Be scared for a cause

My DH is a HUGE Halloween fiend. We have large amounts of Halloween props stored under our house with which my hubby makes our house look spookier and spookier every year. He has always loved Halloween. Our first Halloween together was fairly simple. He wore a spooky mask, opened the door, and scared the kids with a loud Boo or What do you want? while wearing a creepy looking mask. Every year on the first of November, he leaves the house very early and goes to all the Halloween stores and buys props for next year's Halloween at huge discounted prices. He has done this each year since we've been together (almost nine years now) and needless to say, we have A LOT of Halloween props under our house in our storage area.


I have fun participating and helping him scare kids. I have more fun visiting with our friends who help and getting them snacks and drinks while staying warm inside. I most of all love listening to my husband scaring the kids and then them all laughing. He is a HUGE kid this time of year and it is fun to watch.

Something shifted in me this year, though. It is a big shift. It really dawned on me this year that I don't want us to spend so much money on all of this stuff (most of it, unfortunately, made in China, which bugs us both) to just have it up for one day of the year. Getting all of the stuff out is a hassle for my husband, putting it all out in time for trick or treaters stresses him out, and then the clean up takes a long time. All this time, I lose space in my garage and my front lawn looks even messier than usual.

But my husband loves it. I mean really loves it. It's his Christmas and I cannot take that away from him. But because I want us buying less stuff and really focusing on the important non material stuff in life, I had to say something. Then it really dawned on me. It would be okay, but it must serve a larger purpose than mainly entertaining my hubby, our friends, and the neighborhood. It must do good somehow, it must serve a cause. I told hubby this yesterday and he was completely okay with it and ran with our idea.

This year we have set up a small barrel and a sign from the Thurston County foodbank. We have sent a small announcement to the on line version of the local paper and will tell everyone we know. Come see our house, come be scared, come do it all for a cause. Bring donations to the local food bank. I am so excited how my husband got this all in action for me just after a brief conversation yesterday. HUGE KUDOS to him! I am so proud. He can have his super fun Halloween experience. We can make a difference in our local community. It is all good.

Come be scared for a good cause! Happy Halloween everyone! Keep safe. Be warm. Have fun. Help your community.