My decorating usually includes a faux cemetery scene in the living room, as you can see from the photo below of Phoebe playing her role as the "Graveyard Cat".
I was thrilled to note that this was the first year that Australia had Halloween-appropriate films being screened on television in the lead-up to All Hallows' Eve and on the night itself. Huzzah! We are making progress!
We also had a nice trickle of trick-or-treaters come to the door again this year and the kids all seemed pleased with the little treat bags I had prepared for them.
After a bit of a party dinner, Danny, James, Phoebe and I sat down to enjoy Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow. The last few years, I have carved my pumpkin to look like the Sleepy Hollow Jack-o'-Lantern scarecrow. I had every intention of mixing things up this year and carving a Jack Skellington face... but as you can see (top photo), I couldn't resist sticking with old faithful.
I was also fortunate enough to receive some wonderful Halloween treats from dear friends on the other side of the globe:
Yvonne of the Winter Moon blog celebrated Neil Gaiman's All Hallows Read (an initiative with the purpose of encouraging the giving of spooky books at Halloween) by generously gifting a number of her buddies here in Blogland with packages that not only contained a delightfully dark novel, but other charmingly macabre goodies. I was the lucky recipient of Neil Gaiman's Stardust, plus a cornucopia of bats, snakes, spiders, creepy chocolates, vintage horror movie postcards and Jessie Larson art cards.
Then Debi of Puddleduck Grange and Easel & Quill blogs sent me one of her beautiful, original paintings.

While we're still on the subject of Yvonne, she has just started selling some of her beautiful photography and artwork as prints and homewares on the Society6 website. She has some fabulous designs, like the ones below, in her Winter Moon shop there.

I hope everyone had a spooktacular Halloween! And now it is time to brace ourselves for the onslaught of the Yuletide season.
I'll leave you with a cartoon of my beloved Addams Family by Charles "Chas" Addams.
Ooh! This post is blooming gorgeous, and well worth the wait! belated Halloween wishes to you, lovely Emma, and thank you so much for mentioning my blog and Society6 :)
ReplyDeleteI loved Blooming Howls and have an e-book blog post coming up very soon.
Have a wonderful week x
Aww... thank you, Yvonne! ❤ And my absolute pleasure! :) Every time I go and take a peek at your shop, you've added yet more fabulous goodies. The red tree pillow is stunning!
DeleteOmggggouls! I love the red pillow Yvonne!
ReplyDeleteEmma....now I'm working again ( hire the elderly!) and miss you and allllll so much!
I get so mad, when I am behind.....all the goings On's...
But the good news is...I can shop! After the giving season, I will go on a spree.....
My sister gave me a new iPad in the summer? Now it is my constant friend, when I'm sitting still! Now I have Magaly's books (3) on it and of course Oliver....
Now if Rhissanna will stop tempting me with dolls and bunnies to make, I would stop wishing for multiple identities!
It's a long winter here at the North Pole, and my virtual friends from the future and neitherworlds will get me through! I am blessed!
Yvonne's red pillow is fabulous, isn't it! :D
DeleteThank goodness we can all stay connected via Blogland/Twitter/FB/Instagram, Debi! I love having you wonderful people in my life! ^_^
I have 'Blooming Howls' and Lexa's book, 'Soul Cutter', on my iPad, so I've made a nice start to my e-book collection. I just desperately need a little free time so I can curl up and get reading now. ;D
Those doll and bunny patterns of Rhissanna's are wonderful!
Stay warm, lovely Debi! ❤ xo
What a glorious Halloween post - so glad you shared it with us. Phoebe is a lovely cemetery cat!
ReplyDeleteAww... thank you, Lady M! Phoebe plays her role of cemetery cat with aplomb, I must admit! ;D
DeleteOh my gosh, this post is making me want Halloween all over again!!
ReplyDeleteHaha. Yes, I miss my Jack-o'-Lantern when I look at these pics, Ms. Ladyfair!
Delete*le sigh*
It's never too late for Halloween! What wonderful things! I love Yvonne's ribs cushion and Debi's wonderful painting. I hope you enjoy Stardust, I'm re-reading it right now.
ReplyDeleteTrue! Every day can be Halloween! ;D Yes, Yvonne and Debi are very talented, lovely ladies!
DeleteI've never read 'Stardust', despite being a Neil Gaiman fan, so I'm looking forward to it!
Wonderful decorations! I loved the b/w tennis balls. And what great gifts you got. I especially loved the Addams Family comic! lol
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lexa! Yes, such sweet gifts from Yvonne and Debi!
DeleteI love that Addams Family cartoon too! It really sums up the way I feel right now. Haha.
You're definitely an awesomely gracious host, Emma! I would've just been a cranky young old man and told the kids to get lost, or devise an exceptionally cruel way of tricking them! haha!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, here's a very funny video concerning trick or treating kids! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTlO7u2hjUE
Neat gifts!
