It made me think
about when I was of trick-or-treating age and just what kind of money was spent
on Halloween back then. My family certainly didn’t spend a lot of money on a
store-bought costume or on “fun-sized” candy either. In those days, you spent time thinking about
your costume and figuring out how you could make it from a variety of materials
begged, borrowed or stolen from a variety of family and friends. I remember
throwing a sheet over my head to become a ghost; a relative’s old suit to
become a man; or someone’s fancy old dress to be a princess or movie star. If
we used make up, it was usually the stuff our mother’s had on hand and
volunteered.
The adults in my
youth were adults and didn’t dress up at all. If I was accompanied by an adult (which ended fairly early in
elementary school) in my rounds to collect free stuff (it wasn’t all candy then
either), whichever adult was with me/us wore their normal clothes and the same
if they stayed home and handed out the treats. Today adult costumes are a huge
business and there are more adult-only parties then kid parties. As for our
pets, if they were the barking (or biting) kind, they got closed up in a
bedroom until the frivolity was over.
So, there I was,
dressed in my ghost costume ready for trick or treating. Did I carry a fancy
bag or pressed plastic punkin in which to place the goodies…nope, I used a
pillowcase. Groups of us would traverse the neighborhood, connecting to compare
which house had the best stuff. Sometimes I think we even did doubles if the
treat was extra special.
Extra special had
a different meaning as well. It didn’t mean full-sized (now those HUGE ones)
candy bars, but the popcorn balls made by the old lady down the street or the
special cookies made by another neighbor on the next block. I never knew the
name of those cookies, but they were absolutely delicious, and thinking about
those popcorn balls still makes my mouth water. At the end of the evening, my
parents didn’t check my pillowcase to see if there was anything dangerous
inside; nor did they throw out those homemade goodies…I got to eat everything I
brought home; and I tried very hard not to gulp that popcorn ball down first
thing.
When my own kids
were big enough to participate in Halloween, it was still a pretty laid-back
holiday. Of course the kids weren’t laid-back because it meant candy, candy,
candy. I don’t think I ever purchased an actual costume except for the time my
high school son decided to go as a girl, and even then, the only things I
bought were one of those long curly blond wigs and press on fingernails. I
remember making ghost and clown costumes which lasted a couple of years each.
One year, my husband’s mother made elder son a Star Wars costume. Other times,
we hauled stuff out of the closets and used purchased make-up to turn the boys
into something other than themselves.
It was about that
time, I think that we began buying those bags of fun-sized candy bars. Initially,
the boys each got to trick or treat the neighborhood with mom or dad in tow;
but as they became older, they were allowed to venture further on their own
with other neighbor kids. Since my sons are ten years apart, the elder even
spent a couple of Halloweens driving his younger brother on a huge route to
collect candy (yes, he used a pillowcase) with the proviso that the younger had
to share with the older. They had a wonderful time doing this together.
Now, my sons have
their own children and I’m so grateful it’s them and not me. I cannot imagine
trying to decide which costume should be purchased or how much money should be
allotted in the budget for this purpose. The miserly me shudders at the idea of
buying some cheap piece of crap (for want of a better word) only to discard it
the day after. Of course, I love to see them all dressed up and hollering, “Trick
or Treat” at the front door; and, of course, we give them far more than just a
single piece of candy.
About the time
the whole Halloween partying began, my husband and I did participate for a few
years. In the beginning, the costumes weren’t too elaborate or costly. In fact,
I won first prize one year. I purchased a hat and cane, eyebrows which I cut up
so I could use one as a mustache and wore an old suit and shirt that had been
in the back of the closet for years. Voila, I was Charlie Chaplin. I think the
fact I walked funny and didn’t talk all evening is actually what won me that
bottle of champagne.
As the years
passed, however, the costumes became extremely elaborate, beautiful and spendy.
Our last costume party, we donned black garbage bags, stuffed them with
newspaper and went as the California raisons…we won zip. At that point, we
decided these parties just weren’t for us and ceased to go. Now, it’s been a long
time since we’ve received an invitation. Most likely it’s because the hosts figure we’d
show up costumed as a couple of old people. Since we do a really good job of being old
people, we’d surely win first prize.
Instead, we’ll
stay home as usual and pass out candy to the 15-20 kids who make it to the door
and gorge ourselves on the left overs. That’s just as much fun as it used
to be to imbibe alcoholic beverages and probably just as bad for us now as
the alcohol was then. Not to mention the fact that four bags of candy comes to
about $10. Clearly we aren’t doing our part when it comes to that $7.4 BILLION.
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