When I was growing up, Halloween was a big, exciting holiday. I think it was probably the golden age of parties and trick or treating. I lived in a rural neighborhood without streetlamps or sidewalks, but we still managed to fill our paper grocery sacks with treats. And when I say treats, I am talking about the old fashioned goodies. I remember homemade popcorn balls, caramel apples, cookies, and full sized candy bars. This changed a lot by the time I was raising my children. There was a time when hospitals were doing screenings of treats and the rule was to throw away anything that wasn't safely packaged. By then, most kids only went to houses of people they knew. Now, I think there are lots of prescheduled events, such as Trunk or Treat in school parking lots. Kids still go trick or treating in some areas though. My last house was in a neighborhood with good lighting, wide streets, and sidewalks. We were told before Beggars Night that people came from all over town. So the first year, I was prepared with lots of candy. My mom and husband were back-ups and we all sat on our porch on a beautiful evening and listened to silly jokes. But by the end of the evening, I was raiding my kitchen for fruit and granola bars and just trying not to have to turn our lights out early. I kept a tally, and we actually had over 500 visitors our first night. It stayed the same for all six years I lived there. After I moved, it was back to only a few. I had a lot of leftover candy to eat. In our area , the trick or treaters still tell jokes, but I understand that isn't so popular as it used to be.
Our childhood costumes were pretty elaborate sometimes, but always homemade. Even as a child, I was usually a gypsy. One year I was a princess, wearing my aunt's old high school formal. It was pink and sparkly, and I got to wear my pony tail down and curly. I felt so glamourous. I was also wearing my winter coat and snow boots. Weather in our area can be pretty unpredictable! Another year my two friends and I went as the Three Stooges. I was Moe, and we had a little comedy routine. Sometimes we had to work for those caramel apples!
When my own children were growing up, they were usually pirates, gypsies, ghost brides, or bums with coffee ground beards. Creative costuming was not a strong point with me. I think maybe because I was involved with Christmas craft shows at that time, and was busy making things to sell for the next holiday. Sometimes we purchased a costume, but not often. We went to several Halloween parties for grown ups back in the days when we had couple friends, but I usually stuck to my basic costume. We had friends who were really a lot more creative. I remember a party when John was Kermit the Frog, and his wife was Miss Piggy. She was really a genius with Halloween. Once again, I was a gypsy.
I picked this photo because of the children bobbing for apples. We used to actually do this at parties! I can't even imagine it now, but we all thought it was a lot of fun at the time. This little walk down Memory Lane was interesting, but now I am feeling rather old. Until tomorrow #blogtober2021
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