WOODCARVING & ACCESSORIES

Halloween Costumes and Halloween Customs

Halloween is always just around the corner. Even if the holiday has just passed, it always seems to come around sooner than you expect, so get organized and shop for the perfect Halloween costume now and you'll be ready when this goblin of a holiday sneaks up on you again.

Shopping online is the best and easiest way to find the perfect costumes for either you or your children. From Harry Potter costumes to Stars Wars themes and even to sexy adult costume ideas, you can find a much better selection at much better prices by looking on the internet. You can also get expedited shipping if you have waited until the last possible week to get things done!

Of course, Halloween is much more than just a time for your kids to roam the neighborhood begging for candy. Our modern version of Halloween begain in the early Celtic celebration of harvest season's end. Among other things, these early inhabitants of the British Isles observed Halloween by slaughtering livestock to add to their winter food stores. They thought the division between the world of the living and the world of the dead was temporarily absent during this time, and the dead were thought to cause mischief during the harvest season by damaging crops and bringing disease.

The practice of wearing costumes originated during this time, when they wore them to ward off or appease the spirits of the dead. The custom of carving faces to ward off evil spirits started in Europe and the British Isles. These depictions of faces were usually carved into rutabagas and turnips. Most jack-o-lanterns in North America are carved from pumpkins, which are large and easy to work with.

As is true with other holidays, the Church moved one of its religious holidays to coincide with the pagan Halloween celebration. All Saints' Day was moved from May to the first day of November for this purpose. Most of us are unaware of the holiday's pagan and early Christian roots, and just look on it now as a good time to throw a party and to allow children to search the neighborhood for candy.

 Halloween costumes and party supplies have grown to be a major industry. It is estimated that the average American spends over thirty five dollars every year on Halloween costumes, candy and party supplies. If you have already found the perfect costumes for your family this year, shop online in November for next year's celebration. An excellent site to browse for that perfect outfit is the Web Costume Store.

Art of Appreciation Gift Baskets Spooktacular Coffin of Candy and Halloween Treats $59.50 It’s a little bit of trick with a whole lot of treats cleverly presented in a 15″ coffin, making this item the most spooktacular Halloween gift set you can find! We’ve packed this crackled and aged finished Rest In Peace coffin with Halloween favorites of every kind, including an 8″ Vampire for Halloween play fun! They’ll enjoy snacking on the Vampire Sugar Cookies, Witch Warts Candy, Vampire Ha…

Art of Appreciation Gift Baskets Boo! To You Halloween Candy and Snacks Care Package Box $10.88 We know where good little ghosts and goblins can find their treats this year! They’re tucked into our “Boo! Eeek! And Scream!” theme gift box – complete with a cute and cuddly plush ghost ready to make Halloween a little more fun this year. Open the lid of your care package to discover all the treats tucked inside: 8″ Plush Ghost, Haunted House Gift Box with Halloween Fun Stickers filled with Gou…

Best Witches Candy and Snacks Gift Tote – Halloween Gift Basket Make trick or treating extra fun this year with our “Best Witches” gift tote filled with goodies, guaranteed to make your little ghosts and goblins smile. Your gift starts with this great felt trick or treating tote bag with handles, great for trick or treating. Open the tote to reveal the Too Good Gourmet Best Witches Cookies, theater size Dot’s Halloween Candy Box, Witchy Warts Candy, Halloween …

My Happy Pumpkin: God’s Love Shining through Me $3.50 This book shares with young children the delight of picking out and carving your first pumpkin and compares this experience to God choosing us and shaping us to his delight. Just as the candle we put…

Extreme Pumpkins: Diabolical Do-It-Yourself Designs to Amuse Your Friends andScare Your Neighbors $0.01 Pumpkins are supposed to be scary! Based on his popular and addictive website ExtremePumpkins.com, Tom Nardone has created a full-color guide to pumpkin carving that’s truly frightening. Featuring the website’s signature Puking Pumpkin, and spanning everything from Drowning Pumpkin, Crime Scene Pumpkin, and Cannibal Pumpkin to Electrocuted Pumpkin and other never-before-seen designs, this gleefull…

The Parable Series: The Pumpkin Patch Parable $6.38 This charming story for children illustrates how a loving farmer can turn a simple pumpkin into a simply glorious sight. In the same way, God’s transforming love can fill each of our hearts with joy and light. Liz Curtis Higgs created this parable as a way to share the Good News with her own precious children each harvest season. . .and now with children everywhere….