Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.



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MaryM
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Posted: Oct 22 2007 at 12:12am | IP Logged Quote MaryM

LisaR wrote:
....anyone have a good source for the sugar skull molds/recipie and or mix???


This site -Mexican Sugar Skulls - has the best selection of supplies and also includes instructions. Unfortunately the site seems to be down tonight. Hopefully it will be back up by the time you see this. This is where we ordered our big mold from.

Another site with instructions and you can order a few mold sets here (does not have the selection of the above site).

More instructions

You can get meringue powder at any place that sells Wilton products locally (craft stores, candy making supplies) and don't need to get it through the online sources.

You can get regular candy molds and use those for sugar skulls or can make white chocolate skulls instead (we did that one year instead of sugar).



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Posted: Oct 22 2007 at 7:58am | IP Logged Quote florasita

We still like marzipan the best for sugar skulls .
I find the plain sugar ones just way to sweet we like making little mini skulls out of marzipan my tummy just could not handle skulls the size of my fist
   Our first All Souls experience was in MX 23 yrs ago . we had absolutly no idea what was going on
   The most beautiful sight was the little lake all lit up from people on the island with candles even people in boats had candles lit. Very Holy experince without knowing it
   I also tell the kids when we get home after trick or treating that red licorice is only made for old people usually works pretty good

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Posted: Oct 22 2007 at 8:12am | IP Logged Quote stacykay

Getting in late on this conversation!

We do Halloween. We don't make a big deal about it, except for picking out what the boys will be (this year we have a couple of army guys and a firefighter.)

I loved it when I was little, more because my mum (who was a great seamstress,) would make my costumes. My favorite was a pilgrim! I have made a few for my boys (a very cool Robin Hood and Sherlock Holmes, for example), but as they have gotten older, they have wanted to go as military, so we have a ton of fatigues and cool hats and helmets in all sizes, that get worn way more than just on Halloween.

I agree with Irene. I don't care for the over the top decorating for Halloween.

We go to a pumpkin hunt every year, held by our cub scout pack. We carve the pumpkins on Halloween, usually in the afternoon. They do look neat, all lined up on the porch, way to the side, though, so costumes don't catch fire!

I don't buy much candy during the year, so the boys think that is the best part.

Our homeschool group has had All Saint's parties in the past, even last year, but no one wanted to organize it this year. It is a huge job, at least how they do it and all the parents whose children attend have to organize a game and bring treats (we are party poopers and have never gone.)

We make a big deal out of All Saints Day and All Souls Day. Mass and then breakfast OUT! We visit the cemetaries on the 1rst, too. We don't on the 2nd, as that is #5 ds's birthday, and he is too young to have his bd associated with graveyard visits! #2 ds's birthday is the 30th of Oct., so Halloween does take a back-seat to all we have going on.

Someone mentioned their grandma's memories of Halloween, which made me think of one of my fave movies, "Meet Me in St. Louis," as there is a scene in it with children doing tricks! We do watch "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."

Does that seem like a lot?

God Bless,
Stacy in MI

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Barbara C.
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Posted: Oct 22 2007 at 8:29am | IP Logged Quote Barbara C.

I always loved "Meet Me in St. Louis", especially when I was a kid. And the Halloween scenes are very interesting with the little kids making a huge bonfire and throwing old furniture on it and "killing" the neighbors. I don't know how historically accurate that part of the movie is although I know it is based on short auto-biographical stories by the real life "Toodie".

Of course, Toodie is such a completely morbid five-year-old that Halloween is really her holiday. She's always having her dolls die in horrible ways and then burying them in the backyard. It makes me laugh just thinking about it.

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Posted: Oct 22 2007 at 8:38am | IP Logged Quote dollylima

florasita wrote:
We still like marzipan the best for sugar skulls .

Oh this sounds heavenly... a lot more pallatable than the pure sugar ones. I love marzipan, but it's one of those things I feel I have to have a good excuse to eat.
Now I do!
Thanks for the idea.

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Posted: Oct 22 2007 at 8:50am | IP Logged Quote nissag

I'm all about the Reese's, too!      Yummy!

