Halloween, when I was a kid, was the coolest time of the year. Not only was the weather in North Texas perfect but the excitement over this simple holiday was electric.
I remember looking so forward every year to getting my cheap plastic costume, you know the ones with the masks that had the little elastic string that went over your ears. Even though it was impossible to breathe and made you sweat like crazy, you were super stoked and ready to risk it all for this one night of the year.
It was always a magical time for me. For weeks, I would dream about what or who I wanted to be. A clown, princess, fairy, pirate, hobo or monster of some kind. A million ideas ran through my head. Then Mom would take me to the store and I would narrow down my choice until I found what I thought was the perfect costume. Thrilled beyond words, I would race home and try it on at least a dozen times before the big reveal.
All the neighborhood kids would get together and we would travel in packs. Come home with bags of candy. It was agony waiting for our parents to look through all the candy to make sure that it was safe to eat, which it always was.
When my kids were little, it was the same story. I would help them get their costumes together and would drive them all over the place it seemed to find that “jack pot” house or neighborhood with all the good candy. One year we ran across a house where they were giving out silver dollars!
One Hallows Eve I was at the store buying candy and ran across the cutest little boy. Me being me, struck up a conversation with him. I immediately asked him, “So what are you going to be for Halloween?” He looked up at me with shocked eyes and said, “Oh, I don’t get to dress up for Halloween”. I was floored! I’ll never forget that look.
As the years, have rolled by my love for Halloween has been steadfast. I have noticed that each year we have fewer and fewer trick or treaters. Because I always have an obnoxious display at our house I haven’t been trick or treating in years. That is until last year when my grandson came along. I got to take him for his first adventure. He was dressed as an angry minion. Super cute!
I noticed that there weren’t very many houses that participated and most of the ones who did just put a bowl of candy on the porch so the kids could help themselves. Shocking!
I was so disappointed and angry. I totally felt jipped! I have spent thousands of dollars and hours creeping out our home and that is the best you guys can do? How did I miss this over the years?
I know, I know, to each his own…blah blah blah. Whatever!
To me, Halloween is the one magical day of the year that you can be whoever or whatever you want to be. It’s not evil or malicious, it is just pure fantasy. It allows our children to be creative with or without a budget. It lets them reach down deep to come up with unique ideas and run with them. It’s one day for crying out loud!
Okay, I’m stepping down off my soap box.
With that being said, I pulled up a search on Google for Halloween Lovers. It brought up over 2 million hits. Though the clear majority of the information was for Adult costumes, recipes, etc. I must say I felt a little better.
So, whether you are the cutesy Halloween type or the scary Halloween type, I urge you to at least put some effort into it this year for all the kids who, like me, have been anxiously awaiting their big reveal and deserve to be rewarded for their efforts with those small, oh so sweet tokens. Oh yeah, chocolate is still king.