Top Five, Bottom Five: HALLOWEEN

Happy Monday, friends!

Alrighty, you guys, it has been a SUPER-SIZED WEEKEND for the Shulls.

After a very late game on Friday night, Andrew, Smith, and I woke up suuuuuuuuper early on Saturday morning and flew to Boston for the Harvard/Princeton game in Cambridge.

Harvard invited Smith to come to a game, so the three of us decided to go up on Saturday morning and then we came back yesterday morning because…it was my birthday 🙂 .

24 hours in Boston + my two boys + Harvard football + an afternoon/evening celebrating with my girls was the perfect way to turn 45.

When I sat down and wrote my first blog post here, I was only 25 years old.

I have grown and matured and changed and become a mother and a business woman and “grown up” here with you over the last twenty years. I have learned so many valuable, truly life-changing lessons over these two decades but one that sits really heavy on my heart is what an absolute blessing it is to get older. It’s a privilege not afforded to everyone, and I have buried a bestie that would have loved to have seen 45, so it’s with so much gratitude that I celebrate another year.

I’ll share pics from my birthday weekend later this week, but for now, we are going to dive right into our Monday…

Amen to that.

Want me to prove to you how much I’ve grown over the years?

I’m at a point in my life where I can actually say that it is possible to do a…

…TOP FIVE, BOTTOM FIVE on my second favorite holiday 😉 .

Today, it’s TOP FIVE, BOTTOM FIVE: HALLOWEEN!

Because as much as I L-O-V-E this holiday, I can admit there are a few things about it that aren’t my fave.

Here we go, these are my TOP FIVE FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT HALLOWEEN…

#5: THE WEATHER

Halloween weather is just its own thing. In Texas, I love that it’s typically chilly but not so cold that we need a lot of extra layers over our costumes. It just “feels” a certain way outside on Halloween night, and I love it.

#4: THE COMMUNITY

On other holidays (Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc), we are typically inside and with family. This holiday is special because it’s one where we are outside amongst our community. I love that it’s a neighborhood holiday. I love walking with my kids and knocking on my neighbor’s doors. I love seeing the big groups of elementary parents all huddled together while their kids are at my door…it’s just sweet and wholesome and fun and very small town feeling.

#3: IT’S JUST FOR FUN

I love me some holidays (you know I do!), but I love that Halloween is just about the fun. You don’t have to spend a lot (if any) money to enjoy it. There are no presents to buy (and wrap). There is no pressure about sending out cards or a million school events tied to it, it doesn’t consume the calendar with “other” details surrounding it. It’s simple and fun.

#2: IT USHERS IN THE HOLIDAY SEASON

I absolutely lean into going from Halloween straight into the holiday season. I love them both, so I fully embrace them both for about two months each (September and October and then November and December). I will be that person who flips on her Christmas music November 1st. I’ve never wrapped up a holiday season tired of Christmas music, so I must not be starting it too early. When other holidays end, there is this deflate that happens. After Christmas and July 4th, there is a let down…after Halloween, we have Thanksgiving and Christmas immediately following. I love going from one “holiday high” to another.

#1: IT’S A NOSTALGIC “FEELING”

Halloween gives me alllllllll the feels.

It reminds me of my childhood.

It has allowed me to create traditions for my own family…and those memories I will cherish forever.

Like I mentioned above, the air feels different…it even smells different around Halloween. It’s woodsy and smokey and flat out cozy.

I love re-watching Halloween movies with my family, making the same festive recipes year after year…it’s just a holiday layered with nostalgia, and I adore that.

As much as I LOVE this holiday…there might be a few things that simply are not my fave.

Here are my BOTTOM FIVE THINGS ABOUT HALLOWEEN…

#5: THE WEATHER

Just like the meme says, Texas likes to throw out temps like they’re lottery numbers. Some years, we’ll have a high of 46 and other years, 91. Sigh.

#4: TIMING EVERYTHING

When we celebrate other holidays, there is a bit more structure because it’s only my family involved. We will eat when we please, open presents when we like, and do whatever works for us. With Halloween, you have to factor in all of your neighbors and community too.

What time should we eat dinner? We don’t want to be eating when the neighborhood is out and about (we’ll miss the fun!), but we also don’t want to eat at 4:30.

“Okay, we’re done with the holiday fun, and now we’re going to bed!” (Insert 45 people ringing my doorbell.)

Timing a holiday that directly involves the masses is trickier than one might think.

#3: THE NOVEMBER 1ST HALLOWEEN “HANGOVER”

I get it. My husband gets it. My kids get it. I think even my dogs get it.

A super fun night of eating a lot of candy, staying up late, and being social always creates a rough November 1st.

Which leads me to…

#2: THE WEEKDAY/WEEKEND EFFECT

I have said this before, but I kind of prefer Halloween on a weekday. With school aged kiddos, a Halloween school day is just a bit more festive. I don’t love a Halloween Monday…but I can get behind a Halloween Thursday or Friday. Halloween Sundays are odd because you’re at church one minute and then dressed like a pirate the next. I love that it’s the standard October 31st versus being “the third Thursday of the month”, but it does create this weird dynamic every single year depending on when it falls.

#1: IT GOES BY WAY TOO FAST

Wasn’t it just August? I swear it was. Why must months like February and April and August drag and drag on but October flies by? I could have an entire year of this October-ness. It’s always so bittersweet to reach Halloween because you go to sleep knowing the whole awesome month is over.

And that, my friends, are my TOP FIVE, BOTTOM FIVE: HALLOWEEN

Now…

It wouldn’t be a TOP FIVE, BOTTOM FIVE without Andrew weighing in too.

ANDREW’S TOP FIVE THINGS ABOUT HALLOWEEN:

#5: Halloween candy. I sneak at least one or two pieces. Snickers, Butterfinger, or a Reece’s Cup!

#4: Hanging with the neighbors. It’s been a few years with the football schedule interrupting it, but I always look forward to that part of the night.

#3: I love the joy the candy brings my kids. I have very fond memories of my mom and dad taking me around town getting candy too.

#2: Christmas comes as soon as the last trick or treater exits the premises! Seriously we turn on Christmas music as we clean up on Halloween night!

#1: Weather….sometimes. You’d expect it to be a little cooler, but in Texas you never know!

ANDREW’S BOTTOM FIVE THINGS ABOUT HALLOWEEN :

#5: Wind and the BIG pumpkin. I always pray for no wind or that massive thing will end up in Oklahoma.

#4: When we pass Halloween the next two months go by so FAST! I find so much joy in November and December that I never want them to end.

#3: Usually by this time of year, the Cowboys season is already over.

#2: I love Christmas decorations, love them, but that stupid tree haunts me all year. When Halloween is over, I know I have to put it up soon.

#1: Sometimes it can be 90 degrees in Texas.