating. I think she loved the candy more than I did! One year, we headed home with a great haul, so we were both anticipating an evening of going through all the goodies. It had grown quite dark, and we were almost home when we spotted someone dressed in a realistic-looking bear costume. We waved and waved, and my mom even yelled out: “Great costume!”. When we got home, we were greated by my frantic grandmother who gave us both big hugs. “Thank goodness you’re safe. There’s a black bear loose in town, and he’s been spotted in this neighborhood!”, said Gran. I turned around just in time to watch my mom as she slid to the floor in a dead faint! People here in town still talk about “the trick-or-treat bear”!
Hi, Susan! Thanks so much for blogging with me! When I was younger, I was like you–my friends and I would swap the Halloween candy. 🙂 Now that I’m older, I “help” my son with his candy. I make the big mommy sacrifice and eat the pieces of chocolate that he doesn’t like. Oh, the horror!
I went trick or treating with friends when I was 13, and people said “Aren’t you too old?” No! I’d go today if I could get away with it. lol It was always a fun time of year for me.
How smart to have Thanksgiving in October! I wish we did that.
My best Halloween memory is kind of romantic.
It was 8 years ago and I went to a Short-After-Halloween party and I met my BF there for the first time. We began talking because of a friend we had in common and we spent the whole evening talking, dancing and kissing until I finally realize that my mom won’t be happy if I arrive home after she has to leave for work in the morning. I barely made it on time. Mom caught me and just looked at me and my way too huge smile and said: “Do you want to go the bathroom first?”
I really like Halloween. Best surprises ever! 😉
Thanks for the chance
A woman after my own heart- is there anything better than dark chocolate? Nay!
Favorite Halloween memory was the run up to the holiday – I lived in Virginia and my parents would take us up to Skyline Drive to the various farms that sold pumpkins and apple cider. I loved that fresh pressed cider. The taste was awesome and it was so cold, it almost hurt to swallow it- a good hurt though. We’d pick out pumpkins and gourds and have a grand time in the crisp air!
My favorite spooky memory was when some friends and I decided to visit one of the abandoned houses some years ago because one of them wanted to find some ghosts. Well, he kind of got his wish because we’re not sure if it was our imaginations but there was something in that house that scared us to death and it was extremely creepy!
Back when I was young you could still trick-or-treat all over town and people would give you home-made treats and you could feel safe eating them. Those days are long gone. My favorite funny Halloween was the year my brother and I went to our neighbors house and she gave us a thermos bottle stopper and the lid. I can’t remember which one of us got which one, but I’ve never forgot about it. She was rather eccentric. We used to joke we were going to go back the next year to see if we could get the rest of the thermos.
I grew up on a farm, and we always seemed to be harvesting at Halloween, trying to beat the snow. But I remember all the lovely leaves and the autumn smells.
Wow, Lynn, that’s a different October experience. Just when most of us are closing our patio doors against the cold, you’re opening yours. Enjoy! I totally love patios, decks, yards.
OMG, Virginia! Thank heavens you were okay. I have a bear story too, though not from Halloween. It was summer and my family was camping at a very remote location. I was happily picking blackberries. My mom looked up to check on me and there, on the other side of the same bunch of blackberry bushes, was a bear doing the same thing. Hmm, another lesson in sharing!
LOL, Cynthia. Well, I think the moms and dads should get something out of Halloween too. After all, they do most of the work: putting together the costume, taking the kids around.
Edie, I think you should do it! Make a costume with a big mask or hood and who’d even be able to guess your age? Whoever made the rule that trick-or-treating is only for little kids? Adults need more fun in life too.
Speaking of which, at a Halloween party when I was in my early 20s, I had a first date with a guy I’d only met once. We didn’t discuss our costumes ahead of time. I went as a hooker in a slinky, low-necked, red dress (which I made out of cheap lining material, being a broke student at the time) and he went as a minister. We made quite the pair.
Susi, what a great story. Your mom sounds pretty nice! (Your BF too ).
When I was 16 I had dental work done on Halloween, I know it sucks. When I got the shot they hit a nerve and my cheek blew up and I looked like a chipmunk. Because I was deformed for the night I stayed home and handed out candy. I had so much fun seeing all the kids in their costumes. It was more entertaining than trick or treating.
There was another time when my dad took us to the ‘rich neighborhood’ to get candy. We had full candy bars and stayed out till midnight on a school night. My mom was so mad. But we had garbage bags full of candy that year.
Hi Jillian. You’re obviously a woman of exceptional taste, to love dark chocolate. Hmm, what a great autumn drive in the country, with cider and pumpkins. Your drive reminds me of one I took, near Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. Don’t know if they still do this but there was one huge property in the country where they carved dozens – hundreds, I think – of pumpkins and lined both sides of the country road with them. An avenue of pumpkins. What an amazing sight. (No cider, though…)
Oh my gosh, Jeanette! I can just imagine you all running away as fast as you could go. I’m definitely not a person who enjoys being scared.
Linda, wasn’t it great when people could make goodies and give them away? (Like it hasn’t occurred to some sicko to inject poison or whatever into packaged treats?) Too funny (and kind of sad, I guess) about the eccentric neighbor.
Jean, I guess it would be a really busy time on a farm, keeping an eye on the forecast and trying to stay a step ahead of the snow. I hope you at least got Halloween evening off work! (There’s one advantage to the shorter days, with it getting dark so early.)
Desiree, your chipmunk cheek (ouch!) was one of those silver lining experiences. You could have stayed in your room and sulked, but instead you helped out and had a lot of fun. Clever idea, trick-or-treating in the “rich” neighborhood – though I’m not sure rich people are always more generous…
Since I am from Finland we do not have Halloween, we only celebrate All Hallows Eve..hm was that right, anyway that first Saturday or how it is in November or near. Where we light candles on graves
blodeuedd, that’s an interesting tradition. I assume it’s out of respect for, and in memory of, the dead? Sounds kind of spooky and beautiful at the same time.
