Halloween Calendar 2026

Good morning or evening depending on where you call home in this crazy world. I hope this finds you well. Like years past I am rushing to finish this calendar as I am not only fighting the October 1^st deadline but also the deadline in which Microsoft will do away with Publisher, my preferred program to do these calendars. I’m sure they really thought about it and they put all the things on a board that needed to be fixed in the Microsoft portfolio and went yeah …. Let’s do away with Publisher. That’s right the 2026 Halloween TV/Movie calendar has the distinction as being the last one done in Publisher. Still not sure what my plan is for Christmas but that’s future Marcy’s problem. She loves me even if she doesn’t know it. She’ll figure it out, I have faith.

Also as in years past, I have found the main stays that make this calendar work time and time again. That’s right I’m looking at Freeform, SYFY, AMC, who support all of this crazy gory and spooky season of awesome. I also added a few other items cause I thought they sounded interesting from Hallmark, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and the Travel Channel. Otherwise the calendar started felling redundant and lazy. I am anything if not … well not lazy. Ok I’m a little lazy but not when it comes to these calendars. I will also state that it’s been a little difficult cause some of these networks have announced they are doing it but not announced what they are doing and their calendars on their websites only go so far. So that’s been a bummer but we powered through, for the most part.

I am however going to spare you all the rant about how past shows are disappearing from this calendar cause you have all heard it before (well most of you have) and it seems the networks don’t care. Not that anyone listens to me anyway. You know the definition of insanity don’t you? Well there you go. I might be the most insane among you … I just haven’t been caught yet. I’m also not going to bore you all with how Food Network apparently has different calendars than the rest of us as most of their “fall” or Halloween programming started in September. Um… hello super not helpful. I figure by now if you have been interested in those shows you know they are coming on. If you aren’t interested then what you hassling me for, move on please. Halmark did it too by the way but they are re-airing things in October so they got a ticket on this crazytrain.

For those new to this party, and there are several of you, I will re-state the rules, for those veterans out there please forgive me for giving a short explanation and allow your attention to wander freely if you’d like.

The Rules:

• I live in the central time zone, so does this calendar. Adjust accordingly.
• Time Zones are hard. Adjust accordingly.
• Unless otherwise stated the times are PM. This calendar also focuses on after work hours cause that’s mostly when I can watch. My office seems to think it’s a distraction if I watch while at work, I mean I still do sometimes but for full disclosure I don’t watch TV while working. *wink* *wink* For those WFH peeps or stay at home moms feel free to check out these channels throughout the day for more spooky goodness you know between Team’s calls or during naps.
• Lastly this calendar shows things I want to see, movies and specials that take me back to my childhood or that just make me happy, or things that frankly intrigue me. Some are kid themed, and some are more adult oriented. PLEASE be mindful of that before you sit down with your little and they can’t sleep cause Jason might get them. That’s your mess not mine, but kudos to you for showing them a classic. Seriously don’t be that person and there’s always one. This is supposed to be for fun, if you make it not be fun well you will no longer have fun. PS if you don’t get this one you don’t get the Christmas one either so be sure that’s what you need/want before firing off that e-mail/text or god forbid call me. This isn’t the internet people, where you can say whatever you want without consequences. 

If you are a digital user the easiest way to use this calendar is to save it to your phone so you can check it on the fly. I mean who hasn’t gone to the bar keep at the local restaurant to ask them to switch from the game to Nightmare on Elm Street ? Just me ….weird. When I print it, and I do, I print it 11X17 but 8.5X11 is often good enough, especially if you can use one of those cool work printers … not that I do that nor am I suggesting that you do that. I’m just saying that is the kind of printer that prints this calendar really well at that size. If you are interested in doing that.

