Halloween Breakfast

I found a great idea on "Homemakers with Hope" that I want to try when Stella is old enough. Not only would this be a great Halloween tradition, but it would work for other holidays as well. The idea is to have a fun holiday-themed breakfast on Halloween morning. Bring out your themed dishes, decorate the table with pumpkins and Halloween placemats, serve Boo-Berry, Franken-Berry or Count Chocula cereal, then put together an actvity pack filled with coloring sheets, word finds, mazes, etc. Give the kids a new box of crayons to work on all the activity sheets. Click over to the "Homemakers with Hope" blog to read more.

See the links below for some fun Halloween-themed activity sheets:

1. ABC Teach - great projects including craft ideas, coloring sheets, mazes, word search, word scrambles and more.
   
2. Halloween scrambles, matching games and more.
3. Kaboose - a wide variety of activity sheets available.
4. PapaJan - many Halloween-themed coloring sheets.
5. Teachnology - worksheets and lessons.
6. edHelper - puzzles, games, activity sheets and much more.
   

Passing Down Tradition

This past weekend my Mom and Dad came to visit. When my Mom walked in the door I saw she was carrying my favorite Halloween decoration, a ceramic witch she hand-painted when I was very young. The witch has been displayed at my parents' house each Halloween for as long as I can remember, and she thought it was time to hand it over to me so I could display it in my own home.

My Mom painted the witch in 1975 when I was five years old. She made me a witch costume for Halloween that same year and the ceramic witch was painted to match. That Halloween I had my photo published in the local paper wearing my witch costume and bobbing for apples. Every October since when the witch is taken out of storage, I remember back to that particular Halloween. I don't remember the details of any other Halloween from my childhood as vividly as that one, but that painted witch helps me remember some of my favorite memories from my childhood and will certainly lead me to tell the story to Stella each Halloween for years to come. If I'm lucky, my Mom will make Stella her own witch costume in a few years so she can make her own Halloween memories. It seems like the ceramic witch has helped to create a few family Halloween traditions.

Halloween Countdown Calendar

I found a great Advent calendar in the last Pottery Barn catalog I received. The calendar inspired me to look for ideas to make an Advent calendar like my Mom had made when I was a child. While searching online for ideas, I came across an absolutely awesome Halloween Countdown Calendar. While there's not time enough to buy one or make one for Halloween this year, I love the concept. I had never heard of such a thing, but I think it makes for one great Halloween tradition. I'm sure kids will love counting down the days until they get to trick-or-treat. One of the calendars I liked best can be found at Everyday Celebrations. It's a great inspiration for making your own, or if you're not up to the task, she also makes and sells them on Etsy. I can't wait to try this next year.

Stella's First Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

This year we made a trip to the pumpkin patch with our own little pumpkin. (Complete with pumpkin hat and all!) Of course, I plan to make this one of our annual traditions. It's a great way to spend a beautiful fall day. I have a confession to make though about the visit this year. We left without buying a pumpkin because the line to weigh and pay was waaaaay too long and our little pumpkin was ready for a nap. I'm sure that's the last year we get away with those shenanigans... next year she'll be big enough to wonder why everyone else is taking home pumpkins and she's not.

A Photo with the Scarecrow

A trip to the pumpkin patch is a tradition that many families share during the fall season. My sister and her family have been visiting the same pumpkin patch/apple orchard for years. One of their family traditions is to have their family photo taken in front of the same wooden scarecrow each year. Like a lot of traditions, it's not complex, but it's memorable. The photo makes a great scrapbook page and shows how everyone changes over the years. This year they added a new baby to the family!

The Great Pumpkin Hoax

Parents often wonder what to do with all the candy their kids collect on Halloween. I have finally found the answer thanks to "One Charming Blog." Not only does it make for a great new Halloween tradition, it's healthier too. Introduce your kids to the Great Pumpkin. Here's the concept in a nutshell: the kids go out trick-or-treating, when they get home they're allowed to fill up on all the candy they can eat that night, when they're done, they package up the rest of the candy and leave it out overnight for the Great Pumpkin, in the morning an awesome gift will be waiting in return. Click on over to "One Charming Blog" for the full details.

P.S. Now we know why pumpkins are often seen with few or no teeth... too much candy!

I'm Back!!

Let's just say it's been awhile since I've posted to my blog... a long while! Since the last post a lot of things have changed. The biggest news is the addition of Baby Stella to our family in July. It seems that there are no better reasons to celebrate traditions than children and I'm so excited to reinvigorate Cafe Traditions website and this blog. While Stella won't appreciate traditions for awhile, my mind is already racing with ideas of traditions that I want to celebrate with her. I can't wait!!

P.S. I'm madly in love with our new little bundle of joy.