Finding Community in the Spooky Season 🎃👻
Halloween is just around the corner! Our family sees this holiday as an amazing opportunity to connect with our neighbors and show hospitality. When else do your neighbors open their doors to strangers, offering a smile and a treat? Kids run around the neighborhood, laughing with friends, and experiencing the joy of community—something we value deeply.
Halloween isn’t just about the costumes and candy (although, let’s be honest, that’s a big part of it!). It’s about creating memories, making connections, and showing kindness to everyone we meet. We open our doors and hearts to those around us, embodying the love we’re called to live out. It’s a chance to embrace joy, fun, and community all at once.
For our family, Halloween is also about traditions, and one of our favorites is watching Hocus Pocus together. It’s nostalgic for me!
In 2020, we took our love for the movie Hocus Pocus to a whole new level by dressing up as the characters! It was so much fun bringing the movie to life as a family. I dressed up as Sarah Sanderson (of course, since we share the same name!), my daughter Blair was the fearless leader Winifred, and my mother-in-law became Mary, the quirky, broom-riding sister. Chris joined the fun as Billy Butcherson, the zombified ex-boyfriend, and CJ was the mischievous and heroic black cat, Binx!
We had such a blast with the costumes, and we got so many compliments from neighbors and friends. It’s a memory we’ll always cherish—running around the neighborhood as the Sanderson sisters and crew.
Dressing up is something we absolutely love doing as a family. It’s become a tradition for us to pick a theme and fully dive into the fun of Halloween. Over the years, we’ve had some incredible costumes that are now fond memories. Last year, we dressed as characters from Super Mario, with CJ taking the lead as Mario, Chris as Luigi, Blair as Princess Peach, and me as Toad—it was such a blast stepping into that video game world! For Toy Story, Blair became Jessie, I dressed as Bo Peep, Chris took on Woody, and CJ was the cutest Buzz Lightyear. For The Wizard of Oz, Blair took on the role of Dorothy, I dressed as the Scarecrow, Chris was the Tin Man, and CJ made the perfect Cowardly Lion. Another year, we transformed into Alice in Wonderland, with Blair as Alice, I became the Queen of Hearts, CJ was the White Rabbit, and Chris played the Mad Hatter. One of our early Halloween memories was dressing as characters from Peter Pan—Blair was the adorable Tinkerbell, I dressed up as Peter Pan, Chris became Captain Hook, and our dog Buddy took on the role of the crocodile (CJ wasn’t born yet, but he would’ve loved it!). We even brought Snow White to life with Blair as Snow White, I as the Evil Queen, Chris as a (very tall!) dwarf, and Buddy as a dwarf too. Every year is a new adventure, and it’s always exciting to see how our costumes come together. I can’t wait to reveal who we’ll be this year! 😉
And of course, Halloween wouldn’t be complete without some fun food! Here’s a spooky recipe that’s actually a hit with the kids.
Spooky Halloween Pasta from Belly Rumbles 🍝👻
This dish is perfect for a Halloween-themed dinner that’s both fun and delicious! The kids love it, and it’s a great way to bring some spooky fun to the table.
Recipe: Spooky Halloween Pasta
(Adapted from Belly Rumbles)
Recipe: Spooky Halloween Pasta(Adapted from Belly Rumbles)
Ingredients:
14 oz squid ink spaghetti
16 button mushrooms
2 ½ tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small brown onion, finely diced
100g bacon (short cut/Canadian bacon)
2-3 garlic cloves
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup thickened cream
3 oz parmesan cheese, finely grated
½ bunch fresh thyme, leaves removed from stems
Instructions:
Prepare mushroom skulls (carve tiny skull faces for extra fun!).
Cook the squid ink spaghetti as per package instructions.
In a large frying pan, heat butter and olive oil, then cook mushrooms until caramelized.
In the same pan, sauté onions and bacon. Add garlic, white wine, cream, and parmesan.
Toss the squid ink spaghetti into the sauce and top with the spooky mushroom skulls.
Sprinkle with thyme and extra parmesan before serving.
Enjoy!
Other Halloween Traditions:
In our house, pumpkin carving is a must! We love getting creative with our jack-o-lantern designs, and we never let the pumpkin seeds go to waste. Roasting them is one of our favorite Halloween treats.
We hope this Halloween brings you fun, community, and maybe a few spooky surprises! Whether you're out trick-or-treating or just enjoying some cozy fall traditions, let’s embrace the opportunity to connect with our neighbors and spread a little joy.
Happy Halloween from our family to yours! 🎃👻
Love,
Sarah
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