Halloween Memories
Ever wish you could go back in time and trick or treat again like you did when you were a kid? I do!
Yes, those were the days. The weeks of planning your costume on a meager family budget. Rumaging through drawers, closets and attics for items to complete that special outfit you thought of all by yourself.
And if Halloween fell on the weekend, well, that was just too cool!!! You could stay up late gorging on all of the great candy you brought home!! That is, after it was thoroughly checked by mom and dad.
For me, one year, it was going as the cleaning woman that Carol Burnett used to play at the end of her sitcom show. It really was an easy costume to put together. An old dress of mom's, saggy panty hose and the mop in my bucket turned me into her character in a matter of minutes.
I romped through our old neighborhood with my two older sisters. Clouds raced across the moonlit skies. It was cold but we didn't feel it. Kids never do, especially on Halloween. We tried to remember the houses whose occupants had given us the best candy the year before. In the seventies, people oftentimes would invite you right into their homes. It was safer back then to do this even though our parents would have been mortified if we had admitted to going inside a stranger's home. I'll never forget one huge Victorian house we went to. My sisters and I rang the doorbell and were thrilled when a costumed lady came to the door and spookily beckoned us inside. Erie music was playing from somewhere in the back of the house and the smell of candles hung in the air.
"Come into the dining room, kids," Morticia told us. "I have some special treats prepared!" Our stomachs were gurgling in anticipation as we followed her deeper into the house. Even though we were scared to be inside her home, we couldn't help but be enticed by what lay before us. There, on her candlelit table, was the best selection of Halloween goodies a kid could ask for. Candy apples,cupcakes, every kind of cookie you could want and all of the best full-sized candy bars beckoned us forward like an announcer in a freak show. The center of the table held a huge, crystal punch bowl with a frothy concoction to deliciously wash down the vast array of culinary delights. We were in Halloween heaven!
Morticia insisted that we fill our cups with punch and also partake of the frightfully good treats. We crammed our faces with Hersheys and popcorn balls and washed it down with the punch. Then, we filled our bags with more candy, thanked Morticia and ran out the door and on to the next house. It was epic.... : )
In today's modern age, you are lucky to receive chocolate candy bars. Most people buy the cheap candy combo bags that contain bubble gum, and tootsie roll knock-offs. Look familiar?
Some health nut parents even have the audacity to hand out such failures as raisins or even worse, the dreaded granola bag. My sister, however, still invests in the full-sized candy bars to hand out to the trick-or-treaters she gets. It's an annual rite that she really enjoys. I'm sure all of the kids in her neighborhood really love to go to her house! My home is in a more rural setting, so we don't get very many kids at our door. I try to buy at least a couple bags of the mini candy bars but I don't go all out like sis does.
Think back to when you were a kid and tell me what your best Halloween memory is. A special costume. A horrifying encounter. Something you weren't expecting....Fun, scary, hilarious. Let me know. Go back in time....
Yes, those were the days. The weeks of planning your costume on a meager family budget. Rumaging through drawers, closets and attics for items to complete that special outfit you thought of all by yourself.
And if Halloween fell on the weekend, well, that was just too cool!!! You could stay up late gorging on all of the great candy you brought home!! That is, after it was thoroughly checked by mom and dad.
For me, one year, it was going as the cleaning woman that Carol Burnett used to play at the end of her sitcom show. It really was an easy costume to put together. An old dress of mom's, saggy panty hose and the mop in my bucket turned me into her character in a matter of minutes.
I romped through our old neighborhood with my two older sisters. Clouds raced across the moonlit skies. It was cold but we didn't feel it. Kids never do, especially on Halloween. We tried to remember the houses whose occupants had given us the best candy the year before. In the seventies, people oftentimes would invite you right into their homes. It was safer back then to do this even though our parents would have been mortified if we had admitted to going inside a stranger's home. I'll never forget one huge Victorian house we went to. My sisters and I rang the doorbell and were thrilled when a costumed lady came to the door and spookily beckoned us inside. Erie music was playing from somewhere in the back of the house and the smell of candles hung in the air.
"Come into the dining room, kids," Morticia told us. "I have some special treats prepared!" Our stomachs were gurgling in anticipation as we followed her deeper into the house. Even though we were scared to be inside her home, we couldn't help but be enticed by what lay before us. There, on her candlelit table, was the best selection of Halloween goodies a kid could ask for. Candy apples,cupcakes, every kind of cookie you could want and all of the best full-sized candy bars beckoned us forward like an announcer in a freak show. The center of the table held a huge, crystal punch bowl with a frothy concoction to deliciously wash down the vast array of culinary delights. We were in Halloween heaven!
Morticia insisted that we fill our cups with punch and also partake of the frightfully good treats. We crammed our faces with Hersheys and popcorn balls and washed it down with the punch. Then, we filled our bags with more candy, thanked Morticia and ran out the door and on to the next house. It was epic.... : )
In today's modern age, you are lucky to receive chocolate candy bars. Most people buy the cheap candy combo bags that contain bubble gum, and tootsie roll knock-offs. Look familiar?
Some health nut parents even have the audacity to hand out such failures as raisins or even worse, the dreaded granola bag. My sister, however, still invests in the full-sized candy bars to hand out to the trick-or-treaters she gets. It's an annual rite that she really enjoys. I'm sure all of the kids in her neighborhood really love to go to her house! My home is in a more rural setting, so we don't get very many kids at our door. I try to buy at least a couple bags of the mini candy bars but I don't go all out like sis does.
Think back to when you were a kid and tell me what your best Halloween memory is. A special costume. A horrifying encounter. Something you weren't expecting....Fun, scary, hilarious. Let me know. Go back in time....
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