Happy Halloween Week 🙂
Isn’t it amazing how Halloween decorating becomes more and more popular with every passing year? When I was a kid, although it was an important holiday – especially to kids! 😉 – the decorations were much more sparse than the intricate scenes we see today.
Of course, when I was in grade school, the teachers did sprinkle cardboard cut-outs of jack-o’-lanterns and black cats on bulletin boards and throughout the hallways. You might even see an accordian-fold paper skeleton at a Girl Scout Halloween party – but there was very little outside decorating – anywhere!
As it got closer and closer to Halloween night, many families would carve a pumpkin, and that became the most commonly seen home decoration of the era. (Era? Yikes, I sound old!) 😉
The costumes were not as elaborate in those days either, but had much more of a homemade look. Mom’s make-up, her broom, costume jewelry, bed sheets, cardboard boxes, construction paper, poster paints, tin foil, etc. were magically transformed into costumes for glamorous gypsy fortune tellers, witches, ghosts, robots, spacemen, and more!
It was an innocent time – long before we had to worry about some nut tampering with Halloween candy. It was more the norm than the exception for people to create little “goody bags” of treats to pass out to each child. Grownups would buy several large bags of various Halloween candies and create their own special assortments to give!
In fact, as a child, my very favorite “treat” to receive was that little homemade “bundle” of assorted candies. They were either wrapped up in a decorative Halloween napkin that was twisted closed, or presented in a small Halloween-themed paper bag. Oh how I loved to return home after trick-or-treating and discover what was inside each one of those little surprise packages! 😀
When my own kids were little (in the height of the “only accept wrapped candy” warnings), I remember that I felt rather sad that they would never really experience the Halloween of my youth. They typically received a bunch of mini candy bars during their Halloween rounds. Good, but not the same.
The weekly question is:
What are your favorite memories of Halloweens past?
Smiles,
Walking (running) in the dark from house to house – it was scary on a Halloween night. We just knew that the goblins, witches, and zombies were out to get us. Another favorite memory – watching the old Frankenstein movies. I loved Laurel and Hardy in the many mummies they did – so funny (helped to take the scare out of the mummies)
O, I have so so many great memories of halloween, but they are the ones I shared with my daughter and my grandsons. Laurie really gets into the spirit. (A chip off the old block). She used to dress up when she took them around the neighborhood, just like her mom did.
I think one of my favorite memories was when Corey was little they entered a costume contest sponsered by the local radio station. Corey was a fisherman and his dog was the fish. It was cute. Laurie made the costume. They didn’t win, but it was fun.
The countdown is on!!
I have great memories of dressing up as a child and going trick or treating. I remember being a clown several times (we had a clown costume that we got at a garage sale), I was also a jockey since I had all the riding attire. We just added a satin jacket with a number pinned to the back. I think my favorite costume was a big game hunter: I wore my dad’s hunting stuff and put a tiger tail in the game pocket on the back of the jacket & carried a toy gun. My sister had the best costume one year: she was Flo from the TV show “Alice”. She wore a pink waitress uniform and a red wig and had a sign that said “Kiss my grits!”. (I hope someone besides me remembers that show)
My daughter has always chosen sort of ordinary costumes: Indian, witch, etc, although one year she was a whoopie cushion! We have had more fun dressing up the bassets; they have been a court jester, an Indian (the same year Annelise was), and last year one was a banana. They don’t last long trick or treating, though. Their short legs are not built for long distances!
I wanted to add: I think it is so silly that they no longer have “Halloween” parties at school, they are now called “Harvest” parties. (At least that is what is done around here)
It’s kind of like calling sitting Indian style “criss cross applesauce”.
Yes Allison!
I remember Flo and Alice and all the gang at Mel’s Diner! For a while there, it seemed everyone loved to say “Kiss my grits!”. 🙂
I loved going trick or treating with my cousins. One year we all went as tigers and another time we were the rock group KISS. Fun times. Now I dress up the dog and we enter the local costume contests. He’s been a ghoul, king, pirate, and a gingerbread man. THis year for the Jingle Bell dog run he will be a Christmas tree. My cousin helps me make his costume when we all get together for Thanksgiving.
I don’t normally print the weekend holidays, but there are too many funny ones this week that I have to include them!!!
This week the celebrations include
10/25 World pasta day
10/26 World Wide Howl at the Moon Night
10/28 National Chocolates day
10/29 Frankenstein Friday
10/30 *Haunted Refrigerator Night, Create A Great Funeral Day and National Candy Corn Day.
10/31 HALLOWEEN, National Caramel Apple Day, National UNICEF Day, and National Knock-Knock Jokes Day.
I personally think that National Caramel Apple day deserves a day all its own. So I’m going to celebrate that one on another day (or maybe with all of them I have eaten I have been celebrating it already).
Oh Crystal…This is such a sweet post! It brought back a flood of good memories. My favorite part of Halloween was making those little goodies bags you spoke of! I’d plop myself down on the den rug, surrounded by piles of the candy my mother had bought and those special little goodie bags, and have a blast filling them! Sometimes I still do, but lately the candy has been so darn expensive, and there are so many trick-or-treaters, that I just offer a big bowl of candy at the door, and they can choose what they like. Some of the kids are so cute, and very gingerly pick out one piece of candy…then I have to coax them to take another…other’s just grab a BIG handful, and I always get hysterical when that happens, especially when their mother’s look like they just want to crawl under the bushes from embarassment! Oh…I just love Halloween! It’s on a Sunday this year too, which means even MORE cute kiddies all day long! FUN, FUN, FUN!!! …Nope, I’ll never grow up! xoxo’s Paulette
I can’t believe I missed this post!
My favorite Halloween memories came from trick-or-treating with my best friend- we were tall enough people always thought we were too old, even when we were just 9! But it meant we were safe from the bigger kids, because we WERE the bigger kids! But everyone gave us candy anyway, because it was just fun.
My very favourite memory of Halloween,
when I was 5 to 7 years old, was going to
the elderly ladies house down the street
and receiving a popcorn ball. I would often
think of that popcorn ball throughout the
year and look forward to going to her house,
again.