I love Halloween because it has so many of my favourite things (Ghost stories! Snacks! People going all in on their weirdness! ) but the early part of Autumn is always really busy for me and I often end up feeling like I jumped from the end of August to the last week in October without any time or energy to plan Halloween fun.
BUT NOT THIS YEAR!
This year I am absolutely determined to have as much fun as possible in October.
How am I going to do that?
Well, I’m not much of one for going to parties so I won’t be going that route but I do have some really appealing plans:
- I have already planned a ghost story writing workshop and a spooky storytelling event* later this month.
- I’ve planned a couple of artsy-craftsy Halloween events with my community arts organization so I’ll get to be creative and hang out with lots of other people who love this season.
- I have already assembled my Halloween-themed collage/junk journaling supplies so they’ll be handy for playful creativity all month.
- I’m making two zines – Advice from Monsters and (Some) Ghosts are Helpful – which will let me combine drawing and writing and some silly spookiness.
- I’m on track to finish the ghost story that I’m writing (it’s about a haunted mirror that someone picked up on the side of the road.)
- I’m slowly putting up Halloween decorations all month.
- I’m making a bit more time for my favourite spooky podcasts/YouTube channels** – including taking slightly longer walks and doing slightly longer workouts so I can finish an episode or two.
- I’m using my Seasons of the Witch Samhain Oracle for journaling prompts.
- I’m doing some practices from Yoga for Witches by Sarah Robinson – I know that title sounds like it could be flippant but I am finding it to be respectful to Yoga and to pagan practices so far.
- I’ve got big plans for making soups and breads and cookies. (This one is less Halloween-focused but definitely seasonal!)
- My Halloween costume is already in the works.
- I’ve added Halloween music to my playlists. (Current Fave: Alanis Morrissette’s version of Donovan’s Season of the Witch. (It’s part of the soundtrack for Yaga, a show that starts airing this month.)
- I’ve already started wearing all of my Halloween themed clothing.
Image description: a photo of me, a middle aged white woman with shoulder length brown hair (but the lights overhead make my hair look purple in this photo), dark framed glasses and red lipstick. I am wearing a black shirt and a grey scarf with ghosts, witches, and pumpkins on it. I am in the middle of saying something into a microphone and I look very sincere.
I know, I know! That’s a lot of things*** but I was doing a lot of those things anyway, I have just switched to the Halloween (or at least Fall) version of them.
The idea of this list doesn’t make me feel overwhelmed. Instead, I feel excited and I like having so many things to look forward to.
The things on my list are all so good for my well-being – creativity, fun, exercise, journaling, good company, choosing clothes and music and foods that make me feel good – that even if I don’t finish them all, I am still going to feel good in the process.
And, finally, it feels great to know that I am not going to reach the end of October in a big hurry, wondering where the time went, and feeling out of sorts because I have nothing planned to celebrate Halloween.
Instead, I am celebrating Halloween all month and having a bit more fun every day.
*The storytelling event is on Wednesday, Oct 28 at 8:30PM Newfoundland time, you can join us via Zoom if you’d like. You can also join my ghost story workshop but I don’t have the time confirmed for that yet.
Classic Ghost Stories (A story a day until Halloween!)
Whispering Woods (An episode a day until Halloween!)
Uncanny (A really short episode a day until their Halloween special)
***Yes, I did deliberately choose to include 13 – so spooky! Ha!
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