Getting Our Jack On

As is probably obvious to anyone who has spent any time following this blog at all, the Foxes take our holiday traditions seriously. There are things that we have to do together (or at least as together as we can manage), and there are ways we need to get it done (though the sequence can vary a little form year to year), or else the whole routine just won't be as meaningful as it might. Halloween included! Sometimes it doesn't work out, of course--but this year, I have to say I'm pretty proud at how our Jack-o'-lantern carving orgy turned out this year.

You can't do it too long before Halloween, because prolonged exposure to the elements will give you collapsing and, often, stinky pumpkins. (I've sometimes wondered about carving some other kind of gourd, to see if they have better holding power through unexpectedly hot days and/or freezing and/or rainy nights, but I've gotten around to trying.) But of course, waiting until the day of their display really defeats the purpose; you won't get any enjoyment out of them then. So we always find an evening three or four days before the holiday, and we all dig in. (This evening we were joined by a friend of Alison's, who joyfully joined it.)

I doubt we're particularly unique in this family carving night, but I do think we have one twist that is a little peculiar: we always have It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown playing while we do so. I'm not sure how it started; I suppose I or someday else decreed, years ago, that we had to watch that show (it's my favorite of all the Peanuts specials) every Halloween, and so doing it on carving night made the most sense. I can recall that in distant times, long ago, we would actually haul the television set and the dvd player into the kitchen, or else move our carving to a table in whatever room our one tv sits in. So chalk one victory up for technology, I guess.

Anyway, they turned out great--mine in particular, he says rather smugly. (Though one of our tiny carving knives broke while we were working on it; we'll have to replace it with a new one once all the Halloween stuff goes on discount sale in three days.) Fun times at the Foxes, for one and all.