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LIFE: HOMES
Family decks out home for Halloween
Travis and Crissy McDonald prepare their home for Halloween Friday, Oct. 16, 2009, in Huntington.
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HUNTINGTON -- For the McDonald family, fall begins with their daughter Emma's birthday on Sept. 23.
"We go to the local farmer's market to get mums, pumpkins, corn stalks and gourds to decorate the house for our family celebration," said Emma's mother Crissy McDonald.
With Halloween just around the corner the decorations quickly get tweaked to fulfill the expectations of that holiday.
By the time Travis and Crissy McDonald are finished, the household is decked out with candles and mums on the steps. Ghosts peek out of the bushes, and cornstalks are gathered around the light post. Black spider webbing graces the front of the house and around the front door. They live on a festive block as the neighbors' houses also have cornstalks, pumpkins and mums giving the area the look of fall and expectations of allhallows eve.
Halloween is one of those holidays that brings back fond memories for Crissy McDonald. She has wonderful recollections of Halloween on the Southside of Huntington as a child.
"My grandmother lived on 10th Avenue, and we would come over here to trick or treat," she said. "I always loved the ambiance of the neighborhood, and this is one of the reasons we wanted to live in this area. I want that for my children, I want them to have fond memories of great Halloweens just like I do."
It seems the family has landed in a great place to provide those memories for their children Emma and Tyler. Besides the decorating, the McDonalds and their neighbors put on a great celebration for the kids on the block. The weekend before Trick or Treat they will gather them all together to carve pumpkins, make caramel apples and roast pumpkin seeds.
"This is something we have added this year to get ready for Trick or Treat night," Travis said.
The neighborhood festivities started when the younger kids were getting to the age where they wanted to go out and trick or treat on their own. The neighbors decided they would provide a safe place for them to stop and go to the bathroom, get something to eat and take a rest.
"Everyone on the block contributes food and decorations," Crissy said. "One thing the group does is have luminaries marking a path through the yards. This keeps the tricksters from having to go up and down the steps."
On Trick or Treat night the neighborhood children, young and old, meet for dinner, a picture and last minute instructions before the doorbell ringing begins. Music is often provided by a teen band set up on a nearby front porch. A fire pit will be lit to allow for some marshmallow roasting and a place to warm up hands as the night cools down. Adults will be dressed for the event as well as the little ones.
Food is a big part of this celebration with brain punch, monster toes and pizza gracing the dinner table.
"It just gives everyone something solid to eat before they take off on all the candy they will gather," Crissy said.
Travis McDonald says he enjoys the party because everyone can be engaged in the fun.
"I like it because whole families get involved," he said. "Usually one parent stays home to give out candy and the other goes out with the kids to trick-or-treat. This way we are all together, and even the ones who stay home on the block can meander over and visit, get something to eat and not be too far from home to give out candy."
Come Trick or Treat night ghosts and goblins will meander here and there but for the children on this block there will be a safe haven to warm up, catch a snack or just rest and watch the action.
As Emma McDonald said, "It's just fun."
