A1

Charline Cormier-Pellerin

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

Speak Up

It's so much fun decorating for Halloween because there are so many different angles to choose from. Some like to decorate their lawns so morbidly creepy that little kids won't go anywhere near it. Others choose to decorate their homes with cute characters that could never be scary enough to actually scare anyone even if they tried. And then there are all of those people who decorate with their scary-o-meter somewhere in the middle.

You can buy all sorts of stuff; from plastic grave markers to giant spiders; from those witches that look like they've crashed into your house or a tree to real looking life size witches that cackle and shake. We have a whole family (Dad, Mom and four children) of pumpkin people that I put together by stuffing store bought printed plastic bags with newspaper and then assembling them as per the instructions.

And as long as you have lots of storage space, these types of decorations are fairly inexpensive and will last a long time. The oldest of my pumpkin people is about 12 years old now. Of course, some of the limbs have been torn off, busted or taped together; and because plastic and newspaper are so light, one year we had to chase "Dad" about one hundred feet up the street on account of the wind. But they can all still be used and let's face it, having separate limbs and body parts strung around the front lawn only adds to the delightful creepiness of Halloween.

But as much fun as my pumpkin people are, my favorite Halloween decorations are orange garbage bags. Truth is; we all have to rake our lawns this time of year so filling an orange garbage bag full of leaves doesn't seem like extra work. Once the orange bags are filled and tied, all that's needed is a black waterproof marker to draw on the face. Eyes, nose and mouth can be your typical triangles (such as on a pumpkin) or any other shape. Scary, friendly or silly; possibilities are endless and the choice is up to you.

The best part about these decorated garbage bags is that you simply need to toss them at the curb on garbage night. There is no need for storage. Although, should your orange garbage bag not be see-through, you may need to transfer your leaves to see-through bags for the purpose of garbage pick-up once Halloween is over; but leaves, unlike garbage, are easily transferred.

I have had up to six of these bags on my front lawn some years. And anyone, regardless of their drawing skills, can make the faces; my children (as preschoolers) have even done so in the past.

Yes, my all-time favorite Halloween decoration is, without a doubt, the simple (yet effective) stuffed orange garbage bag. I was using them long before I even had children and I will probably continue to do so long after my children have moved onto places of their own.

* Charline Cormier-Pellerin, Moncton resident and mother of four children, writes a regular column on parenting and its many adventures for This Week.