Happy Halloween 2014!!

Happy Halloween!!

Can you believe today is October 31st?  After months of anticipation, from waiting for stores to release their Halloween products to building-up to the big day with various posts throughout the season, Halloween has finally arrived!  In my opinion, for as much as I wanted to celebrate this day, I didn't want it to sneak up on us so quickly.  Personally, I was kept way too-busy by real-life that I wasn't able to dedicate as much time and effort into The Holidaze and Halloween season as I had planned or would have liked to, but I tried to make sure that didn't get in the way of enjoying the most amazing time of year.  Sure, in terms of content on the site, I would have liked to had brought you more.  I think I did a decent job and we covered many awesome products, but my list of topics far exceeded my goals met.  For example, the Funko Holidaze Pops! fell flat on their vinyl faces as soon as work decided to increase the level of stress.  The characters I had written down and planned on bringing you might have been phenomenal, but they simply weren't to be.  On the bright side, The Holidaze doesn't completely shut down after Halloween and there are no rules stating I can't bring you cool designs and artsy posts after today.  When I find the time, I'll certainly do my best to pick up where we leave off today to keep the ball rolling.  I mean, really, is anybody gonna complain about MORE Halloween in November?  I only have 6 readers so I highly doubt it!

Instead of focusing on what I didn't do this season, I'd like to be positive and look at what we did review.  There were incredible products released this year and I think 2014 did it's best to rival 2013.  No, I don't think anything short of Ecto-Cooler will top the 2013 return of Frute Brute and Yummy Mummy, but we definitely didn't take too many steps backwards.  Just think - Krispy Kreme Ghostbuster Donuts, Orange S'Cream Twinkies and the return of Scary Cakes, Cheetos Bag of Bones, Apple-ahhh-Rita's, Caramel Apple and Pumpkin Spice Oreos, Candy Apple M&M's, Orange Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins and Orange Kit-Kat's, Caramel Apple-filled Twizzlers, New General Mills Retro boxes, and Candy Corn Pebbles.  If you ask me, that's one hell of a haul for one Halloween season.  In fact, thinking about it again, it really does give 2013 a run for it's money.  But in the end, we're the ones who really lucked out and leave as winners.  We're fortunate enough to have these awesome things in our lives to help enhance the 'daze!

The majority of what I write about has to do with food and candy, but the meaning behind why I write about those things has nothing to do with the products themselves.  Sure, I'm giving you a review and I'm enjoying the taste-test, but it goes much deeper than flavor and appearance.  My goal from day one on The Holidaze is to take these things, old and new, and relate them to my life, past or present, to interact with all of you who share the same interests and make the same connections to nostalgia.  What I want to do is bring out, and bring back, memories you may have forgotten or will never forget.  I want to remind you of when you were a kid, what it was like to grow up loving Halloween and what it meant to you and your family.  If you didn't celebrate then, I want to show you how great it can be, for so many reasons, and invite you to do so with all of us.  If we're not celebrating old memories and all the emotions that come with them, then we're creating new ones in innovative ways that will one day be talked about 20-years from now.  Many of you have kids and, whether you're aware or not, you're making memories for them now that will one day be associated with their nostalgia.  They'll look back and say, "wow, I remember when me and my Mom ate those Cheetos Bag of Bones.  She loved them as much as I did.  That was a fun time."  If you notice, Cheetos Bag of Bones are an after-thought in that sentence.  It's about the connection, the bond, the relationship, the memory, nostalgia, and love that comes from what we're doing today.  That's the purpose of The Holidaze and, with all of you, I've been able to remember and share more things than ever before.

I want to thank each and every one of you who took time out of your day to read what I wrote.  Hopefully you enjoyed it, hopefully I made you laugh a little bit here and there, hopefully I brought something to your attention, and hopefully you took my advice and made the most of your Halloween season.  I know I'm not the greatest writer in the world and The Holidaze is far from the most popular site on the Internet, but I love my little niche and the group of people who continue to read and support this site.  Whether you indulged and shared on Twitter, or joined in on the Holidaze Halloween Instagram Challenge, I truly can't thank you enough for simply being a part of this tiny endeavor.  Together, we shared stories and enjoyed what this season had to offer.  Individually, we created our own memories with loved ones who mean the world to us.  That, without a doubt, is the most important part!  At the end of the day, sharing this season of macabre with those who are close to you is what separates "just another year" with "hey, remember that time?"

From a kid who grew up loving Halloween with a passion, I wish each and every one of you the Happiest of Halloweens.  If you don't have any plans tonight, then I urge you to change that by finding something to do.  It's Halloween on a freakin' Friday night!  That calls for action!  If you can't hit up the bars or find a costume party, then call your friends or family to go catch a movie.  Go out to eat and laugh over spooky cocktails.  Watch a horror movie on Netflix or any one of the 100 channels featuring a scary movie, tonight.  Bake orange cupcakes and eat a lot of Candy Corn.  Or, in the very worst case scenario, go online and read every Halloween post I've ever written.  But, no matter what, make sure you do SOMETHING tonight!  Don't let this year come and go with any regrets.  Live it up, enjoy yourself, enjoy the day and create life-long memories that don't involve you sleeping through Halloween.  As for me, I'm about to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters from my new apartment before dressing up like a scary inmate clown for a night of debauchery in Hoboken, NJ.  The best part?  It's Halloweekend, baby!  The party doesn't stop at midnight, it's only just begun!!  Believe me, we'll have plenty of time for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Until then, Halloween doesn't end until we say it does!!

Enjoy, my friends, and shoot me a pic of your Halloween costume @HolidazeBlog on Twitter and Instagram!

Happy Halloween!!