Hair of the (Halloween) Dog

Or should that read Cat?!

Over here at the Haas Household, we take Halloween very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that we’ve had barely a minute to post to social media. #31DaysofHalloween, our annual tradition of packing in as much Halloween goodness as 31 days will allow, flies by in the blink of an eye.  Kind of like childhood in general. And with my birthday, the Haasband’s birthday, my mother in law’s birthday, my stepfather’s birthday AND our anniversary all in this wicked month, though it’s my favorite of the 12, it’s the one I seemingly can’t get anything non-Halloween accomplished in because of all the jam packed fun. Not that I’m complaining.

Alas, now that it’s over, I want to cry into my pumpkin spiced latte. If you, like me, are feeling like you’re just not ready to let it go, here’s a handy guide of LA’s best haunts (and one of NY’s) to get you started on your Halloween planning for next year. T – 11 months, but whose counting?!

1. Visit every pumpkin patch in your town, your neighboring town, the town bordering that one, and so on and buy a pumpkin from each of them.
2. Make a pumpkin scape.
3. Buy all of Meri Meri’s Halloween themed paper goods and use them every day to get the kids excited about eating with their fun designs.
4. Use a sharpie to color a clementine like a jack o lantern and leave it in your child’s lunchbox.
5. Read Halloween Books (Room on a Broom is a favorite in our house).
6. Watch Hocus Pocus and Teen Witch.
7. Decorate pumpkins (mini white pumpkins and chalk markers are perfect for this).
8. Raid the local Trader Joe’s for any and all things pumpkin.
9. Decorate the Trader Joe’s Haunted Gingerbread House.
10. Make homemade Halloween cookies. Make it a free form challenge and have the kids draw their own bats, ghosts and vampires.
11. Sign up for a Spooky Science class at LA’s incredible Genius Kids.
12. Visit Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights.
13. Ride LA’s original Haunted Hayride.
14. Get over your arachnophobia at Boo at the Zoo.
15. Visit the Spooky Science exhibit at the Discovery Cube LA.
16. Get tickets for the Haunted Arroyo at Kids’ Space Museum.
17. Pop in to a Meri Cherry Halloween Pop Up art class.
18. Read (or re-read) Mary Roach’s raucous book, Spook.
19. Ride the LA Live Steamers Ghost Train.
20. Visit Boney Island.
21. Spend a day at Underwood Family Farms, ride a tractor drawn hay ride, do the corn maze, pick a fairy tale pumpkin.
22. Grab some willing friends and do Race LA’s Haunted Halloween Hunt (a 4 mile run/scavenger hunt around downtown Los Angeles).
23. Try all of the spooky flavors at Salt & Straw Ice Cream
24. Hop on a plane, travel all the way across the country for a family event and happen into NY’s Chelsea Market to catch the incredible Halloween display.
25. Scour all of LA’s vintage shops for the perfect home made costume (we do family costumes in our house. This year, it’s Back to the Future).
26. Beg a member or magician friend to get you an invite to LA’s famed Magic Castle.
27. Go Apple Picking at Riley’s Farm in Oak Glen.
28. Read the NYT Halloween Kids Section with your little.
29. Have a Monster Mash dance party before breakfast on a school day to the Halloween music channel on Sirius XM radio.
30. Go to a Cinespia outdoor movie screening in the Cemetery.
31. Win a pumpkin decorating contest by making a “killer” Pumpkin Pie. (Get it?!)

And last, but not least, and not listed because it almost goes without saying, enjoy every second of this glorious autumnal experience.