Halloween 2026!

Okay, peeps.

We did it!

Another Halloween in the books!

(A few days ago, but--hey--let's call this the posting delay grace period!)

I give you: our assorted conglomeration of my own kiddos and some friends. Woop woop!

Okay. Now. For some context...

Last year, we intentionally broke the glorious Halloween cycle that we'd enjoyed for years.

It was a little bittersweet to rip of the bandage, but it was the right thing to do, because...

1. The kiddos were on the verge of those transitional Halloween years (to Trick-or-Treat or not to Trick-or-Treat; that is the question).

2. The family we'd traditionally enjoyed the holiday with had moved from the neighborhood, so we knew things would feel different--and not in a good way.

3. We had the chance to be at our beloved Mohonk for Halloween, and we jumped on it.

For all of the above reasons, it was the right decision, and it paid off, big time. 

https://delappenings.blogspot.com/2025/11/mohonk-2025-day-1-halloween.html

Not only did it pay off in the moment, but...it had the added benefit of transitioning us so beautifully into this year. 

Instead of going immediately from the annual (like, six years running) gloriousness of the whole family dressing up and prowling the neighborhood with friends, the Mohonk break served as a launching point for new and different Halloween vibes that leaned into the free spirit (ha--pun intended, there) of the season, instead of clinging to past, outdated traditions.

We had loose plans that panned out perfectly for the girlies: Chica's closest friends (who've all generously taken Chicklet under their wing) came over to hang, dress up, and sleepover--and they were willing and eager to pass out candy.

And though I was a bit worried about where this would leave Little Man, he was able to sync up with a neighborhood friend to do some duo Trick-or-Treating without us looming as chaperones, and he lived up the independence and had a happy go of it.

So, nothing but win, win, WIN vibes for this new season of Tween/Teen years doing Halloween up in their own way.

And let me tell ya--hosting the festivities and catering to all the teens doing their thing was more than enough to entertain me, so I happily collapsed on the couch when they all ended up out and about in the neighborhood (the older girlies went prowling for just a bit) and experienced zero bittersweet feelings.

You know, I think the same holds true for us over and over:

We've done the holidays up right for so many years that it's hard to feel sad about any changes or transitions.

We have such beautiful Halloween memories. I feel nothing but gratitude for the many (many!) rounds of coordinated family fun. And now...

Onward and upward!

Okay...photo dump, now, of the girlies hanging, dressing up and picture-posing, Little Man and his hysterical inflatable, and the happy-exhausted candy haul.

Stay tuned for the next post that will feature our immediate turnover from Halloween to CHRISTMAS!

All thanks to Chica's enthusiastic friends, who started blasting Christmas music ten minutes after the above pic, declaring the season BEGUN! Ha.

Happy November, peeps!

Over and out.

P.S. Little Man and I had so much fun doodling a plethora of Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving pictures from August-October. In fact, we even framed a whole assortment outside the playroom!

Then we capped off this particular season with THE challenge we were saving for last.

I give you...the Autumnal Dragon!

Little Man’s Trunk or Treat Pumpkin Bones!

Okay, peeps.

Friday, Little Man came home from school, declaring, “Hey—a bunch of my friends are going to Trunk or Treat, so I’m gonna go!” 

And the hubby and I proceeded to groan in unison.

Then I had to call my son over to me for an apologetic, straight-talking lecture that explained a few very important truths about birth order. 

I basically told him: Look, there are a ton of super-fantastic amazing things about being the youngest. You get away with way more. You get privileges far earlier than your siblings ever did.

BUT…you gotta take the bad with the good.

And the bad part of being the youngest is that Daddy and I have been to 2,743 Trunk or Treats by now, so we’re over it, ha.

But then, I also told him we’d rally our haunted spirit—and that’s exactly what we did!

Admittedly, it was pretty dang easy when Little Man donned his hysterical, awesomesauce costume that I made sure to have on hand when I guessed he might decide to attend like this, last minute.

I give you…Pumpkin Bones! (As one passing child named him, tehe.)

It’s a six-foot tall inflatable that’s the perfect coverage for a tween who’s slightly self-conscious about dressing up and far more interested in drawing attention and entertaining, ha.