A few things to take note of :

• As stated above the main OGs are spreading the Halloween love through Freeform’s– 31 Nights of Halloween; SYFY’s – 31 Days of Halloween (with very specific theme nights which is an interesting way to do this honestly); AMC’s Fear Fest is back for all your gory enjoyment and other networks are also joining the “haunt” (see what I did there?) like, TCM   (which I no longer get), FX which focuses on the more “blockbuster” movies, Hallmark with their “fall into love” event and Disney, CBS, ABC, and NBC when they think about it, usually the week of Halloween. My point is there is way more going on than what made this calendar so branch out, enjoy, and if you see something really good I totes expect you to call and share the wealth! Wait no …. Text … don’t call. NEVER CALL! Anyway, that’s what good friends are for … you are my friend right?! Right?! RIGHT ?! OK good whew thought I lost you there for a second.
• I’m breaking a  rule for this year’s calendar … and it’s my calendar so I have that power. Don’t like it … get your own calendar. There’s a new teen-witch drama premiering on Freeform (then later on Disney+ and Hulu cause why not) called Coven Academy. It premieres Thursday, October 1 at 7 my time (8 eastern). Set in New Orleans and created by Tim Federle, it stars Tiffani Thiessen and features a guest turn from Devon Sawa. They had me at Devon Sawa they sold it with bringing Kelly back to my TV! While this calendar is not for established shows that may have a Halloween theme I’m making an exception or for this limited run cause frankly I want to and it’s my calendar.
• Hallmark is again airing a “Haul out the Halloween” as part of their Fall into Love movie lineup in October and features the ever amazing Lacy Chabert. I think it aired for the first time last year or the year before and then they revisited the family from Haul out the Holly or some jazz like that cause if Hallmark has proven anything it’s that when something works they are going to run it into the ground. However, I loved Lacy on Party of Five and will forever support her or Scott Wolf, or any of the rest of that cast of that show (it was that good people and I think it’s on Apple TV+ if you are interested). There are several other Halmark shows that made the calendar this time around. There’s also “The Spirit of Halloween (Oct 10^th) and Pumpkin Regatta Romance which originally aired in September but will re-air in October so it’s gets it’s place too !
• Of course there are streaming options ….. Peacock has just released the full official trailer for the Friday the 13th prequel series Crystal Lake, produced by A24, which I admit sounds really interesting; There’s a new “Carrie” series on Prime Video; and Shutter started airing Halloweenish programing in September and will continue through October if you have that, which I don’t. I believe they call it “Season of Screams” which sounds fun!
• The Travel Channel has some interesting findings such as “These Woods are Haunted” with several episodes featuring a haunted church, haunted mobile home, and a Cabin in the woods … There is also a series that talks about Urban Legend’s  but those are regular episodes and that’s not what this calendar is about. They also have all the haunted/ghost hunter type shows, if interested.
• Finally, AppleTV+ is letting Charlie Brown out of his cage offering free programming for the holiday season Tune in on Saturday, October 17th and Sunday, October 18th to catch up on Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, and all their pals. No Apple TV subscription will be needed to watch on either day. Use that same time frame to watch The Crowded Room and then come back and tell me what you thought cause I love talking to people about that show! They will also do this for the Thanksgiving show (Nov 14^th and 15^th) and for Christmas (Dec. 12^th and 13^th) but that’s another calendar.

So, enjoy a scare, carve a pumpkin, eat all the good candy, eat it all then buy some more for the little beggers who grace your front door at the end of the month (or during your Trunk or Treats) just do whatever you need to in order to keep Mariah at bay a little bit longer. Good lord X-mas back off we still have Turkey day to get through after all! 

Happy Spooky Season,

Marcy

Holidays, weddings, and missing family

Oh my goodness it’s may and we have only had two bloc postings. That’s not going to cut it. I have read lately that a typical blog post is about 1,500 words. I don’t know how often I have adhered to that. I usually just pick a topic and write until I get done telling the story. For instance, today I am focused on the fact that it’s Memorial Day weekend. On a weekend I traditionally have driven to Golden’s house to fart around, watch movies, laugh, talk, play games, sleep, eat good food, see her family, sleep, and sometimes go to a book store. Ok most of the time we end up at a bookstore. Sometimes I even buy but mostly I browse. This of course didn’t happen this year but not because me and my partner in crime have had a falling out but because of a very special reason that I’ll talk about in a few minutes. I think she understands, I hope she does. Lord knows I look forward to these long weekends hanging out together and I think she does too. Afterall, when I come into town it’s one of the few reasons her job leaves her along (kind of) for a few days. She also gets someone that can play with Mighty other than herself.

