Me and my porch light just do not agree on how my front porch should be lit for Halloween. We’ve been in our house for 6 years now and I have yet to have my porch light ON for Halloween.
1st Halloween – I’m pretty sure the light worked, but I didn’t even think about it being Halloween. I grew up in a rural area and you really don’t trick or treat when the houses are miles apart. So, I really wasn’t paying attention. Plus I had a 2month old, so I really wasn’t up on things yet anyways. Currently, I live in a neighborhood that’s easy to walk and perfect for trick or treating, so there’s a lot of trick or treaters. Anyways, the first year in my house, I just didn’t think about it. Someone TP’d our pine trees in the front yard that year too. How was I to know this was a popular trick or treating street?
2nd Halloween – My porch light had burnt out the week before, but I hadn’t thought about it last year, and I didn’t think about it this year. However, my father-in-law had picked that night to come over to our house and work on his car in our garage (our garage is easier to see from the street than our front door). To complicate things, he was working with the garage door open and the lights on in the garage so people kept coming to him for candy. He sent them to the front door and luckily I had a basket of random candy on the counter that I grabbed and handed out to trick or treaters. As a side note, my father in law sat at that basket halfway through the evening so I was without a basket after that, and yes, I handed out the squashed candy, I didn’t have anything else!
3rd Halloween – So, I was prepared with candy this year, just in case, but I hadn’t planned to turn the porch light on so I didn’t have a large supply of candy. But, my father-in-law decided AGAIN that this was a good night to work on his car in my garage with the door open – you’d think he would know better by now. And since my porch light didn’t work again (it always goes out sometime in September and I don’t have a ladder tall enough to reach the bulb so I add it to my husband’s to-do list and hope for the best) people were driving him crazy. I offered to just set the basket of candy by the garage door entrance so he didn’t have to keep sending people to the front door, but he didn’t like that idea. So, I apologized to everyone for the porch light being out, and handed out candy at the front door.
4th Halloween – I finally got it figured out! I had my big basket of candy planned, even had fall decorations on the porch. My plan was to turn on the porch light and put the basket of candy on the porch so I didn’t have to keep answering the door. Well…a month before halloween my porch light went out again. And I STILL don’t have a ladder tall enough for me to reach the light, and my husband keeps forgetting, so I have to keep answering the door and pointing out the basket that’s on the outside of the door because no one can see it because there’s no porch light! You know, people come to the door, I say the candy’s on the porch (though, it’s now behind the open door) I have to point it out and they can’t see it because the porch is dark. I quickly gave up and just handed it out at the door.
5th Halloween – I still don’t have a tall enough ladder to reach the light, and it went out again in September. Though, it’s ok, we’re going to a halloween party, I’ll just leave candy on the porch and hope for the best. Well, my husband is home late that night so we end up at home with two disappointed little girls in their halloween costumes, handing out handfuls (instead of one at a time as instructed) of candy to people at the door. I almost ran out of candy! Actually, I did run out of candy, the last couple of people ended up with mini rice crispy treats. Sorry kids!
6th Halloween – This year, I have outwitted the light. I purchased a ladder. I replaced the bulb that burnt out in August this year with one of those bulbs that is supposed to last for years. I have my candy planned out, my bucket, we take the kids to a party the Friday before and they are all excited about handing out candy this year. A week before halloween my light goes out, you know, the bulb that is supposed to last for years. But, I have my ladder, so the day before Halloween (I’m not taking any chances this year, surely a light bulb can last 24 hours!) I climb up there and replace the bulb. Well…apparently, it’s not my bulb, there’s something wrong with the fixture and no light bulb is going to work. So, once again we have a dark porch, and this year the weather is bad so even though there are lots of trick or treaters, they aren’t taking a chance on a dark house so only about 5 people come by, the girls are sad because no one came, and we have LOTS of candy left over!
Next year, I’m going to have the fixture replaced, a new light bulb, and a couple of lanterns, some flashlights, maybe I’ll line the sidewalk with candles or something…