HW

Every Halloween my family gets together for the party of the year and our favorite thing about it is seeing everyone's costumes. We like to keep things quiet until the big reveal and it is worth it every. single. time. And this year did not disappoint! Remember last year how we went as the cast of Forrest Gump ? Or the one year we went as the hilarious (at the time, not so much now) Brangelina ? Since I know you are all just dying  of anticipation, I present you... Stranger Things! If you somehow missed the boat on the wildly popular Netflix show, Stranger Things, you really should watch it. If you enjoy 80's Sci-fi movies like Goonies, ET, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Indiana Jones, Poltergeist, Super 8, etc. You'd seriously love this show. In fact, I'd wager you could watch the show in two, if not one sitting. Trust me, you wont want to stop. Here we have from left to right going clockwise, my beautiful mother as Will Byers. 😜  My dad as Dr. Brenner a...

Halloween is my all time FAVORITE holiday. Hands down. Ever since I was a wee little one, we always made a big deal out of dressing up, playing games, decorations and trick-or-treating. In fact, if you have been following me for awhile you know just how into the festivities I can be. For twenty plus years, my family has a traditional party where we offer awards for best costumes, eat buckets of chili and chicken noodle soup, make homemade root beer and watch scary movies all night long. The costume part is everyone's favorite because we start planning about a year in advance and keep it a secret until the day of. I could go on and on with stories from every year since I was six, but I'm sure you'll hear about a lot of them in other posts. This year, I thought I'd share a few of the quickest {and silliest} costumes that are super easy to throw together and are a big hit at the parties. So here are my top FIVE easy Halloween costumes ideas: Number one: Brangelina EDIT: Th...

Greetings fellow book lovers! Today I am sharing {just a few} of our favorite Halloween books for you to enjoy with your littles. Some of these were my  favorite growing up and I'm loving the chance to share them with my kids now. Each of these not only have darling story lines, but also charming illustrations.  Picture books also make darling decorations around the house as well!  (This post contains affiliate links which means, as an Amazon Associate I earn a small percentage from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you! Win win!)   Favorite Halloween Books Witch, Witch Come to my Party by Arden Druce.  Witch, witch come to my party...is an invitation to join bizarre characters in a most unusual fancy dress party.  I believe this one is out of print, so getting your hands on one would be a steal! The illustrations are AMAZING in this one, although a few may be a little scary. Paisley was a little nervous around the witch, and not to give awa...

  I may be a tad early, but my favorite time of year is quickly approaching and the time to prepare is NOW! Because "by the pricking of my thumbs.... Something WICKED this way comes!" If you know me, you know that I never EVER pass up an opportunity to dress up and you'll also know that Halloween is my all time favorite FAVORITE FAVORITE time of year. As per tradition, we have our annual family costume party, we go all out with our costumes (sometimes making them from scratch) and keep it secret until the big day. We also make chili, breadsticks, caramel apples and endless crafts to further decorate our already haunted houses. My dad does a yearly spook alley in the backyard and it is quite a sight to behold. To hold off bombarding you with all the details, I am going to keep this post short and sweet. This year I would absolutely LOVE to get input from my readers of what what you would like to see on Spreading Happy Thoughts in the weeks leading up to Halloween. Is...