The reason I didn’t make to see them this time is that my youngest nephew got married. I couldn’t imagine missing that not even for Golden. Love her but love him more. Friday was the rehearsal and Saturday was the big day. Today I am exhausted. It’s been a busy few days but I’ve also been sick all week long. It hit me light a freight train on last Saturday and Sunday threw me to the floor. Monday I went to the doc in a box and demanded a steroid shot which they gave me. That was it. Well they did give me cough medicine but it makes me dizzy so I can only take it at night. Tuesday I lost my voice. Wednesday it was gone completely. Thursday I couldn’t even make a sound. I put them on notice, cause I was supposed to read a passage of scripture as part of the service. At that moment I wasn’t sure I’d be able to. Friday I was making a little noise. I didn’t have a lot of volume tho. I tried to not talk very much but as festivities were happening that was harder cause I didn’t want to ignore people. Friday I was squeakey. I really wasn’t sure I could do it. I asked about an understudy. They really wanted me to do it and I really wanted to do it for them. I forged ahead. Prayed to every God I knew that my voice would come back even for that moment alone. My nearly 2 year old niece knows sign language which fascinates me. She can say more, she can say done, she can say thank you, she can say of course hi and bye, but the one I love most is her saying no more. As in I don’t want any more. I used that one a lot on Friday night. Begging people to stop talking to me so I could hold whatever was left for the reading.

Saturday morning came and I had a little more volume but it would come and go. I was readying 1 Corinthians chapter 13 … the one about what love is and what it means … I had been practicing for months. I walked up to the podium opened my mouth and talked. It wasn’t very confident but it was noise. It wasn’t squeaky and it didn’t crack so I call that a win. Immediately after the service my voice was gone again. I was back to a whisper only even the baby asked if I was ok. I was thrilled cause I had just enough juice to show up for two of the most important people in my circle on their biggest day. It was a beautiful service and the couple is leaving for their honeymoon on Monday. I’m so excited for them as they start this new chapter in their lives. At 22 it’s good to have all the important decisions out of the way. . . education . . . marriage … a job …. The rest will fall into place.

My other favorite human … my oldest nephew got married in 2023. His person had already graduated he was still in pharmacy school and they were ready to start their lives. I admit I don’t remember much about that day. I remember her being a lovely bride and him being very handsome in his suit but the details are fuzzy and not just because it’s been 3 years and a lot has happened in that time. Back in 2003, my mom had just gotten out of the hospital, after nearly dying, on Wed before the wedding. We had approval from her doctor that she could go but we needed to watch her. Make sure she was comfortable and as we drove the 3 hours to the service that we stop several times and let her walk around to reduce the opportunity for blood clots. My entire focus on that day was on her. Making sure she was comfortable, making sure she was able to get from point a to b and she did great all day. She was drug allover that church by the photographer and she took every step she was asked to take and more. It took her days to recover but it was a lovely day. Their wedding was in Montgomery, kind of the half way point between his family and hers. It was a cute church, more grand on the outside and more country church on the inside. We drove up on Friday and spent the night thinking that would make less stress on mom. Drove home that night after the wedding, leaving long before the young couple did. Looking back on the pictures I can remember a few things, like them doing communion with us, the ring bearer putting the ring box on his head and twirling around during the service, Andrew was his best man, as McNeil was to him, and McNeil almost losing it when he saw Tylin for the first time. Andrew too lost it seeing his bride come down the aisle. He was overcome with emotion most of the service but was able to do what he needed to do when it was time. I was really proud of him. You could tell how much this moment really meant to him. I am also taken a back by those at that ceremony who couldn’t be at this one for whatever reason. Grandmamma for one was very missed and yet her presence was all over the place. Someone even gave Andrew a pin to wear that had a picture of him and Grandmamma on it and it was a lovely touch. 

I am very blessed to have seen them both get to this point. I hope to be at many more milestones over the years to come. Watching McNeil dancing with his nearly 2 year old at Andrew’s wedding is something I’ll never forget. Having Andrew and his bride hunt me down to get a picture with me when there were so many others pulling on them makes me cry thinking about it right now. I’ve always said I loved being part of their everyday world and yesterday was just another example of that. I love being their Aunt it’s by far my favorite title.

So, while I miss my bestie…. I was exactly where I needed to be and I’m sure she understands, if not she will when it’s her nieces getting ready to walk down that aisle postponing all her plans.

