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Whoami
Member
08-03-2001
| Friday, October 31, 2008 - 3:53 pm
Seems like an appropriate day for this. Give us your memories, good or bad. The Good: Mom making me a bumblebee costume, with a Dixie Cup as a stinger. When I was a wee one, some uncle or aunt had asked me what I "wanted to be" when I grew up, and I remember thinking that meant that a person had to choose an entirely different species to be when they grew up. I had my choices narrowed down to a bee or a dog. Not sure why I thought a bee would be a neat thing to be. But, since I guess everyone thought it was cute, Mom made me a bumblebee costume that year. The Not So Good but Good Anyway: 1) Being too poor most of the time for costumes, so we had to have home made ones. If we hadn't told Mom what we wanted to be, then we always went out as a bum. Disheveled clothes I guess weren't too hard to come up with. And for the bum's beard, mom smeared cigarette ashes on our face (ewww to think of that now!). 2) Other old standby was to be a ghost, with an old sheet just tossed over us. I remember one snowy Halloween where the bottom of my ghost costume was thoroughly soaked, and I was thoroughly miserable. 3) My older sis having the mumps (or one of those childhood ailments) on Halloween, and couldn't go out. My other sis had to take two bags, and ask for candy on behalf of sis who was home sick. The "World As We Knew It Has Changed" Dressing up in my tuxedo t-shirt/top hat to hand out candy. Looking out the window in anticipation of watching the street gradually fill up with clusters of children in costumes. Then the 1982 Tylenol scare happened. And I remember looking out the window that Halloween to a quiet and empty street. I remember how sad that made me feel, and realized that the world as we knew it was likely changed forever. The magic as it slowly waned. In our new house (moved here in 1986), I still did the tuxedo t-shirt thing. But I don't know if it was cause I was getting older, or if it was just the kinds of kids our neighborhood attracted. But I just sort of lost interest in it. There were only about 5 to 10 clusters of children dressed up in any given year before the teenagers took over. The last couple of hours of the night usually put me in a bad mood with them coming to the door with no costumes and an attitude. I was always glad to shut off my light for the night and call it over. The real kicker was when I had filled some giant trash bags (decorated with Halloween characters) with leaves and left them on the lawn, only to find them kicked apart and smashed all over the yard. And then driving down the street the next day seeing smashed pumpkins and destroyed decorations all over the place. When we got Boomer and Bomba in 1996, they were large boys, and got very animated when someone came to the door. It was very hard to hold them both back. We knew it would be a huge chore to hand out candy and hold them back from the door. So we decided that year to not hand out candy. In one way, it was sort of sad to end that tradition. But really I was also sort of relieved. Now that both the boys are at the Rainbow Bridge, we could start it up again. But we have a new adoptee, and she's quick and slippery. The risk of opening up the door several times in the night and holding her back still outweighs any desire I might have to start up the tradition again. And really, I'd have a problem with the "now that Bomba is gone, we can....." idea anyway. So, tonight the drapes are closed and the lights are dimmed, just like they have been the last 12 years. In those 12 years, when I sneak a peek out the window, I rarely (if ever) see any clusters of kids out and about. The local rec center hosts a "Halloween Safe Night" event now. Used to see the local mall sponsor a trick or treat event where the kids could go from store to store to collect candy. I suppose that's part of the world changing in 1982. The fondest memory of this time period is when a family came up to the door, complete with a big black dog wearing a tutu. I handed out candy to the kids, and a dog bone to the dog. But the dog was a very good girl and refused to take food from a stranger. So I gave it to her "daddy." I remember both Mom and Dad smiling big when I also acknowledged the dog's costume. I watched as they walked away from the door. I didn't see him give it to her, but I knew she got it, cause as they walked down the driveway I saw her chomping then smacking her lips.
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Escapee
Member
06-15-2004
| Friday, October 31, 2008 - 4:03 pm
GOODWe too were also poor and lived not too far from a thrift store. I remember finding a very large mens shirt one year that was fleece and tan. I bought it for .50 and found some wooden beaded necklaces for about $1. I took the shirtcut it up so the sleeves were fringed, the bottom was fringed (came to about my knees) and used a strip as a headband. Took the beads and tied them to each fringe and lo and behold I had an indian costume that looked like i had purchased it like that. I think i was 12 at the time. I don't remember what I wore on my feet. Probably my chuck's. WORST: I have a feeling it's going to be this year, so not prepared. Last year sucked too. Didn't make all the rounds and part of the family got really angry, like not speaking to me for a week angry.
