Pumpkins and Halloween Movies

Every year we gather at my sister's house to carve pumpkins and eat some desert. Here's what we did last night.

The pumpkins of Halloween 2005


And the pumpkin carvers.


Dale, Dasie, Lori, Kena (baby), Liza, Bella (baby), Glenn, Jake, Chip, Colby, Steve.


The Great Pumpkin
Rating 8/10

I played this Charlie Brown movie for the kids. One of my favorite CB episodes. Of course my favorite is yet to come which I’ll play in coming months. A Charlie Brown Christmas and Be My Valentine Charlie Brown. These episodes or movies never gets old for me. I cringed at the language though. They say “stupid” a lot in Charlie Brown. And my kids always have to point that out. But still another one of those childhood memories that I cherish and shared with my kids.


Mad Monster Party
Rating 7 out of 10

What a blast from the past!

An oldie. One of my favorite movies to ‘catch’ while growing up. I ALWAYS wanted this to come on TV (this is before the data of VCRs mind you) so that I can watch it. It was one of those special occasions during the holidays that Mad Monster Party would chow up on a Sunday afternoon. I’d sit there captivated by the live action of these characters.

I gave this movie an edge by telling my kids there were monsters like werewolves and zombies. We then turned out the lights and watched it in bed. This kept them a little timid despite the whole corniness of the movie, which motivated them to watch it and wait for something really scary. And nothing really scary happened. Believe me, it is absolutely corny, campy and nearly unbearable. BUT, it’s such a big part of my childhood that I still rate it quite high on my list of favorites. The kids enjoyed it but got distracted as they watched it but they did enjoy the wide range of ‘monsters’ like the Invisible Man, Dracula, Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde, etc.

Netflix Summary: Boris Karloff and Phyllis Diller lend their vocal talents to this bizarre stop-motion animated parody of horror films. Dr. Frankenstein makes plans for his retirement and convenes a meeting of all monsters to announce his replacement. As word spreads that the doctor is going to choose his young nephew-protégé for the position, the visiting creatures plot a coup d'état that would leave Dr. Frankenstein retired … permanently.