Thoughts on being Festive

Being Festive, Halloween, Holiday 6 Minutes

As well as: the importance of ritual and why I’ll fight people over Martha Stewart

A person with curly silver hair is smiling broadly, wearing bright pink lipstick and a light-colored top, with a lively and cheerful expression.
This girl LOVES being festive.

And this year WAS THE BEST HALLOWEEN EVER. I am PROFESSIONALLY FESTIVE, so after you partake in some of these fun photos, I’ll share my

8 Tips for being festive AF (Alison Faulkner)

A person wearing a whimsical costume with a tall, pointed hat and a silver outfit, posing joyfully in a parking lot under a clear blue sky.
Even if I don’t love dressing up when it is assigned.
A festive Halloween-themed shelf display featuring golden skulls under a glass dome, potted plants, decorative figures, and a black lace cloth.
I love making little scenes
A whimsical Halloween display featuring a green witch figure dressed in a pink tutu and a colorful top, holding a broomstick, surrounded by various Halloween-themed decorations, including jars and a cauldron.
It’s the only type of cleaning I’ve ever been capable of
A Halloween decoration featuring a skeleton hanging from a tree, surrounded by colorful leaves and shrubs.
The type of cleaning where you clear everything away so you have space for a nice decorative scene
A smiling person with blonde hair and glasses holds a colorful, decorated diorama titled 'Faerie Fragments' in a craft space filled with various supplies and artsy decorations.
I ADORE making things. It’s like a little world in my hands.
A decorative Halloween display featuring a black house with gold accents, surrounded by miniature decorations, including a candelabra with candles, faux branches, and colorful gems on a green tray.
A whimsical Halloween display featuring a green-faced witch wearing a black hat and a colorful outfit, sitting on a chair surrounded by decorative items like a haunted house, jars, and themed decor.
I like moving things around. Making new scenes.
A person holds a whimsical display titled 'Faerie Fragments,' featuring miniature decorations including colorful flowers, a black cauldron, tiny bottles, and various enchanting elements among moss.
A person wearing a whimsical costume with a large pointed hat walks through a parking lot, surrounded by parked cars and colorful trees in the background.
A person in a whimsical costume with a tall, glittery cone hat and a light blue, flowing skirt, smiling in a parking lot on a bright day.
A festively decorated wall featuring a mirror surrounded by Halloween-themed decor, including black cats, pumpkins, candles in various colors, and a skull motif, all set against a pastel pink background.
I basically decorate my house to set the stage for party and holiday decor. All the the shelves, candles, and riff raff can be rotated for optimum FUN.
A decorative wall display featuring a spooky vintage portrait, a small orange pumpkin, a whimsical owl figure, and a hand sculpture holding the pumpkin, all set against a pink background.
Any time I can hide a lil friend somewhere, I do!
A colorful Halloween wreath featuring a faux apple with the text 'not poisoned,' surrounded by decorative items such as eyeballs, pumpkins, ribbons, and cobwebs, hung on a wall.
Consider me your favorite WREATH INFLUENCER
A close-up of a Halloween-themed decoration featuring a red apple with the words 'not poisoned', surrounded by various festive items like an eyeball, a small white pumpkin, a glittery orange pumpkin, and artificial spider webs.
I thrifted this faux candy apply, and put “not poisoned” stickers on it. STILL WAITING FOR AN AWARD.
A festive Halloween display featuring colorful decorative pumpkins, a silver bowl, a golden glass bowl, and white candles adorned with black spiders, set against a backdrop of black lace and a framed illustration of gemstones.
Those pumpkins are from Target a few years ago from the dollar spot. Good for wreaths, decor and cuteness.
A decorative haunted house model featuring black and gold accents, surrounded by moss and a small decorative pedestal, with a blurred television in the background.
My rococo inspired Haunted Palace was A DELIGHT to make this year!
A creatively decorated black building model with dramatic drapes and green moss, surrounded by artistic elements like trees and decorative foliage.
I spray painted this craft house black nearly a decade ago, and this year went all in.
A Halloween-themed decor arrangement featuring a skull-shaped head, vibrant flowers, purple candles, and various spooky decorations.
This creepy head was a thrifting find YEARS ago, and he’s lost an eye, but still continues to delight
Decorative Halloween display featuring a realistic severed head with a snake and crow, surrounded by flowers and spider decorations.
I’ve had the same 2 boxes of Halloween decor for 10+ years and I use the same things in new ways every year.
A cozy Halloween-themed mantle decorated with ghost figures made of white yarn, colorful plants, and dark draped fabric creating a festive ambiance.
A decorative Halloween centerpiece featuring a sinister-looking skull mask, purple candles, various ornamental skulls, a spider, a crow, and vibrant flowers on a table with a spooky backdrop.
If and when I see something I LOVE, like that moth candelabra, and if I have the $$$, I’ll go for it.
A woman with long hair and sunglasses performs a palm reading in a booth decorated with red curtains, prominently featuring a sign that reads 'PALM READINGS'.

8 Tips for being festive AF (Alison Faulkner)

It’s my blog and I will get as philosophical about being festive AS I WANT TO! BECAUSE I believe that being festive is a core part of existing.

IN FACT, ritual plays such a huge part in the human experience, that sacred, traditional ritual is severely lacking in most people’s lives and is taking a toll on individuals, and society. I GET IT. Rituals in religion, frat houses, and when used as an excuse for outlandish or harmful behavior = bad.

BUT THERE is something crucial in the physical and symbolic acts of ritual. There’s a reason we do it, crave it, create and long for it!

