Yes, November is here, and with it comes the bustle of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all the holiday activities.

For me, October ended with a bang. I had a blast trick-or-treating with friends, and we definitely scored in the free candy department.

As you can see, my friends and I and I and I and I and… well, we got a lot of candy. It might be hard to tell which is the real me, but I’m the third from the left. It was a blast going with Sleeping Beauty, a Black Cat, Elsa, the Winter Soldier, and Kate Bishop. Also, an honorable mention goes to my friend’s grandparents, one of whom is sitting in the back of the photo.

We helped them pass candy out to some scary clowns and a very-in-character Joker. Then, we sorted and traded our candy at their home.

The chaos was mildly stressful for me. Because some friends and siblings weren’t able to come with us, we decided to make candy bags for them. So, we first put our rejects in the middle to be given away. We’re such amazing, kind friends, aren’t we? 😉

We also agreed that we could trade candy from the pile in the middle. However, it was very hard to assess what I had and what everyone else had WHEN THE CANDY WASN’T ORGANIZED. IT’S ONLY NATURAL TO ORGANIZE YOUR CANDY. RIGHT? Maybe? Is it just me? 🙂

Fortunately, they willingly obliged and sorted the candy as I suggested. We made sure the friends who couldn’t make it ended up with some good candy too, and then everyone went home. Needless to say, it was a fun, sugar-filled evening.

As much as I love the beginning of fall and the fun that comes with Halloween, November is when the holidays really start for me. Oh, sure, I’ve been listening to Christmas music off and on throughout October, but November is when I start listening all the time. Quite literally, actually. While I’ve been working on homework, video editing, and blogging this evening, I haven’t stopped listening to Christmas music. Call me crazy, but hey, it’s quality music!

Now we can’t forget the holiday that often gets lost in the anticipation of Christmas and Black Friday shopping: Thanksgiving! Granted, I’m not as insane with Thanksgiving as I am with Christmas, but I still love the great traditions this time of year.

Some of them are more conventional than others. Baking a special applesauce cake is fairly normal, and the turkey pumpkin the cousins make each year isn’t that strange. What is a weird tradition? Swan butts.

Hang on now; this isn’t as bizarre as that phrase sounds. Let me show you a picture to calm your fears of where this might be going: 

See? Cute and innocent. My church used to have a special “store night” before Christmas. The points we earned for attending Bible club could be traded for all kinds of amazing junk that was donated to store night. When I was perhaps 7 years old, I saw one of these swans and instantly thought of my mom. Don’t ask me why; as far as I know, my mom doesn’t have particularly strong feelings about swans. Regardless, I traded my points for the swan because I wanted to give it to her.

Later that night, one of the “store workers” went from classroom to classroom searching for owners who left their purchases at the “store.” One of the items left was a swan that matched mine. While I thought I was buying a single swan, what I paid for was actually two swans! Score!

…I never questioned why there were two swans. How did the workers know they belonged together? Well, I never stopped to consider that. Instead, I eagerly gave them to Mom when I got home.

Trying to hold back a grin, she graciously thanked me, saying “Wow, these salt shakers are lovely! Thank you!”

Yep, they’re salt shakers. Don’t ask me why swan salt shakers even exist because I don’t know the answer.

Since someone apparently had the ingenious idea to make swan salt shakers, I feel they should have considered a little more if the idea was actually a good one. Or, at the very least, they should have put more thought into keeping it from being uber ridiculous.

Is it dawning on you? Do you now understand why we call them “swan butts?” As bizarre as they may be, it’s now an official tradition to use them in November until Thanksgiving. They’ve provided many laughs over the years, and hopefully they bring a smile to your face too.

So, there’s one reason I’m excited it’s November. Another reason? It’s sweater weather!

Well, it’s supposed to be sweater weather. The weather has been bouncing back and forth from summer warmth to crisp autumn, but I’m hoping the cold will come to stay.

Speaking of sweaters, I had a scare with the sweater I’m crocheting. I’ve been keeping it in my car on the off chance I’ll have time to work on it while out. The only thing is, I’m still carrying the yarn around in the grocery store bag it came in.

Not a big deal right? No… not until you place it at the top of the stairs where we put trash bags when it’s time to take the trash out. I distinctly remembered placing the bag there to bring to my car, but a day or so later it wasn’t there. Also, it wasn’t in my car, and I hadn’t thought I’d moved it.

After searching everywhere without finding it, I was scared someone had scooped up the bag, thinking it was trash. Fortunately, I found it yesterday on the top shelf of my craft storage caddy. Phew!

Hopefully, I can finish it before the cold weather really gets here. School is extra hectic this time of year, so it will be a few weeks before it’s done. Maybe I can finish it over Thanksgiving break. Of course, I might be too busy decorating for Christmas by then…

Either way, I’m glad November is here! Make sure to check back here and on my YouTube channel as I’ll be posting lots of fun holiday crafts and DIY’s.

Happy Crafting!

-Amanda