We live in a pleasant neighborhood, the development has houses that all are around 1500-2200 sq ft, all with front lawns and a line of trees between properties. Our house has a down-sloping driveway with a nice front yard for flower gardens, etc.
Every year, we decorate with two large pumpkins on the front steps. Even though our pups have been out of the house for a while, we have continued the tradition because its fun. I like to buy them from the farm where we’ve known the family for 25+ years (DS went to preschool with one of their kids) , and DH likes to carve the pumpkins and toast the seeds.
This morning, when I went to get the newspaper, the pumpkins were gone.
DH told me they must have been stolen, as the parochial high school nearby has a “tradition” where pumpkins magically appear Halloween morning all over their front courtyard.
I shouldn’t be mad about this, but it has really gotten me upset.
If they had only waited another week until the pumpkins start to rot then it would have been a blessing!
Really, so sorry. I had this happen to our pumpkin when our kids were small. I actually glanced out the window and saw a junior high-ish aged kid starting to run away with it (it was right after school got out). I was so angry I ran out of the house and down the street after him - he ran into the ravine near our house and I couldn’t leave my kids any farther so I went home, got in the car and looked in the neighborhood for them. I was SO ticked off!
When my kids were little, they tended our little pumpkin patch in our backyard all summer, and then carved the pumpkins they grew into jack o’lanterns for Halloween. One night, some neighborhood kids (also a very nice neighborhood) took them and smashed them in the street. So in order to shame them, I made a big sign stating how my kids were “devastated” by the vandalism of their home grown jack o’lanterns and put it in our front yard.
I don’t know if the vandals felt remorseful, but we were surprised when 3 or 4 of our neighbors who we didn’t even know brought the girls pumpkins to replace the ones that were smashed. We thought that was really sweet. So we had a boatload of pumpkins on the porch that fall and nobody touched the replacements.
“the parochial high school nearby has a “tradition” where pumpkins magically appear Halloween morning all over their front courtyard.”
I’d probably play along then. Make up either “Wanted” or “Missing” posters that look like the real thing but have badly drawn versions of the pumpkins that are stolen along with a description of identifying marks and personality traits. Hang the signs all over the school and nearby…
@FlyMeToTheMoon Yeah, it looks like our entire street was targeted. I stopped by a neighbor’s house - they have lived on our street for 48 years, as her husband is not doing well, so I was dropping off some flowers, a casserole and some cookies. She told me the whole street was hit - in her words, it was “those rotten catholic school kids!” which actually made me chuckle based on how she said it.
She told me her husband used to teach the shop class there, after he retired as a postman, and he said he felt terrible because he knew exactly where they ended up, and he said they used to hit the neighborhood a lot, but they usually skip our street since the houses are farther apart, they tend to hit the neighborhoods where the houses are closer together. But we’ve been here for 23 years and this is the first time we’ve been victimized.
I am glad that we don’t have to explain this to little ones.
Depending on your level of annoyance, you can anonymously advise the principal’s office of the catholic school where you believe all of their pumpkins are coming from.
Next year slip a “tile” or other locating device in a hidden place in the pumpkin. Then you will know, and be able to prove, exactly where your pumpkin went.
The year we grew pumpkins alongside our house, they were stolen days before I had intended to pick them for the kids to carve. What a rotten thing to do!
One year, I think S2 was about 4 yo, the pumpkin he had picked out and placed on our front steps disappeared. Down our long sloping front yard, we could see it smashed in the street. S2 was devastated. In future years, we placed pumpkins on our fireplace hearth instead of the front steps. Not as decorative, but S2 was happier.
Why not have a chat with the principal of that school and explain how you and your neighbors don’t care for this tradition. I would also include what your neighbor said as a way of expressing how it gives the Catholic school a bad reputation (and we know how principals love for their school to have a good reputation!). And then suggest that they come up with a new tradition going forward.
We had it happen once where neighbor kids smashed our pumpkins. So I began taking our pumpkins back inside on 10/30 (mischief night). That solved the problem. And those kids eventually grew up. Now I don’t put put pumpkins because the squirrels eat them! I can’t win. lol
When our kids were younger, we always bought a giant pumpkin which we placed in a perfect spot at the top of the driveway. Everyone could see it driving down the street and many commented on it. One Halloween morning, I went out in the driveway to get the papers. I turned around and the giant pumpkin was…gone. Somebody had made off with our 100 pound pumpkin and replaced it with a tiny pumpkin. At least the thief had a sense of humor.
We always carve at least 4 pumpkins for Halloween. This year D carved a pineapple, too! We’ve never had problems with stolen/smashed pumpkins. This morning, our pineapple was gone. Not the top of it, not the candle that was under it. All pumpkins undisturbed. What suburban animal would eat a pineapple? Funny to imagine…
