princesses and pirates and ninjas--oh, my
Last night was my first Halloween in the house. I made it back in town in time to grab some candy for what I hoped would be many trick-or-treaters. There are lots of children in the neighborhood although my view may be skewed somewhat due to the after-school daycare that is down the street.
We grew up in the country. There was no walking out the front door to the neighbor's house. We were driven the few miles into town and mostly trick-or-treated at homes of people we (meaning our parents) knew. Dad would drive us wearing this burlap bag he turned into a crude, creepy mask. It really startled people. And we'd wear our old-school plastic costumes and plastic masks (that would surely be deemed unsafe these days due to the threat of suffocating or melting to skin if set ablaze). We did not take our candy to have it x-rayed. We did not stay out late. Instead, we went back home to revel in the glory of our loot.
In some ways, this Halloween was similar. I've grown accustomed to society being afraid of everything these days. I expected maybe a few kids whose parents took them around at dusk wearing much fancier costumes than the ones in my day. In fact, I had twenty kids (20!) ranging from the 4-year-old Snow White to the early teenage boys in street clothes and masks, just out to get a little free candy. No costume was super elaborate. None were handmade like I had in the slightly-less-old days. The thing that surprised me, though, was that no one came until it was honest-to-God after dark. The last few rolled in around 9:45. I turned off the light after that.
All-in-all, it was a good evening. It was fun to see the kids in costumes. They were all very polite. A few little girls even said they loved my house which totally scored them extra pieces of candy. My house has not been vandalized--from what I can see out the window anyway. And I'm only left with about half the candy with which I started. Not too shabby. I'm off to count it and organize it and revel in it...
We grew up in the country. There was no walking out the front door to the neighbor's house. We were driven the few miles into town and mostly trick-or-treated at homes of people we (meaning our parents) knew. Dad would drive us wearing this burlap bag he turned into a crude, creepy mask. It really startled people. And we'd wear our old-school plastic costumes and plastic masks (that would surely be deemed unsafe these days due to the threat of suffocating or melting to skin if set ablaze). We did not take our candy to have it x-rayed. We did not stay out late. Instead, we went back home to revel in the glory of our loot.
In some ways, this Halloween was similar. I've grown accustomed to society being afraid of everything these days. I expected maybe a few kids whose parents took them around at dusk wearing much fancier costumes than the ones in my day. In fact, I had twenty kids (20!) ranging from the 4-year-old Snow White to the early teenage boys in street clothes and masks, just out to get a little free candy. No costume was super elaborate. None were handmade like I had in the slightly-less-old days. The thing that surprised me, though, was that no one came until it was honest-to-God after dark. The last few rolled in around 9:45. I turned off the light after that.
All-in-all, it was a good evening. It was fun to see the kids in costumes. They were all very polite. A few little girls even said they loved my house which totally scored them extra pieces of candy. My house has not been vandalized--from what I can see out the window anyway. And I'm only left with about half the candy with which I started. Not too shabby. I'm off to count it and organize it and revel in it...
Comments
So can it be like the old days to where we both count and organize candy and then trade for stuff we like or dislike?
BTW -- thanks for the card and candy
The Brother
We took Drew Bear out to the few houses of people on our block that we know, and apparently got a TON of kids come by while we were gone. We ran out of candy!
Katie
cph
cph