Until next time, enjoy your memorial day holiday. Remember what it is about, focus on those who gave everything to allow us the freedom to enjoy it and hopefully at some point throw something on a grill get something cold to drink and talk to your family while it cooks. You will never regret doing that. Trust me.

Marcy (@beaslma)  

PS 12,84 words aint bad 😊

Fun Suprises ! #BlogwithaPurpose #RaisingCane

I heart Chicken, mostly when it’s cooked. Especially when it’s fried and served along side French fries.  So Raising Canes is my go to after a bad/long meeting, during a long week, if I’m happy or sad. It’s really good, hot food, quickly served and delicious every single time. Just thinking about the Cane’s sauce makes my mouth water. It’s not too far from my office and I admit to eating there more of than one likely should eat anything deep fried. However that’s between me and my doctor.

Back during the 2025 Christmas season I was on a mad dash to add to my Raising Canes’ plushy collection. See Raising Canes is more than just really GREAT Chicken Fingers (they also have amazing sweet tea), they also give back to local communities where their stores are located. Every year they partner with a Christmas movie and create special plushies of their beloved mascot “Cane” representing that movie. These are usually available from early November until supplies run out. When you buy one you are supporting animal welfare organizations with proceeds benefiting local rescues and shelters. Plus they are always freaking adorable.

Since the store opened near me, I have been able to participate in the Elf and National Lampoon Vacation celebrations. Over the years there have been more, I know for a fact I’ve seen Frosty the Snowman Cane puppies on the internet but I choose to look ahead not back (cause that was all I could find). The point is this is a yearly tradition that I love and fully support with my entire soul. I am always excited  to see what the new plush is going to be. I have the Christmas Tree Cane (from Elf) and the Clark Griswold Cane (from well if you don't know ... we can't be friends) and use them as my office décor during the holidays.

 The 2025 Plushy was for A Christmas Story … it featured Ralphie Cane (in his Christmas PJs), Fra-Gee-Lay Cane (complete with the leg lampshade and the fragile box), and the holy grail …. The Pink Bunny Cane. I was on the hunt for a Bunny Cane cause I LOVE Ralphie and his pink nightmare. This is my all time favorite Christmas movie. I even like the sequel (did you know there was a Christmas Story 2??) and of course I LOVED A Christmas Story Christmas a few years ago that deserves far more love than it gets.

Alas the Pink Bunny Cane alluded me at every turn. I tried online, I called other stores, it was sold out everywhere. I was not destined to get this to add to my collection. I almost got the Fra-Gee-Lay as a consolation prize when it was clear I wasn’t going to get one I really wanted but decided not too. I didn’t need another random plushy that would just collect dust. . . . I was a sad Marcy for a while but the holiday’s came and like Ralphie my mind shifted to other important matters.

Weeks passed and suddenly on my various social media feeds (yes I follow Rasin Cane’s on social media … what you don’t) was a Canes video with Peter Billingsly (AKA Ralphie) talking about the promotion. They raised over $500,000 for pet charities They also donated over 400,500 Cane’s Bikes and Helmets to the Boys and Girls club. Upon seeing this video I just happened to mention on one of the platforms that I tried so hard to get the Pink bunny but was not successful. A day or so later I get a DM from Rasin Canes asking for my address. I usually don’t participate in those things figuring they are a hoax but since I wasn’t giving credit card information I wrote them back. I thought it was ironic that I was answering the DM while eating at a Raising Cane after a particularly long week and a stupid meeting. It’s my happy place what else can I say.

TWO DAYS later, on a Sunday mind you, a giant box appeared on my front porch as I arrived home from Church. Guys. THEY SENT ME A GIANT PINK BUNNY CANE !!!!  He’s absolutely perfect I love him so much and while they already had my heart Rasing Canes has a customer for life. I love when places use their outreach for good. I love when they use their brand for good and Rasing Canes does it better than anyone I know. The way they don’t just open a store they open a location that is truly community driven. My store alone supports the local college and high school teams, has fund raiser nights for various local clubs and organizations. That support is staying within the area that supports the store and I love that the most. I can't wait to introduce him to his "younger brothers" ha! 