Hi Susan!
Congratulations to you, Cynthia and Donna for the new release 😀 I’m excited about this book and definitely will be mentioning it on my Holiday books post for Borders.
As for my favorite Halloween memory? High school, it was one of my friend’s favorite holidays, so she always had parties. Her entire family was into it, so their whole house was decorated – yard and all, and it was always a lot of fun. I miss that.
My favorite Halloween memories involve making popcorn balls with my Mom and watching movies.
Hi Limecello, it’s great to “see” you. Thanks for giving our book a metnion. Those high school parties sound great. I love it when people do all the fancy decorations for a holiday, and it seems to happen less and less. Everyone’s so busy and they have different priorities. I have this image of a house with one person in front of a TV, another playing a video game, someone else in their room on Facebook, someone else in their room tweeting — and instead they could all be together carving pumpkins and making Halloween decorations and costumes.
Nice, Crystal! A beautiful memory.
My favorite is sitting around the fire pit with friends and family talking, laughing and passing out candy.
I adore October. We live in the South where it’s hot and humid all summer long. October is when we finally start to cool a bit and the leaves turn those gorgeous colors before winter settles in. My favorite Halloween memory is the year my Daughter went on her first trick-or treat. She dressed as a pink fairy with a pink tutu and wings and a silver wand. She was so cute and I still smile to think of it. This is her last year trick-or-treating and technically I think she’s a bit too old, but am letting her have this one last time. She and her brother will don their costumes and head out with their father while I sit at home and hand out candy. *g*
Memories of Halloween… The beautiful colors of Fall… each Halloween my family gets together by our outdoor fire pit and have Smores! Love that tradition!!! 😀
I love October … when the leaves begin to change and there’s a certain little nip in the air. Plus I get to put the gardens to bed … no pun intended.
Halloween is still a lot of fun for me. I get to see it through the eyes of my eleven year old and that helps me to remember what it was like when I was a kid. We always made our own costumes. None of these expensive store bought things. We were hobos, witches, ghouls and mummies. These were great times.
I just love October. The beautiful fall colors, the weather, and Halloween being my favorite holiday. I remember going trick or treating with my friends around the long block when I was a kid. Back then you could go by yourselves. We would always gets lots of loot and homemade carmel apples. It was so fun.
Hi Donna. The firepit sounds lovely! There’s nothing like a real fire when autumn comes.
Aw, Brandy, your little pink fairy daughter sounds so cute. I hope she has a great time this year – probably not going as a fairy again, though.
Ooh, Colleen, ‘smores by an outdoor fire. Can’t beat that!
Liz, isn’t it much more fun to make a costume than to just go to a store and buy one? I hope you and your 11-year-old have a great Halloween this year.
Sue, those were the days – when we didn’t worry about apples having razor blades in them… I remember bobbing for apples too. That was pretty hilarious.
I do love October too for all the reasons you mentioned.
In England we never really celebrated Halloween, but now I live in Germany and we have some American friends, I always look forward to their wild and scary parties. We have lots of fun and games, sweets and treats and scares and thrills. I love it!!!
Valerie
in Germany
My favorite memories are of me and my sister going trick or treating 🙂 Halloween is still one of my favorite holidays!
Hi, Valerie in Germany. I hope your American friends give you a truly thrilling Halloween this year.
Chelsea, how nice to have a sister to share it with. Hope you give her a call this Halloween and share a few memories.
I love the cooler temp. and the changing foliage. but most of all I love Halloween. I have fond memories of going to carnivals, or trick or treating, of wearing scary costumes, and of scaring people. Halloween is my favorite holiday.
My favorite Halloween memory is when I carried my niece trick or treating for the first time. It really is great to see holidays through the eyes of children and how everything is new to them. I loved her excitement and enthusiasm. We dressed her up as a witch and took her to a ton of houses.
Halloween was way more fun as a child and as an adult. When I was a teen though, it wasn’t so much fun. One Halloween, my sister was walking the dog and a couple of boys started pelting her with eggs. Finally, the dog had to put a stop to it (when an egg hit him). Then there were the teens who were lobbing globs of shaving cream at each other. It was just underaged anarchy as far as I was concerned (and at 16, I should know).
October is a great month; still not too cold nor too hot, some sunny days and some rainy days. The leaves are changing color and falling. We can sleep at night with the window open, no mosquitoes. No snow yet!
Favorite memory of Halloween was when we had this massive snowstorm so most kids didn’t go trick or treating,but me and my siblings did. most houses gave us huge amounts of candy just to get rid of it,I had 2 huge pillow cases overflowing as did my siblings..It was quite the haul,like xmas in october.lol.
My favorite memory was when I was a pre-teen dressing up a a gypsy. I’m flat chested but my mother is VERY well endowed. So I took one of her 32 DD and stuffed it. But she wouldn’t let me go out until I did the dishes. By the time I was done my boobs were soaked. My friends had shown up and I made a comment “How can you stand having these huge things? They’re in the way.” Everyone laughed so hard. The story comes up just about every year.
Aha, Marlene, so you like scaring people, do you? LOL.
Lori Ann, that’s such a great thing about kids, isn’t it? They open our eyes to seeing the world in a way that many of us have forgotten as we got older.
cories5 – ah well, teenagers. They can mess anything up if they’re in the wrong mood (and they’re so often in the wrong mood!). Guess they think it’s cool. I hope, once they finally grow up, that they shudder to think of some of the things they did.
Diane, I hope you get lots of enjoyment from the time between mosquitoes and snow!