A few days ago I got our Halloween books out. I like to keep seasonal books stashed away during the year and then pull them out for the holidays. Makes them seem special!
(Halloween books in our previous house.)
This is an October tradition we have done for years.
I found this cute inexpensive basket at Home Goods to hold seasonal books. My kids were so excited when they came home from school and found the Halloween books out! Funny such a small thing made them so happy. Like now that the Halloween books are out it’s really October. (Although that’s kind of how I feel about my pumpkin spice candle!)
I put a simple placemat under the basket so I don’t scratch the marble.
(Same placemats I’ve been using on my bathroom counter.)
Having the books right by our chair and lamp created a cozy little reading corner.
I re-styled the right side of my bookshelf. Still looks a little cluttered to me but every time I take something off it looks even more “off.” I do love the ampersand (also a Home Goods steal). And the fun black and white stripes and deer print are from Emily’s shop. (Do you read her blog? Love it.) The deer’s wreath is coral which ties in with the rest of the coral in the family room. Like I said, it’s the little things. :)
We have collected several fun Halloween books over the years, but we have a few that stand out. The favorites that get read again and again and again.
Humbug Witch. My personal favorite with a cute surprise at the end!
Room on the Broom. Adorable story.
There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat. This is new to us this year and Kole is in love. I think we’ve read it over 50 times already.
Thanks for Thanksgiving is also a favorite in our basket. Thanksgiving story, obviously not Halloween, but it’s such a beautiful story with a great message. I shared it last year in a post on having gratitude in our lives and creating gratitude journals. I love the illustrations.
And wow. Go Away Big Green Monster. Probably our most read and re-read book to date by my little man. I think this year he is out growing it (perfect for a 2-3 year old). Very simple story but something about it he just couldn’t get enough of!
And one more fun book – not necessarily Halloween but anything to do with monsters can be Halloween, right? Leonardo the Terrible Monster is such a cute story for pre-school aged kids. Another favorite!
Every afternoon when we are home you can find one of my three kids plopped in this chair reading a Halloween book.
It never takes long for them to toss off the pillow and get nice and comfortable.
Even Kole’s “friends” are enjoying the new Halloween basket.
:)
A simple October tradition.
One of our “little things” that makes this time of year extra special.
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Wonderful!Thanks Erin for sharing and your son looks so cute reading his books! How do you keep your house so clean all the time? I only have a 17 month old and I am constantly cleaning and tiding up the place and at the end of the night I see it’s not totally clean and organized!!!
Cute pix of Kole.
I was also wondering how you get your house to look so nice. Do you Hoover etc every day?
Even tho I live on my own I struggle with keeping my house tidy at times & I’d appreciate some tips.:)
P.S. What are your children dressing up for Halloween & are you & Kenny dressing up too?
Glad to see Room on the Broom made your cut! It is my favorite. We just read that one today at preschool! I love Big Pumpkin too, by Erika Silverman. Oh, amd Skeleton Hiccups, those preschoolers love that one!
Erin, I love your selection of Halloween books!! I also love how you styled your bookcase above the chair, and I will definitely be looking for one of the ampersands!! I noticed the lanterns you put on the mantel of the fireplace, and I love them! The height is perfect with your tall ceilings. Thank you so much for posting such wonderful posts! I always get the best ideas from you!! And I am also wondering what costumes your three will be wearing for Halloween – our two grand children will be Elsa and Kristoff from Frozen, of course! I think 75% of costumes will be from that movie!! I love it!
Hi Erin,
I am so envious of you. We used to do the exact same thing with our books for holidays. My boys would get so excited, just as your children do! Unfortunately, my boys are now 16 and 14 and I miss special times like those and every moment when they were younger. Savior this time with your children. I can not tell you how quick it goes by and it is the one thing that you can never get back :( Hope your children have a great Halloween! As always, your home looks amazing :)
Joy
Thank you Sarayan! I assure you my house is NOT clean all the time! You can’t see the mess to the left of the reading corner. :) I do have a few routines we follow though to keep the house picked up so I’ll have to share them sometime! 17 month olds are so busy. That is a hard stage to keep a tidy house!
Thanks Julie! We are just figuring out our costumes! I’m sure I’ll share them on the blog. :)
Big Pumpkin is so cute Stephanie! I need to buy that one. Love it. And I will check out Skeleton Hiccups. Sounds like something Kole would love for sure. :)
Joy – your comment resonated with me so much! Already I feel like my kids are getting big so fast. I just want to freeze time! I know they will be teens before I turn around and I’ll be saying the same thing! Thanks for reminding me how precious this time is with them. xo
I love how you keep your holiday books stashed away until that season comes around again. I do the same thing now. I desperately need to add to our Halloween/Fall books. Thanks for the great suggestions! I highly recommend the one book that we do have: The Runaway Pumpkin by Kevin Lewis. It’s super fun. We read it every day (maybe because it’s the only Halloween book we have????) :)
Jane! Thank you! So happy you are liking the decor! Your grandkids are going to be so cute! Darling costumes. I agree – tons of Frozen costumes this year but they will all be adorable. Our Halloween costumes just came today! I’ll share pics of them soon. Oh my word – Halloween is fun for the little ones. My kids can’t wait for it! Thanks for your kind words! As always you are so kind. xo
I’m looking that up Courtney! Thanks for the suggestion!
Love your blog even though I don’t chime in very often! Thanks for all the organizing tips and recommendations… =) I have a 4 boy and 6 year old girl… so they share a lot of similar interests =)
O just ordered like Awesome Autumn by Bruce Goldstone and Balloons over Broadway:The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade by Melissa Sweet. =)
awesome ideas that I will add for my family. perfect timing too, just got a coupon emailed for Barnes and Nobles, looks like we’ll go this weekend and let the kids each pick out a seasonal book to start this tradition :-)
Such fun books! & such a cozy reading corner. I wish we got into Halloween a little more here in Australia, but the past 10 years in my neighbourhood iv had a total of 3 trick or treaters! Sad!
Beautiful, Erin!! Love the lanterns on the mantle…where did you find them?
Ann R.
I just bought “When A Monster Is Born” this week at the boutique up the street from me. It’s pretty cute! I love to have seasonal books out for my kids. My space is so small, it looks like a bit of extra clutter but I’m sure I’ll figure out something good for it!