I was really psyched when I found out that that the newish NITV channel was airing Australian horror movies every week for October!...Until I realized the 'every WEEK' aspect, which meant that only four (in reality, two, I think) were aired. Blergh, that's a waste, given that there are more Aussie horror films than of any other genre here. If only the had aired three a week, so we could've gotten a lot more homegrown horror cheer!
Haha. Those kids are livin' in a Golden Age, Chris! I used to dream of an Australia with trick-or-treating when I was kid. It's too late for me, but at least I can hand out some treats to the lucky little buggers. ;D
DeleteOh, I didn't even know about the whole NITV thingy. I just meant the lighter stuff like 'Corpse Bride', 'The Addams Family'/'Addams Family Values', 'Gremlins', 'Beetlejuice', 'Ghostbusters', etc., that was on this year. I couldn't believe that the TV stations were actually acknowledging that it was Halloween.
Thanks for the link!
"Tomb Sweet Tomb" is going to haunt me forever.
ReplyDeleteSpooktacular Halloween decor (idea to be stolen: "Nightmare Before Christmas" balls - cemetary cat, optional).
Yvonne is such a lovely person.
'The Nightmare Before Christmas' balls are from Wooly Topic on Etsy, Variations on Light! Alynn, who owns the shop, is lovely. :)
DeleteYes, Yvonne is an absolute delight!! Adore her!
You have such nice bits and pieces! Phoebe looks wonderful she is so photogenic! Love the Tomb Sweet Tomb candle! Did you have Corpse Bride at Halloween, that was what was on in my area!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Laura! The "Tomb Sweet Tomb" candle is from a great Etsy shop called Burke and Hare Co. The shipping to Australia is horrific though. :/
DeleteYes, we got 'Corpse Bride' too! It was such a pleasant change to have Halloweenie films on TV. :)
Always enjoy the photos of your annual Halloween decorations Emma! Sounds like it was a perfect Hallowwen right down to watching Depp and Sleepy Hollow...what's not to love?!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mark! You're very kind because my tiny efforts pale in comparison with the magnificent Halloween displays you create. I'm in awe of the works of art you come up with each year! Our Halloween was hectic, but there was a Jack-o'-Lantern, food, family, and 'Sleepy Hollow'... so all good! :D
DeleteIt's horrible that life gets in the way of Halloween, but I suppose it's inevitable. Maybe they should make it an international holiday. I do like your old faithful Jack o' Lantern though. Sometimes those are the best.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Jack-o'-Lantern is the essence of Halloween for me. As long as I've got a Jack, I can live without the other trappings, Nightwind. My pumpkin only lasts a day or two in our heat here, but I do love it!
DeleteSomething always seems to be happening around Halloween that interrupts play but then I can't find any law that says you can only celebrate Halloween in October. I suggest we make it an all year round holiday, hehe.
ReplyDeleteLove your post and pictures, specially the Adams Family Cartoon.
I couldn't agree more, Jane! Every day can be Halloween if we want it to be!! :D
DeleteYou got some nice gifties there, Little Gothic Horrors!
ReplyDeleteI love the month of October and all the movies leading up to Hallowe'en ... we missed out this year because we didn't have TV yet. I missed seeing the Gary Oldman version of Dracula - I don't know why I don't just buy the DVD!
We got internet yesterday, too - we're really back to normal life now. :)
Your decorations were more vast and earlier than mine. I was so sick in October that we decided to have Halloween for the Winter Solstice.
ReplyDeleteLove all the goodness. And again, your decorations are fantastic!
Hope you enjoy Blooming Howls very much!
Hm... I think the red pillow from Winter Moon is speaking to me...
I love your Halloween pictures, especially those little ghost/dead-figurines..(?) They are adorable!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the wins, I too have gotten lovelies from Winter Moon and Puddleduck Grange - aren't those ladies wonderful?
I want to come to your house for Halloween ;o) Everything looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteI love all the special goodies you got ;o) You deserve them my friend ;o)
Big Hugs ;o)
Emma! What a spooktacular Halloween you had! Your house obviously transformed and love e way you already have a few creepy things at hand to spotlight in the home when it rolls around :) I went to a friends 80th birthday on Halloween (I never forget her birthday!) armed with bundles of treats to hand out to the little tricksters! Your gifts are all delicious, love coming at you from all over the world, opening each parcel must have been such a thrill, love you shared them here! Oh speaking of sharing, so pleased to see James 'Legends' on Magaly's blog, I loved watching it and please tell him I am so impressed, hope he continues to produce more gems and follows his passion to great heights :)
ReplyDeleteYou did such an amazing job with your Jack-o'-Lantern, Emma! And your little treat bags - so gorgeous! The kids who came by your house on Halloween were very lucky indeed ❤
ReplyDeleteA Very Merry Christmas to you and yours dear Lady Emma....
ReplyDeleteand we will do our Addams Family Christmas post later....