He was hands-down a hit.

Strangers at school asked for photo opps with him, he made it in the school newsletter (courtesy of the delighted Principal) and it was an all-around easy-breezy, happy Trunk or Treat for his final Elementary School Halloween experience!

And, now…the costume hoopla from beginning to end:

Final, fun tidbit: I especially loved it when Little Man did his Michael Jackson moves while inflated. I mean, it doesn’t get more comical than that. ;)

So, here’s to youngest siblings everywhere, who occasionally get less enthusiasm but much greater bandwidth in life, ha.

Happy Tuesday, peeps!

More as the week progresses!

P.S. Chica had a fun round of costumed Halloween fun this weekend, too! She attended an Orchestra party that turned out to be a super-fun time. :)

She and a couple of friends did a whole Alice in Wonderland thing and it was totes adorbs.

P.S.S. Chicklet will have a fun round of costuming later today, for a musical rehearsal! Woop woop!

Chica’s Freshman Year Homecoming!

Okay, peeps.

I’m about two weeks behind on this here blog, because…life. It’s just barreling onward, toward the wheels-off holiday season, yes??

As a refresher, the big ticket items of the past few weeks have been:

Little Man’s rowdy, racing-plus-sleepover b-day…

An epic, restorative, autumnal Mohonk reprieve…

A reflection on family vacationing with tweens/teens…

And, amidst all of that, we’ve been deep in the weeds of Little Man’s basketball season, Chicklet’s pre-athletics through school, and Chica’s never-ending, overwhelming homework and Fine Arts commitments.

BUT.

Last weekend, we had a glorious milestone-event to break up all the to-do’s and it was a smashing, low-key success!

Freshman Year Homecoming!

I’m thrilled to report that—like most things with this generation of kiddos—they just seem to do it better and more streamlined than “back in our day,” ha.

Maybe that’s just my perception as a parent unencumbered by a teen brain, but…these milestone moments that seemed so fraught when I was growing up just feel so fun for my eldest and her buddies.

Perhaps that’s the key: Chica has a really lovely, stable group of friends.

From the get-go, the planning and process seemed fairly stress-free.

For starters, at the kiddos’ massive High School (there are 700-800 in Chica’a graduating class), the actual dance isn’t really the thing.

In fact, we’d heard through the grapevine—and the girlies confirmed through experience—that it’s basically only Freshman that attend (perhaps as a right of passage?) and every year thereafter, groups of friends just do their own thing together: dress up, go eat, hang or do some sort of hysterical activity in semi-formal clothes.

Which means: dates aren’t really a super-big deal. In fact, only one amongst Chica’s group paired up with someone, and that lowered the angst, significantly.

Another stress-reducer: Chica’s friend hosted some primping time and picture-taking, and that was really the fun part, anyway. :) Especially against an epic, sunset backdrop!

All of us parents got to lurk and play paparazzi for a very willing and unselfconscious gaggle of girlies!

They took oodles and gobs of pics (I’ll only post a handful here, since it’s not quite as fun to see all the blurred out faces!). They all even posed happily for parent pics. :)

And, YES, the girlies were all wearing green! And it was only accidentally on purpose!! A few of them went shopping together and wound up with green, a few others followed suit, and—if you can believe it—a final few ended up green by glorious accident!

And since green is also the school color, it couldn’t have been more perfect!

One of the mothers who has older kiddos and knows the drill was brilliant enough to buy some flowers for small bouquets and they made for such beautiful pops of color amidst the ocean of green.

After the adorable and extended photo sessions, the crew was running so far behind and the restaurants they were interested had such long waits, they very happily decided to go off script—to Panera Bread, instead! Love, love, love.

After about an hour at the dance, we gathered them back up and deposited them at one of the houses for a sleepover. They decompressed and indulged in some quality time—something they all desperately needed—and Chica came home the next day, tired but content.

It’s beautiful to launch these new years and new traditions and celebrate them in a positive way.

So…here’s to many more happy Homecomings in the future!

Happy Saturday, peeps!

Over and out.