Mwahaahaahaaa *cackle cackle*
I'm not entirely sure why but I'm really in to Halloween this year! It started when I was tabling at LePub's A Fashionable A'Fayre mini market event last month and was asked to donate a prize for the raffle to help raise money for the charity that kindly donated the tables for us to use. I'd been saving some Paperchase Halloween goody bags ever since I bought them in the sale last year and had been eager for an opportunity to use them so I popped a few zines in one and then went on a mission to the supermarket to buy a few spooky treats to fill it up with.
I seriously have never seen shops in the UK stock so many Halloween goodies as they have this year! Tesco had two whole aisles of costumes and decorations and enough sweets and chocolate to rupture your insides zombie style! Even all the regular brands have got in on the festivities and brought out limited editition cakes like Fiendish Fancies, Lime & Slime Jaffa cakes and Cadbury's Cinder Toffee cakebars... yum yum! So I picked up loads of ace snacks and silly accessories and was especially pleased with my contribution to the raffle.
I know so many people are all cynical about Halloween as it stands today - a commercialised amalgamation of the Irish Samhein, the British Calan Gaeaf and the Celtic All Hallows' Eve - but really, what's wrong with a little bit of fun?! Get yourself a pumpkin, carve up a Jack o'lantern, invite your friends round to drink scrumpy cider and bob for apples, tell ghost stories, light a candle for a deceased relative, paint your face white, pop in some fangs and run around the streets in the crisp Autumn air foaming at the mouth from sugar overload. No? Why on earth not, you stuffy old trout?! Enjoy yourself! Most importantly, instead of complaining that no-one speaks to their neighbours and communities don't exist anymore - stop hiding behind the curtains when children come knocking. Open the door! Admire the creativity in their costumes, challenge them to perform a trick, share some sweets or make some toffee apples and actually meet the local children in your area. Be generous. You'll be a much happier person for it.
So, incase I haven't made myself clear... Yay for Halloween! And in the spirit of generosity I've put together another Halloween goodie bag full of zines and treats. Just email your name and address to eleanor@eleanorjane.co.uk with the word 'TREATS' in the subject line by Monday 26th October and hopefully the Royal Mail will stop striking long enough for me to get your treats to you in time for the 31st.
Unfortunately, in my excitement I forgot to check the ingredients in the sweet packaging and as a result, not everything is suitable for vegetarians. Which is really rather naughty of me being a vegetarian myself. Oops! So if you do happen to be a veggie then please say so in your entry message and I shall endeavour to swap the treats for something a little friendlier should you win. You can always give the spares away to trick or treaters...
Good luck!
PS. Pumpkin bucket not included... he's mine :)
