Creativity and Halloween...

Mwaah ha ha

“By the prickling of my thumbs, 
       something wicked this way comes…”

Halloween has been known as the Roman; Pomona, the Celtic; Samhain (pronounced sow-in), the Mexican; Day of the Dead (Nov. 2nd), Old English; All Hallow’s Eve (Hallows = Saints). Even Shakespeare mentioned Hallowmas, the day after All Hallow’s Eve. However no one celebrates Halloween quite like North America with pumpkins and costumes and trick or treating.

Halloween brings out the creativity in just about everyone. This week I saw teens and grandmothers cruising through the Good Will searching for something to wear on Halloween. I heard comments like “What can I do with this?” or “I need something green.” or “Does this make me look dead?”.

I too was searching for something odd and wonderful to wear as a hostess of the local Garden Club October lunch, boring you say? Oh no, I would never let even a garden club lunch be boring.  

Lunch is served...

My theme was “Recipe for the Perfect Man” a Frankenstein-esque tableau of body parts and ingredients from dreamy eyeballs to a heart of gold and everything in-between. I spent several hours ‘canning’ up parts to display on the table.

Ladyfingers

With a lot of dry ice, some clear tubing, some lightening and four women (who literally looked sewn together) and you have a creative lunch fit for a ghoul. It didn’t even kill anyone’s appetite. All the food, even the severed ladyfingers, disappeared.

Halloween allows you to be someone or something you aren’t. It opens up your imagination and allows you to explore the things that scare you and meet them head on. It softens your sense of reality and lets you play along if you let it. It also helps you deal with the fact that the nights are getting longer and we will have to face the dark eventually.

So get out there, rummage through the garage or attic and find something to wear that will allow you to step out of yourself and find the creativity of play. Halloween comes but once year – have fun!