Community Chat

[Reba055]

I've always tried to do scary type decorations (not gruesome) because as a kid we loved the houses that were "scary". Last year though I started thinking that maybe it wasn't such a good idea. We have all ages of kids trick or treating, but a lot of younger ones. I went more with the pumpkins, bats, and things like that.  I'm not able to decorate as much anyway these days so it's just easier all around. 

I did buy a thing to cover the front door a few years back that was so realistic and once I got it home I thought it was too graphic so I never used it. There are some really gruesome things out, you're right. 

[chrystaltree]

Well, let's not overreact.  Yes, there are indeed gorey and scary decorations that are not suitable for little ones.  But they have not by any means stopped selling traditional PG Halloween decorations. 

[Puzzle Piece]

Many adults from about 50 years and younger are not maturing like those of older generations.  Halloween was for the little ones and now it's become an adult thing with murder victims and all the bloody gore.  NO WONDER it's promoted as someone somewhere makes tons of money off of the adults.  They don't make it off the children as children don't work to make the dollars that the vendors are after. 

[FlowershopGirl]

Where I lived in Pacific Palisades in CA the kids loved the gory and scary stuff.  Even the little ones.  I always decorated with witches, cats and pumpkins and inside I had a lot of the Day of the Dead things.  My SIL is Hispanic and she always traditionally does the DOD decorations all over. 

[BabyYoda]

I decorate more for harvest than I do for Halloween. I put out cute Halloween decorations like pumpkins and skeletons but nothing gory, bloody or violent.

A neighbor up the block last year decorated his whole front yard like an accident scene with a couple looking dead in his old hearse vehicle with blood everywhere and zombies holding axes breaking the windows of the car.  It was scary and violent. Every time I drove by it I would look away. Other neighbors asked him to take it down and he told them no. He is a 65 year old man who love scary movies and Halloween. 

[chrystaltree]

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@Iwantcoffee wrote:

I have never been a fan of Halloween and Halloween decorations.

Bingo!   I never, even when my kids were young, did the witches and ghosts and goblins thing.  My kids went to a religious school, so violent/scary/occult costumes were expressly forbidden.  I decorated more for fall than for Halloween.  The girls costumes were always something PG; fun and happy. 

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[Puzzle Piece]

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@FlowershopGirl wrote:

Where I lived in Pacific Palisades in CA the kids loved the gory and scary stuff.  Even the little ones.  I always decorated with witches, cats and pumpkins and inside I had a lot of the Day of the Dead things.  My SIL is Hispanic and she always traditionally does the DOD decorations all over. 

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From what I understand, the Day of the Dead is a tradition from a town in Oaxaca, Mexico.  It's now very overblown and not all the people of the country were in sinc to celebrate the tradition when it came out of that place. 

[NoelSeven]

The ritual of Dia de los Muertos or the Day Of The Dead is more than 3000 years old and has been celebrated all over Mexico and in many parts of the US. 

It's a major holiday and has produced wonderful art.  Last week, in Michael's, I saw they carry many of the traditional pieces. 

[NoelSeven]

Wiki

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, in particular the Central and South regions, and acknowledged around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and help support their spiritual journey.

It is particularly celebrated in Mexico where the day is a public holiday.

Origins

The Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico developed from ancient traditions among its pre-Columbian cultures. Rituals celebrating the deaths of ancestors had been observed by these civilizations perhaps for as long as 2,500–3,000 years

[Preds]

I decorate with all items.  Some gross, some cute, some silly.  There is something for everyone.  DH and I have always dressed up an sit on the porch to welcome our "visitors".  The little ones are scared until we talk to them or hug them.  The older ones love it and some have even come back with friends or after they have "gotten to old" just to "play" with us.  Everything can work if you want to make it work.  If you mix it all together you can make it a wonderful experience.