Thread: Halloween and Your Age

Tweet

We seem to have a very wide variety of ages on this board and I see posts from young people, still going to school, who are unable to afford the props they want. There are posts from families with children in which time constraints are a major factor in their Halloween haunts.

In my case being older prevents me from having enough physical strength and energy to go all out and do everything I want to at Halloween. The mind is willing, but the body is unable.

So, how is your age a factor in your Halloween haunt?

I can relate to the not having the strength or energy to do things. And you don't realize it until you actually get there! Also- I am tech challenged, having not had any computers, or any other tech things until older, so am still figuring all that out. The computer generated sounds and props that some people on here make, It might as well be greek to me. I am figuring out the more conventional motor driven things, hubby can do anything of that nature, it's just getting him to do it, he has his own projects(why they are more important than halloween, I'll never know! LOL) He is retiring next year, says he will get more imvolved. We'll see, I am going to try and teach this old dog some new tricks and figure it out my self(that's where all the tutorials will help)

I guess that is my biggest fear. I have had serious health issues in the last 18 months which have really impaired everything I do. Its funny when you are younger or even older but not having medical problems how much we can get done. I never thought about being like this cause I have always been on the go 100 mph my whole life.

This neuropathy I have now has stopped me dead in my tracks.......some days it just cripples the hell out me. It takes a lot of my enjoyment out of all my decorating because I hurt so damn bad & have to keep stopping to rest. I'm still managing to get everything done its just a matter of starting sooner with the decorating. AND to be honest.....with Hubby as disabled as he is I would have nothing done if it wasn't for my EX hubby who does all the building & setting up of the projects. He actually does all the major stuff with my guidance. He puts up all the lights around the house & yard, carries everything in the house for me. I'm very grateful for all he does.

To make it easier.......after being married to him for 20 years...he pretty much knows what to do !!
Thank God he's a good sport.

Muffy

The hubby and I joke every year about whose going to climb the ladder when it comes to getting our decorations ready....both of us have mild arthritis from playing sports in college and now we are paying for it already. It may take a bit longer than it use to to get everything set up, but I actually think the older we get, every year it seems the more we enjoy Halloween and the haunting season in general.

We've found ourselves enjoying the more laid back Halloween events in the area over the past few years, like the zoo events and such...where it's more about the ambiance than the scares and the gore.

I've also noticed the past few years that we start planning earlier and earlier for the next year...LOL My husband jokes it's because if we don't start now, both of our memories are getting so bad, we'll forget about our ideas if we don't get working on them early!

I'm finding that I'm 'age' and 'country' challenged lol
I was just telling Dh after the last party that I think I'm getting too old for this. Things go well until the day before the party. Then that day and the day of the party itself...things are so rushed and hectic that by the end of the party, I'm totally and completely wiped out.

We are also 'country' challenged. Sometimes we have to work extra hard to create certain effects because things aren't always so easy to find here...or if you do find them, much more expensive. An example: We wanted to make one of those hands in a jar like described in this forum for our mad scientist lab...with the light on top and the bubbles in it. Light wasnt a problem...making the bubbles wasn't a problem...but trying to find a large plastic or glass jar here is impossible (milkbone or dill pickle jar). People just don't buy in that large of quantities here. Even in the places that sell to businesses and restaurants.
Then you also have directions in english with US measurements and voltages that have to be translated into metrics and europeans currents....along with the name for items. I never knew the english names for that technical stuff when I still lived in the states, let alone can tell Dh what the dutch equivalent for it would be lol
But we muddle our way through and Dh is pretty handy so if he can't figure it out by reading the instructions, if the pics are good enough he can find his own 'dutch' way of putting it together

We are already working on props for next year. Want to have everything done by February haha Yeah, right. But I would rather be working on it now in the winter when there isn't much to do than in the summer when I'd rather be out having fun in the sun.

MsM

Dh and I are early 30s, no kids.

We aren't restricted in our prop building except for being a little technically challenged.

I think a couple of factors are at play here. Age has certainly slowed me down in the amount of time it takes to set up and tear down, as well as the size of the haunt keeps growing. So the bottom line for me is, I still go "all out", it just takes longer to do now. Soon I'll just leave it set up year round and devote all my time to building more props.

Listen you old farts, get with it and start drinking Starbucks and take a caffeine pill!!!


Really, I'm just joking.

I'm 25, have a kid, and feel great. I feel like I'm in my prime, especialy when it comes to decorating for a holiday. My son is 2yrs old and I feel that this is the best time for me to make sure I'm active and showing him the ropes! I can't wait until he actually understands what it's
all about'. When he finally realizes that Halloween (among other holidays) isn't just about candy, dressing up, or even decorating, but all those things combined + the spirit of it all.

I'm so glad I've still got the energy and stamina to put forth the effort without crappin out as soon as it's over.

For real, I don't mean any offense to what I said.

Originally Posted by DeadTed

Listen you old farts, get with it and start drinking Starbucks and take a caffeine pill!!!
I'm so glad I've still got the energy and stamina to put forth the effort without crappin out as soon as it's over.

For real, I don't mean any offense to what I said.

I remember when I was younger and thought that way as well. YOUR DAY WIIL COME TED! haha I'm putting the 'meeple curse' on you
When my kids were young, my brother (who didn't have any kids at the time) used to say to me all the time....when I have kids, my kids aren't going to act like that....when I have kids, my kids...etc. I put the curse on him as well and his kids turned out way worse than mine ever were! haha So watch out buddy!

MsM

My age doesn't play a factor in my haunting. I'm late 30's with 3 kids, who enjoy helping me set up. My only limitation is living in base housing, they have lots of rules on what and how much I can put up. For all of you that age does play a factor, my hats off to you and keep up the good work. Unless I continue to stay in shape for the next 30 years, I can see how it would limit all the climbing and jumping around I do to set up