Halloween

Next to Christmas, Halloween was the holiday I most looked forward to as a child. My memories of Halloween start when I was old enough to go out with other neighborhood kids, all of us clad in plastic sweaty masks and maybe a cheap costume worn more-often-than-not over a winter coat. Most years the weather was blustery cold. Behind those masks our restricted vision and runny noses, paired with cumbersome costumes, would make for some precarious trips up and down the roads and yes, across alleys, through yards, and a couple of times on a dare...through one of the two cemeteries in my neighborhood. We loved it!

We would take old pillow cases and drag those things around with us for two - three hours, piling as much candy as possible into them. We mapped out our routes so as to maximize the number of houses we would hit. We always went to the house at the bottom of the hill first because those people were too busy to answer their door and so put a bushel basket of candy out on the front porch!!!! We had our favorite stops, not-so-favorite stops, and even a few houses that we didn't go to. By the end of the night, tired and cold, we would all make our way back home, anxious to check out our stash! I can remember separating my candy into "types" with candy bars being the big ticket item. While Clark Bars were a favorite Halloween treat, Mallow Cups followed a close second. They were a two-fold score because they were yummy tasting and inside the package were point cards. Now I can't tell you the purpose of those points and I don't think I ever sent off for anything...but I saved them nonetheless! Today Halloween candy takes up a couple of aisles in Target and the choices are endless; everything is prepackaged in individual servings and candy bars are in miniature (an obvious benefit). While I like the convenience, I am glad to be from the generation in which a candy bar was a candy bar...oh the joy!!!


My girls grew up during the time when our entertainment industry was being flooded with Halloween horror movies, and everything surrounding the holiday took a slightly gruesome turn. We lived in a great neighborhood and were still able to take the girls out to visit neighbors and enjoyed the trick-or-treaters (well there was the guy who dressed up in some sort of just-escaped-from-the-grave outfit and literally drug an ax along the road behind him...yea the police had to come take him away). Somehow the innocent candy-gathering holiday had lost a bit of its luster.

I still see commercials on TV that portray the traditional Halloween and I am hopeful that families with young children still tune into "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown," still carve pumpkins and roast pumpkin seeds, still ponder which would be the best costume to wear, and make plans to enjoy the evening with neighborhood friends and family.

We are going to visit family in Atlanta this weekend and hope to see carved pumpkins, trick-or-treaters, and fall colored leaves (my sister-in-law loves a good fall gathering so I'm certain she has this all in order)!! Check out some pictures from our past Halloweens and have a fun, safe, and candy-bar filled Halloween!!