Ritual plays a role in helping people transition. It acts a bridge between what was and what could be. It strengthens community, gives variety to life, and can help equip people with deeper learning and understanding during times of confusion and uncertainty. Think of how many rituals are put in place to help teens transition to adulthood–why? CUZ IT CONFUSING!

Seasons changing are always a good time for reflection and ritual, and Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which is basically a celebration of harvest.

I love Halloween because I love feeding people. Ha! Which is basically a symbol of abundance, and wanting to share my harvest. WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT! I love making crafts and having a reason to go all in on a theme. I deeply enjoy decorating as an artistic exercise, but also because it’s one of the only NOT depressing ways to clean and organize my home.

I am extremely defensive of Martha Stewart, she didn’t show up and say, “You’re trash if you don’t decorate like this.” She came on the scene (publishing, business, media) a scene where WOMEN WERE NOT WELCOME, and instead of a bunch of dudes selling doilies and recipe ideas (making money off of us girls), Martha took her catering and events business and said, “Here’s what makes me feel like a badass homemaker, I’ll show you how to do it if you want: NOW LET’S GO.”

She elevates many domestic rituals to the level of art, and yet WE STILL FIND WAYS to just make her an example of women shaming women/ adding pressure. Consumer culture…I GET IT I GET IT, but KISS MY BUTT, you want to know what the biggest load of BS you can consume is?

THAT SHAMING SUCCESSFUL WOMEN, and women in general, and how that shaming of women and our appearance and self-worth ALWAYS, ALWAYS turns into a FOR profit game. So I love her, and did you know that when she was in prison she helped her fellow inmates with business ideas. A WOMAN OF THE PEOPLE.

TANGET ASIDE HERE ARE MY FESTIVE AF TIPS or

HOW TO BE FESTIVE BUT NOT OVERWHEMLED

  1. MAKE IT FUN
    • Listen love, only YOU know what’s fun for you. (If you’ve forgotten what’s fun for you I’m sure I have a podcast about finding it,) but if decorating isn’t fun for you, let someone else in your house do it. Don’t like how they do it? MY, MY AREN’T WE DEMANDING?! I say this with love, get over it. I don’t let my kids help me decorate a ton. I used to feel SO BAD about this. But when they were little, it was stressful. Now they are bigger humans and I respect their aesthetic, I’ll give them areas, or entire scenes to be in charge of, IF THEY WANT. But I have to actually let them do it. It’s hard, and I often fuss with it behind their back, BUT I’M NOT A PERFECT PERSON. So I give you permission to outsource (I’ve decorated friends trees) or to be a decoration dictator.
  2. SMALL THINGS COUNT
    • Don’t have the extra funds? Don’t want the extra mess? Maybe decide that you will bring in some branches with fall leaves into your home and put it in a vase once a week.
    • Maybe a single pumpkin is all you need.
    • Maybe you want to pick out your favorite candy and have it symbolize your gratitude for the people who come to your home. Put it out in a bowl and try not to eat it all. OR DO.
  3. BE TACKY
    • I think we are severely suffering from an attack of boring beige and neutral tones. And now that some people are finally using color again, they are calling it, “dopamine dressing” or “maximalism” when really all it is FOLLOWING YOUR BLISS.
    • Same rule applies for being festive. Do you like traditional colors? Use them. Hate them? Don’t. FOLLOW YOUR BLISS. MY BLISS IS TACKY
  4. SAVE STUFF
    • A nice plastic bin will do to keep your crap nicely from year to year, no need to be a hoarder! But waste not want not! I have the same plastic skeleton forks, pumpkin bins, and even candles I hot glued spiders to that I’ve been using for 10+ years. If I don’t use something 2-3 years in a row I get rid of it.
  5. DON’T USE ALL THE STUFF
    • I save lots of things, but I also don’t use EVERY thing I have every year. I don’t always have the time, desire or band with to be SUPER festive. Some years you will go hard, others you’ll secretly judge all the festive people and think, “Wouldn’t it be nice to have all that time…”
  6. TRADITIONS TAKE TIME
    • I have been trying to lure people to my home with White Chicken Chili for many moons! I make ALL this food each all Hallow’s eve, and sometimes forget to invite people, but usually I do, and still I make SO MUCH that doesn’t get eaten. I’ve had this dream of a house full of people and THIS YEAR IT HAPPENED. It took me YEARS to shift people’s Halloween night plans to include my dinner. BUT I NEVER GAVE UP! It takes time to be a festive Goddess!
  7. DON’T CLEAN YOUR HOUSE
    • Or do! One of the only other ways I will clean is if people are coming over. Then again, I really only clean THEN because I like a fresh blank staging area for my dinner or decor.
    • I’ve had SO MANY PEOPLE say, “I love that you didn’t feel the need to clean…” when in fact, I spent a long time picking crap up. I’m not offended. I come from a long line of very high achieving, polite, upper crust hosting. So I used to GO NUTS. And it was not fun! So I got to a point where I thought, “If I’m making you food you can GET OVER the fact the living room isn’t picked up.”
  8. PEOPLE WHO ARE FESTIVE, STAY FESTIVE
    • Much like my epiphany about clean cars, “People with clean cars, CLEAN THEIR CARS.” You need to realize that people like me, people who have lots of decor and handmade goods, are doing this like, ALL THE TIME. I live in this flow, I have 5-10 projects going at all times. I have projects I started years ago. Don’t compare yourself or expect yourself to become a different human. If you want to be more festive, you’ll dedicate more thought to it. If that’s what you want!

OK! THOUGHTS? I’m feeling a little like all over the place with ideas for content. I don’t know how to not go SO HARD. But I don’t want to overwhelm?? THOUGHTS??! LOVE YOU! xoxo

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Published by thealisonshow1

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