Trick Or Treat

I don’t like going to haunted houses – I’ve never liked being scared. Jack-o-lanterns do have their charm I suppose, but carving them is messy and a lot of work for the short time you can enjoy them before they rot or hooligans bash them in the street. We’ve tried roasting the seeds to try to get more out of the whole thing and they just don’t taste good. But going Trick or Treating – what’s not to like? Beggar’s night is still my favorite part of Halloween.

When I was very little, I had one store-bought costume – sort of a rabbit I guess, probably made from some kind of highly flammable material, with one of those plastic masks that are more than likely outlawed now because they block your vision. Another year, after our 1st grade play (I was Mama Bear), I wore the homemade chocolate-brown terrycloth costume (envision something like brown footy pajamas complete with hood with ears, and a small tail tacked on the back). But beyond that my costumes were bits and pieces of things thrown together (not like today where parents spend outrageous amounts of money on rubber masks and complete costumes). Some of my many costumes I came up with were: a bum, a football player – uniform borrowed from a neighbor, and a gypsy – flowing skirt, a shawl and tons of my mom’s old jewelry. We’d go door to door filling a pillowcase with as much candy as we could carry. It seemed like we stayed out all night.

In trying to pass this experience along to our kids, we’ve only purchased minor accessories (a witch’s hat, fairy wings and such) to create their costumes over the years. I did sew parts of them, but we created their looks mostly from things around the house. No expensive masks – we used make-up when needed.

So we would get the kids sufficiently disguised and ready. Walking with them when they were younger, we’d go with them to the door till they got the hang of it. But as they got older and went to the doors without us, we’d stand on the sidewalk waiting for them – and my husband and I came up with our own holiday tradition: we take a 6-pack and 2 red cups in a bag. That way we can walk around with the kids, visit with neighbors as they follow their kids around, and enjoy a frosty beverage or two or three. As our supply diminishes, we empty the kids’ candy buckets into the bag. Ahh … the candy! The girls don’t notice when we sample their candy as we walk (especially the candy bars). Beggar’s Night may be geared toward the children, but it’s one of our favorite holiday events.