Like many devout Halloween-lovers, this part of the year is a time of mourning. Our month-long celebration has ended, and the reality sinks in that we have to wait another year for the mystery and magic to come back. Luckily for me, I tend to love holidays in general (I also get a little bummed post-Christmas), but nothing replaces my sweet October.

For years I have thought, how do we continue to celebrate Halloween through the holiday season? I find that Thanksgiving and Christmas tend to go hand-in-hand. They have similar food, time spent with families, and themes of sleigh rides through snowy forests. Some even celebrate Thanksgiving a couple of weeks late in early December if they are unable to make big plans before then. But what about Halloween? How can it be so quickly forgotten?

So I am proposing a compromise that will combine Halloween and Christmas in the most efficient and enjoyable way possible, for holiday-enthusiasts everywhere:

Spooky Christmas

Spooky Christmas can occur in early December, long after most talk of Halloween is gone. The beginnings of the Christmas season will just be taking place, but most won't want to start watching Christmas movies and listening to jolly tunes just yet at the fear of getting burned out before December 25th actually arrives.

I simply want to put a twist on typical Christmas activities, while giving Halloween the last "hurrah" it deserves.

After all, aren't the lyrics: "There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long long ago!" sort of telling?

(By the way I was confirming what song that was from with Tobias, my boyfriend, and he said Isn't it Frosty the Snowman? To which I replied Um, Frosty isn't telling the children ghost stories that would be terrifying. --It's from It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. But a scary Frosty stalking the neighborhood children with stories of terror is a GREAT Spooky Christmas element. We have to work that in somehow.)

Without further delay, here is the recipe for a perfect Spooky Christmas. Feel free to make tweaks and changes for your preferences as necessary.

1. Set up a nativity scene, but with skeleton humans and animals as the figures. Okay, this might be a little blasphemous, but it would also be ADORABLE, could freshen up a really old concept, and above all: TOTALLY SPOOKY. When talking about this idea before, I was informed that there is a zombie nativity scene somewhere in Ohio as a small tourist destination. So, visiting the zombie nativity could also be a fun spooky Christmas activity to put in the mix!

2. Watch spooky Christmas movies. Oh yeah, they totally exist. Need some ideas for a spooky Christmas night? You can get started with these:

-The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

-Gremlins (1984)

-Scrooged (1988)

-A Christmas Carol (2009)

-Krampus (2015)

-Black Christmas (1974)

Also, if you Google "scary Christmas movies" you're going to find a frightening list. Or you can check out Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) if you want a Christmas slasher flick.

3. Decorate Christmas cookies, but make 'em spooky. You can still make festive creations, but add a touch of Halloween! Bake those traditional sugar cookies, bust out the orange frosting and black sprinkles, and you have the best of both worlds.

4. Make spooky ornaments! A cut-out of a bat in mid flight and some spider rings would look stellar amidst the snowflakes and candy canes on your Christmas Tree. The same decorations every year can get boring. Adding a little bit of spooky into your tree-decorating routine is sure to make this holiday season one for the books.

5. Tell those ghost stories! I mean, the song did say to. I think the verse includes sitting around a fire, so gather around a fireplace (or fake fireplace because I definitely don't have a chimney) and tell some chilling ghost stories with your friends while snuggling in a pile of blankets. You can even do some research and find a few with holiday themes!

There you have it. 5 ways to get your spooky Christmas started. And I am always open to more ideas too (so please share them with me!). This concept has been in the works for a while, and this year--I'M DOING IT. Also, apparently during Halloween weekend, I "had too much to drink" and "did things I don't remember" like singing Have yourself, a spooky little Christmas over and over.

I hope you plan to make your dark, snowy nights just a little bit haunting, and have a fantastic week. Stay spooky, my friends.