Halloween vs. Christmas Grudge Match

When I was a kid, way back in the early 80’s, Halloween was not much of a big deal. You thought about your costume literally days before the big night, and you usually ended up with grocery store fodder: one of those cheap plastic masks with the vinyl poncho printed up to look like your favorite cartoon character. In later years, I’d actually start planning my costume a week or two in advance so I’d have time to make something myself. Usually, I’d scrounge some old clothes and pull it all together with some face paint if I was feeling very ambitious. 

These days (look at me sounding like a real old-timer), it seems that the Halloween season starts even before the Back-to-School season. This year, I definitely saw backpacks right along with costumes in the local Big Box store, and Halloween now has as many decorations, knickknacks, and outfits as Christmas. I have even seen Halloween “trees” – black artificial trees with purple, green, and orange sparkly ball decorations. As a quilter, this really offends me. Every good quilter knows that fall is for making Christmas quilts, pillows, placemats, and adorable fabric gift bags. Now that Halloween is crowding my style, I feel the pressure to make Halloween stuff, too, which leaves me so much less time for Christmas. What is the dedicated quilter to do? 

I feel like there is just not enough time to do both, so I’m going to have to go about it like a divorced parent: alternate years. This year, I am picking Christmas. I have that Log Cabin couch throw that I started back in 1996 that still needs backing and binding, and I had some ideas for some fun new stockings. Next year, I might skew Halloween, or I might just skip it altogether. Either way, poor Thanksgiving is drawing the short straw. I’ll be lucky to put out a store-bought tablecloth!

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