Now y'all have got me thinking about how we'll celebrate this year. I've started looking at the Dia de Los Muertes celebrations. They are a little scary, but overall, I think they hit the target for me. In it's purest form, it's not been commercialised the way American Halloween has. And when we lived in England, All Hallows Eve really wasn't done at all except on Base. However, the ancient traditions of the day were discussed. I'd like to delve further into that and extract something rich and beautiful that my kids can celebrate.

It is, after all, a Catholic holiday! And like I said, there's really no trick-or-treating to be had where we live. If we move to the farm we're hoping for, there aren't many neighbors. The house is set way up at the top of a hill at the end of a 1/4 mile road. We'd have to bus kids in for a party!

Ideas?

Blessings,

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Posted: Oct 22 2007 at 8:54am | IP Logged Quote Dawn

Barbara C. wrote:
I always loved "Meet Me in St. Louis", especially when I was a kid.


Barbara, I LOVE that movie! I especially love the gorgeous cake they make for the holiday! I'm just going to have to watch that this afternoon.

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Posted: Oct 22 2007 at 10:10am | IP Logged Quote Angie Mc

Dawn wrote:
Barbara C. wrote:
I always loved "Meet Me in St. Louis", especially when I was a kid.


Barbara, I LOVE that movie! I especially love the gorgeous cake they make for the holiday! I'm just going to have to watch that this afternoon.


Margaret O'Brien who plays Toodie also plays a role in one of our faves that we play around Halloween, The Canterville Ghost. This is worth the watch if you like comedies, WWII period movies, and...well the ghost is hilarious.

Believe it or not, we just watched "Meet Me in St. Louis" for the first time last year because of a plug here and sweet article posted at Catholic Exchange (which I can't find now.) Thanks for the reminder!

Love,

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Posted: Oct 22 2007 at 11:21am | IP Logged Quote ShawnaB

Yes, but I don't put a lot of enery into it, as it is not my favorite holiday. I haven't quite figured out how refocus it towards honoring God yet, but all of these posts have given me great food for thought. Totally ignoring/boycotting Halloween seems unecessary to me, and it also seems to make more of it than it really is. We celebrate in moderation...making costumes the day of from our large dress-up collection and walking to a few houses in the neighborhood.

I did complain to our grocery store manager a few years ago, though, when they placed a display of horrifying gorey rubber masks RIGHT next to the cash register where my children could not help but look at them! They moved the display.

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Posted: Oct 22 2007 at 9:46pm | IP Logged Quote Anne McD

Yep, we do it too. I just want to stay away from the scary and evil stuff as the kids get older, but they have a great time, and all the kids in the neighborhood are so excited to show off their costumes. I don't make a big decorating deal out of it, though. But we do carve jack o lanterns and then roast the pumpkin seeds. Yum!

My biggest pet peeve-- the older kids who don't bother to dress up, ring my door bell and then thrust their backbacks (still full of school books!) at me for their handout!

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Mary K
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Posted: Oct 22 2007 at 10:10pm | IP Logged Quote Mary K

We do Halloween as an excuse for my 17yodd to do her favorite thing-sew!! She has made her sister a Regency style dress (Jane Austen era) and is making herself a 1920's flapper dress.    My other children are going as a wood nymph, pirate, ninja, bird (costume by dd)and a bumblebee.
God bless,
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Posted: Oct 23 2007 at 5:28am | IP Logged Quote marihalojen

Yes, we do Halloween and it is all about the costume.

Mary, my dd wants to be a White Ibis this year - oh, help! I'm thinking a feather boa and mask over a white dress and I'm nixing the dowel rod arm extensions she suggested. I suggested inspiration from the movie Ever After, the peacock costume, you know? She brought me David Attenborough's Life of Birds instead.   

Angie, I'll have to check out the Canterville Ghost, I do love Meet Me in Saint Louis!

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Posted: Oct 23 2007 at 8:23am | IP Logged Quote JennGM

Look at this cool (and easy) recipe for fun: Jack O'Lantern Cinnamon Treats!

