Happy Halloween!
My Halloween partying goes way back. Here I am at my very first one.
There were other kids there, I swear. My mom set up everything in the basement of my grandparents’ house. Look at that spread! A Jack o’ lantern centerpiece. Cupcakes topped with candy corn. The caramel and candied apples. We pre-schoolers bobbed for apples and played pin the tail on the donkey. Man, Mom! You killed it!
As I got a little older, trick-or-treating became the it thing to do. Mom would stay home and pass out candy. Dad would take me out trick-or-treating. What I remember most from trick-or-treating in Northeast Ohio? Bundling up so much to guard against the cold that it voided out my costume.
Here’s an example:
I think there’s at least three layers going on there.
I did go through a phase where I’d buy those costumes in a box with a plastic mask. But mostly I remember the costumes that my mom made for me.
In elementary school, she made me a flowered yellow gown and I wore one of her wigs with sausage curls as a Southern belle. I won a prize!
Later I was a fairy queen and an elf courtesy of Mom and her sewing machine.
(Hey, no short jokes.)
I think the only time G and I dressed up as a couple was years ago in Michigan. We showed up as Neo and Trinity.
Otherwise, we’ve been homebodies at Halloween. When we had a house, we sat on the stoop surrounded by pumpkins and gourds and handed out candy to the trick-or-treaters.
For years now, we’ve lived in apartments or condos so our Halloween festivities are quiet and simple.
I take out a few decorations for my own amusement.
I bake a few things.
I watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown special and I squeeze in a few old classic movies like Dracula, The Mummy, and Frankenstein. Frank has always been my favorite.
I also have an annual date on Halloween night with that crazy mama’s boy, Norman Bates.
And I still carve a pumpkin.
As an adult, do you still have Halloween traditions or activities? Do you have a secret stash of your favorite candy at your fingertips?
Thanks again for reading. I care about you. You’ve been so good, go ahead and have the candy this week.
Boo!
Our tradition is usually carving pumpkins, (well, the guys do) while I bake cookies, but this year we decided to skip it for the time being. I think we'll still give it a go later in the week even though Halloween will be over!
Love your stories. Always a treat. Teepee. 😂