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Beckie03
Member
07-05-2007
| Friday, October 31, 2008 - 4:11 pm
Good: even though it doesn't involve my family, one memory i will always remember was my freshman year of high school and me and my friend went out trick or treating. as most people now, people didn't like the fact that we trick or treated...but i dressed up as a frontier girl and my friend went as a blind and deaf person. not the funniest thing to make fun of, but it was hilarious to hear her yell trick or treat and just shove out her bag and people would be freaked. i know...i know...it's not nice to make fun of people...but it was fun. Worst: 2 years ago my friend threw a party on Halloween. my bf and i got all dressed up and went over there...had my mom drop of us so we could drink and not drive. we got there at 9, ended up leaving at 10. i had 5 shots and 3 drinks in a hour. to say the least...i was throwing up the entire night...was no fun. this year might top that...but we'll see...by tomorrow i could tell you for sure...
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Friday, October 31, 2008 - 4:20 pm
I have nothing but great memories of Halloween. I even met Dylan's bio-dad on Halloween. Looking back I realize we didnt have lots of money but I never knew it then. My mom made me costumes most of my life and I always had great ones. One I remember the most as a kid was when I went as a plate of spaghetti! LOL and in my 20s my mom made me the white Marilyn dress and put wire at bottom so it looked like it was blowing up. She was super talented. Now my memories are making Dylan look scary LOL Every year gets better cuz he gets older and I can get even more gruesome with the SPFX! LOL We got up at 5am today and started his transformation into Freddy's victim!!! I feared they would send him home but I didnt get a call, he is at the dance now, I pick him up at 5, cant wait to see if it was a hit/miss at school.
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Supergranny
Member
02-03-2005
| Friday, October 31, 2008 - 4:57 pm
My birthday was yesterday and I always say I just missed being a witch. Dh has to chime in and say he doesn't know about that. So my birthday parties have always been Halloween parties.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Friday, October 31, 2008 - 5:44 pm
I don't have bad Halloween memories either. It was always a fun time when we were young. My dad would always walk us and our friends around the neighborhood. We always had a nice haul. Of course, he would go through the candies in the guise of checking them but we knew he would be taking out his favorites. It was always fun taking my own kids around. My husband and I would usually trade off being the one to hand out candy or walking with the kids. We live in a wonderful neighborhood so it was always fun for them. I miss having them young enough to trick-or-treat. That does make me sad but I enjoy watching the neighborhood kids.
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Cablejockey
Member
12-27-2001
| Friday, October 31, 2008 - 6:19 pm
I have only good Halloween memories too. When I was a kid, it was right up there with Christmas! We planned our costumes weeks in advance, usually putting them together ourselves, and planned the route we'd take with meticulous detail. We'd scare ourselves silly with ghost stories about which house was sure to be haunted. We would go in a large group as we lived nearby and the whole evening was always an adventure. years later I got my kids ready, decorated the house and got just as excited about the whole thing as when I was a kid. Now my kids are too old to go out, but we still keep the old Halloween spirit alive. I usually find someone who wants to go out and walk around the neighbourhood to check out the decorations, the places that go all out, and just feel the excitement all around. Someone is at home to hand out the candy. Tonight was good because the weather warmed up so nice that you didnt need a coat on, and lots of the littler kids got to go out longer. Happy Halloween everyone--enjoy.
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Countrydaze
Member
11-07-2003
| Friday, October 31, 2008 - 6:41 pm
I love this site. I remember when I was in elementary school and we got to wear our costumes to school. We would have regular class and then sometime after lunch we would all line up in single file and walk outside around the school yard. On the way out the door we were each handed a big pretzel and our parents would be lined up to watch the parade of costumes. It might not seem like much, but at the time I remember being so excited about the day. Thank you Whoami for reminding me to remember such a happy memory.
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Friday, October 31, 2008 - 6:46 pm
I guess my best memories of Halloween are right now. Lots of kids out trick or treating in our neighborhood, my going around with my daughters and one of their friends and meeting friends and neighbors along the way and seeing and experiencing some truly stunning, imaginative and fun decorations. All great fun!
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Tess
Member
04-13-2001
| Friday, October 31, 2008 - 6:57 pm
I have great memories of Halloween as a little kid. It was the late 50s and most of the 60s and I lived in San Francisco down by Ocean Beach. There were 100s and 100s of kids in our neighborhood and everyone was out. No one worried about their kids because half the parents were in patio furniture in the driveways in front of their houses. Not everyone gave out candy but there are 50 houses per block so whatever. Some elderly people would put their bowls of candy at the bottom of their stairs so they wouldn't have to walk up and down every time the doorbell rang. No one gave a second thought to letting their kids get a piece of candy from the bowl. The older we got the farther away from our house we could go especially as we were always in large groups. Quite a few people had haunted houses in their garages. Nothing over the top, just good clean fun. I was usually some sort of princess and my mom bought our costumes and the five and dime store. Being in San Francisco, we never had to wear coats. We were even able to accept home made treats like fudge, cookies, popcorn balls - stuff like that. When we would get home, we'd put all of our candy on the floor in the living room and trade. Then we'd each have our bag of candy but we couldn't just eat it willy nilly. One piece before bed on Halloween and then it was rationed out after that. Mine was always gone first. Big surprise NOT. Eight grade was the first time I stayed home and gave out the candy. Even that was fun. I sat at the bottom of our stairs and wrote a biography paper on Glenn Miller in between dispensing candy. Got an A+ on that paper and had fun all night. BAD NEWS: The only bad Halloween I've ever had was in 1991. I went all out with the decorations and candy. It was snowing so I was a bit skeptical about how many children would come by. Then I got the call that my grandmother had died earlier in the day. So now we have snow, no kids and a dead grandmother in California. Oh, and I had just gotten out of the hospital after having pneumonia. Did I mention how much snow? Over 28 inches of snow. <sigh> I couldn't fly because was still recovering which means no grandmother's funeral. Didn't matter anyway because the airport was closed. No kids so I had big bowls of candy. AND, the powers that be who were in OMAHA, decided that we could NOT close the office the next day which meant everyone had to show up or not get paid. All of the rest of the Halloweens since have been just fine. The ones since DD came have been fabulous.