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Posted: Oct 23 2007 at 10:57am | IP Logged Quote Cay Gibson

What a fun thread!

Like you, Molly, I love to hear the various reasons people "do" or "don't do" Halloween.

It's not a favorite around here but we try to make it as fun as possible. Especially in the past 10 years. Why?

Because we ended up with an October birthday and the child whose b-day falls in October was upset for years over having her b-day during the same month as such scary, gory, awful stuff .

I knew I had to focus on the good and the fun.

It's one time of year the children get to dress up and become whomever their imagination wants them to be.

I love the decorating and the easy science experiments. The children love the candy.

I'm happy to say the October girl has begun to focus more on the beauty of autumn and now regards her b-day as a marvelous time of year ...because it is!

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Posted: Oct 23 2007 at 1:06pm | IP Logged Quote folklaur

Cay Gibson wrote:
Because we ended up with an October birthday...


Us, too. We have two October birthdays - ds9 on the 10th, and dd18 on the 13th (she was born on Friday the 13th, too .)

Maybe that is why we have always had fun with it?

Also - Angie is right - here in AZ they do decorate a lot more, but I also think it is just the happiness that is associated with the break in the heat (if you can call mid to low 90's a "break in the heat" !

Smiles,
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Posted: Oct 23 2007 at 2:58pm | IP Logged Quote Mary K

Hi Jennifer,
My daughter's bird costume consists of a pink skirt puffed out with pink tulle underneath and edged with pink feathers pink leotard, pink stockings, a pink feathery boa, mask on her eyes that is covered with pink feathers and the nose is painted orange to look like a beak and a hairclip with more pink feathers. In case you haven't guessed she is a flamingo!
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I'll ask Elizabeth (17yodd) if she has ideas.
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Posted: Oct 23 2007 at 3:16pm | IP Logged Quote marihalojen

That will be darling, Mary! I love how you've poofed the skirt into a puffy flamingo body. Can't wait to hear if Elizabeth has any great Ibis ideas for Marianna!

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Posted: Oct 23 2007 at 9:21pm | IP Logged Quote TracyFD

IF we had a local All Saints party and IF I could sew up saints costumes, that's what we would do.

Instead we give the children small pails (that fill up quickly) and take them to the neighbors we know. We don't do scary costumes, but we can't always control who they see when they are out - or who comes to our door!

In my last neighborhood I got brave and taped candy to orange paper rolled up like a scroll printed with short descriptions about All Saints Day and All Soul's. I am evaluating my courage level for this year . . .



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Posted: Oct 24 2007 at 10:02pm | IP Logged Quote humanaevitae

We've jumped on using ghosts to symbol the poor souls who don't say "boo" but say "pray for me".

We attend a St.s Day Party, go TOTing, visit cemeteries, decorate cookies, attend Mass, memorize hymns,and carve pumpkins. We focus on learning about the saints and praying for the souls. Our household decorations consist of spoon saints hung up like a cloud of witnesses and a wall of ghosts with deceased peoples names written on them and surrounded by the words "Pray for Us". We also have a wall display illustrating the Communion of Saints (chc) which we will add Xmas photos to once they start coming.

For my childhood we didn't celebrate Halloween. However I want to use the day to remind my children about good vs. evil and that in whatever they do (whether they are a cowboy or a princess) they should seek to glorify God and remember that they are part of the Communion of Sts.


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Posted: Oct 24 2007 at 11:06pm | IP Logged Quote teachingmom

stacykay wrote:
I agree with Irene. I don't care for the over the top decorating for Halloween.


I have to admit that I've been feeling bad about my comment about being so bothered by Halloween decorations. The more I thought about it, I realized that it made me sound like such a curmudgeon! I just wanted to add that it's really, as Stacy wrote, the over the top decorating that bothers me. Sometimes it seems to like Halloween decorating is getting up there with Christmas decorating in popularity.

But I really like typical harvest decorating. And we have 6 pumpkins sitting on our front porch steps now and they will all be carved within the week. (And some of us will really enjoy the roasted pumpkins seeds! )

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