Halloween in the Cul-de-sac

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Halloween was always my son’s favorite holiday. Our front yard would turn into a gruesome graveyard with bloody headstones and life size skeletons throughout the leaf-covered yard and gardens.  Bloody handprints smeared on our front door greeted our trick or treaters as a talking skeleton dropped an eyeball and questioned their courage in a creepy voice. It was awesome!
Inside the foyer, I’d set up a 6-foot wide table with a miniature village including Dracula’s castle, a wicked playground and a haunted house. Eerie Jack-o-lanterns lit up, miniature skeletons jangled, a merry-go-round circled around with costumed children and ghost sounds oozed from Victorian windows. Every year we added something new and fitting.
The best part for all was Trick or Treating. The neighborhood kids would meet before sunset in the cul-de-sac around 5PM for Pizza and a Parade. A few parents would dress up, especially the ones who were part of a blood-chilling act when you knocked on their front door. Then there were the ones who were going to walk around with the kids. We showed up pulling semi-decorated wagons (we had to make it look like we were participating!) Some had jack-o- lanterns, some a bale of hay and fall leaves, others had skeletons riding in front, but, all had a container or two of their favorite brew.
I didn’t do much to dress up my bottle of  wine, but I did drink it out of a festive cup. The wine was incognito in Halloween themed plastic cups (red-cup size). Different years were different cups. But, I remember jack-o-lantern jagged faces on an orange cup, or ghosts’ “boo” face on a white cup, or Frankenstein’s square-ish face on a green cup, all with a bonus of a lid and a straw. One year someone passed out fancy wine glasses, the stem was a bloody skeleton hand. Nice touch!
     As we parents got more and more into celebrating the occasion, the kids grew older and older and didn't want us around.  Sad that those days are over, but now that I have a couple of grandsons…