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Pippin04
Member
10-26-2007
| Saturday, November 01, 2008 - 7:01 am
My best halloween was my daughters first. She was two and dressed as Belle. She fell asleep in the car after picking me up from work. She was really cranky when we woke her up but after the first house we could not stop her. The second best was when she was about five. She was snow white (she loved those disney princesses) but it was cold and she had to wear a coat. When she went to the door she had a sour look on her face. She was asked who she was and she promptly responded. i am snow white but my mom made me wear a coat. For some reason I always remember halloween from my childhood this way. I am not sure if this was one year or every year. There always seemed to be snow and my mom made me wear a snowsuit under my costume. So costumes had to be two sizes two big and I always looked like a puff ball.
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Karen
Member
09-07-2004
| Saturday, November 01, 2008 - 3:19 pm
Good - I have many fond memories of my Mum trying to make my costume look cool, while at the same time ensuring it was big enough to fit my snowsuit under. One year in particular, I remember, it was snowing up a storm outside (Northern Saskatchewan) and I remember all these carved jack-o-lanterns glowing up the street though a sheet of falling snow. GOOD - Hubby and I have done crazy pumpkin carving for the past six or seven years. We always do two or three each. BAD - my father passed away on Oct 30th, five years ago. Worst Halloween ever.
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Twiggyish
Member
08-14-2000
| Sunday, November 02, 2008 - 7:24 am
We have no bad memories of Halloween. We always make the most of all holidays! I can remember trick or treating with my cousins in their neighborhood. We had a ball. There was one house that always gave out great stuff. One year they gave out popcorn balls and little bags of cookies. In recent years, we've enjoyed watching Em trick or treating and having fun. One year, when she was around 3, she was a little clown. I always tried to make her costume, because it added to the fun.
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Merrysea
Moderator
08-13-2004
| Sunday, November 02, 2008 - 9:12 am
I made all my kids costumes, too - they were so much fun (even though I hate Halloween)! When my oldest son was three, I made him a stegosaurus costume which he wore for two years, then his brother wore it for the next two years, and two years after that, the youngest wore it for two years. They also kept in in their toy box and used to wear it all the time to play in. I still have that costume, and I'm keeping it for the day I can watch my future grandchildren wear it - it's still in good shape! (It was made of some sort of destruction-proof polyester because it was all I could find at the time that was the right color.)
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Kimsue
Member
07-08-2005
| Monday, November 03, 2008 - 9:38 am
I loved Halloween when I was a kid. We were bums and ghosts just like Whoami but that was just because. It was easy and we got out of the house quickly. We lived on Military bases so we always felt safe and protected. Our parents didn't have to draw straws to see who says home to pass out candy and who chaperones the kids. We were good on our own. Now a day my DH and I have to make decisions on who will walk with the kids and who will stay home to keep the house safe. Which houses do we skip and does that look like a safe house to trick or treat. IMO Trick or Treat just isn't fun any more. A sad sign of the times.
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Kearie
Member
07-21-2005
| Tuesday, November 04, 2008 - 7:26 pm
Gage and his cousin Caleb on Halloween.
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Dogdoc
Member
09-29-2001
| Tuesday, November 04, 2008 - 7:54 pm
Gage has big hands!
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Naja
Member
06-28-2003
| Thursday, November 06, 2008 - 5:34 pm
I have a brand new Halloween memory I had recorded "Night of the Living Dead" on TiVo to watch on Halloween night, since I hadn't seen it in years and there really wasn't anything new out that would scare me as much this movie. Anyway, I was all snuggled in a big blanket down in the dark rec room in front of the big tv watching it. It was dark out and the trick-or-treaters were done for the night. So, right when one of the parts of the movie where they show the scary zombies chomping away on human body parts, my one year old beagle pup trots through the room with a severed foot in her mouth...LOL Actually, it was this foot chew toy in the picture, but her perfect timing made it so funny! (and creepy)
(available at Petsmart by the check-out, it squeaks)
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