I didn't make any costumes this year. None of the kids were particularly excited about Halloween or insistent upon any particular costume idea. I was itching to sew a princess dress but there was not a single mention of Disney royalty this year. It was a little disappointing. I really need some sewing therapy!

Instead, we just recycled some previously worn costumes for those who are not "too old" for Halloween.

One came up with her own "crazy cat lady" costume. She used my purses as accessories because she thinks they are "old lady purses" but I happen to love them! I made them myself, actually. So rude!

My redhead was a mad scientist. I tried to teach her some Chemistry jokes. The only one she remembers is, "Chemistry jokes are sodium funny!" :/ I didn't actually teach her that one.

Another one wore an old cheerleader costume. I appliqued the letters on a polo shirt 6 years ago and the skirt was passed down from my niece.

Finally, my youngest wanted to be an "alicorn"- a unicorn with wings. So, she wore her unicorn costume from last year, but we added a pair of wings from the dollar store.

So little effort was put into dressing up this year, but if they are happy, I am happy. No stress. Awesome!

Halloween used to be pretty miserable for me, as a parent. Trick-or-treating in the country is a lot different than in urban areas. For many years it meant driving around for hours and hours to visit all of our family members. It took a carefully planned route and a lot of carseat buckling/unbuckling.

To make for a more enjoyable experience and save on gas money, we started having parties with the family instead. We each bring some food and a game or activity. I usually call doing the pinata and I am pretty terrible at it. This year I made a small, ghost pinata and filled it with vegetables instead of candy. However, the pinata was covered in duct tape, so it was beat pretty severely and my brother had slit it many times with his pocket knife to speed up the destruction process. The cauliflower and cucumbers were pretty smashed, but some of the younger kids genuinely enjoyed snacking on baby carrots! Not everyone was happy, though. Haha!

To make it up to them, I made treat bags with pumpkin soaps (melt and pour stuff the kids helped with), balloons, and fall scented playdough. The older girls also got pumpkin spice latte bath bombs!

My brother is actually craftier than I am. This year he made a ghost nerf dart shooting game.

We also carved pumpkins and my dad used power tools to carve his. The drill bits definitely made a mess, but those eyes were so perfectly round!

For the few trick-or-treaters that come to my house I am usually unprepared. Last night I gave out snack packs, a dollar bill, and a jar of hot mustard. One year I gave them a sweet potato and a loaf of bread.

I am seriously the lamest aunt ever.

Happy Halloween!