If you don’t have a Raising Canes near you, you will soon as they are adding new stores every year. If you do have one check them out the food is fantastic but what’s going on behind the scenes is even better and definately worthy of a #BlogWithAPurpose post 

Marcy

2025 Blessing Jar

So Christmas before last (2024) our “gift” at church (the church always gives the congregation a small gift usually on Christmas Eve, made by the youth) was a Blessing Jar. It’s a little plastic jar with a sticker on it that says “blessings.” The goal being that we’d write down our “blessings” throughout the year and drop it in the jar. On Christmas Eve we are to open said Jar and remember all the blessing we have received over the past year. I liked this idea and fully embraced it. I didn’t drop a blessing in every day but when something good would happen I’d write it out on the piece of paper, put the date and drop it in the Jar. Even tho I got my Jar on Christmas Eve I dropped in a few in December as little Olia made her way into the world. I also have blessings in the jar for January, Feburary, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, and well December. So I did better than I thought I did looking back on them.  

A few highlights include:

• 12-31-2024- Olia has been discharged, everyone is home and a family of three starts this next phase of this journey
• 1-18-2025 Got up super early and made our way to Pittsview to officially meet Olia in person. She is so adorable. She slept most of the day but was a trooper with being passed around so much.
• 1-21-2025 Mobile got 6-10 inches of honest to God Snow.
• 1-27-2025 I turned xx I’m blessed with family, friends and loved ones who reached out in various ways to say HBD. I keep thinking of my cousins Kevin who didn’t make it to this age (brain tumor). Am I living up to my potential ?
• 2-4-2025 Volkert turns 100 today. A great achievement and one that a lot of companies don’t get to celebrate.
• 2-2-2025 Uncle Ernest passed away today. Grateful that I got to see him back in January when we stopped by after seeing Olia. He made it to 89.
• 4-19-2025 Andrew asked Alana to marry him and she said yes. There will be a wedding in 2026, a graduation too for both of them. Proud of them. She’s lovely and already fits in well with our group.
• 5-12-2025 McNeil graduated with a  doctorate in Pharmacy today.
• 6-8-20205 Golden and I went to Atlanta to see the Stray Kids. I’ve never seen her more excited for a thing ever! I admit I didn’t know them before this but I’m glad she introduced me to them they put on a great show. I had to manually control her light stick cause we couldn’t sync them up but she only noticed that half way through the show
• 7-18-2025 McNeil is a fully licensed Pharmacist! I am so proud of him and how hard he works. The kid is hella smart and focused.
• 7-30-2025 – Mrs. Danley’s funeral was today (Paula’s mom). She had a brain tumor and while her battle was short it wasn’t easy. The boys took it really hard. I’m proud of them tho they both held themselves together when it counted. McNeil sang a song. They both were pallbearers. Alana even made the trip down from school for it.
• 8-15-2025 – Mom had bypass surgery today. It was scary but she did really well. Several friends came and sat with us during the surgery which was nice. I think dad really appreciated it.
• 9-1-2025 – I made it to Dragon Con ! Neil and Dad insisted that I go so I did but I thought about mom the entire time. The day I left she was moved to a room. The following day she was moved back to ICU as her oxygen kept dropping for very little reason. I couldn’t fully focus on DragonCon but we tried to do all the things. I ended up coming back early and mom was super excited to see me. So I’m glad I did that.
• 9-6-2025 – mom and dad celebrated their 55^th anniversary in a rehab room, mom’s getting stronger and that’s the best gift she can give him.
• 9-24-2025 – MOM IS HOME!!!!!
• 10-3-2025 – Andrew and Alana drove home so that we could throw a pumpkin party. I got to carve pumpkins with my favorite people and I’ve never been happier. Grateful this tradition means as much to them as it does me.
• 12-25-2025 – OLIA IS ONE!!!  Or as we say around here … Olia is ONDERFUL. Best gift we ever got.

I like the idea of the Blessing Jar … I plan to continue it into the new year …. What to do with the old ones… I want to save them some how … maybe I’ll find an envelope and drop it in the Jar too. It was fun looking back at them this year. Maybe I’ll do better this year about including more things in the Jar not just the big stuff.

Here’s to a great 2026 for everyone far and wide, I wonder what blessings it will hold. 

Marcy