Iowa

Iowa

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Halloween Happenings

When I was small, we had a bakery. It was a small bakery and the people who owned it lived near us. It delicious baked goods, all fresh, none frozen for the next day or week. They had wonderful cherry filled cookies, decorated cookies and cakes and pies, which were not as good.
At Halloween we would dress up and go to the home of the owner.....because.....they gave out candy apples. And they were wonderful! As they gave them to you they asked your name, so you couldn't get two, which made me sad. We didn't have very original costumes. Some kids did...their parents made their costume. I remember in second grade one girl had a blond wig, only it didn't look like a wig. She won a prize for the best costume. No one knew who she was.
Halloween was a big deal. We used to have a party, then parade around the school with the parents standing there taking pictures. Then we would go home and prepare for the parade the town had. After that we got to go trick or treating. We never did much of the tricking, though.
It was fun and exhausting...going through all that candy.
Phipps is having a Halloween Happening. Kids come in with costumes and they see a magic show, can get their face pained, pot a plant and eat! It's fun to see all the kids in their costumes, some of which are very unique.
Ava, the cat, is on medication. X-rays were taken and examinations done and nothing of significance was found, so she is on meds for inflamation. She alternately does well and hobbles around on three legs. It's sad to watch, but she is sleeping and eating regularly, so the vet said to just give her time.
What do you remember about Halloween? Did/do you make costumes or do you buy them? I remember a butterfly costume I made for a certain child, who, when they saw it ran screaming to hide behind the bushes.

22 comments:

Cathy said...

I was always a ghost. Easy to make, take a sheet and cut two holes in it. As for my kids, I am not talented enough to make their costumes. We always buy them and hand them down, first to sibs, then to neighbors. And you know what I really hated in the treat bag? Popcorn balls! Yuk.

Jen said...

Popcorn balls. Ewww. Things have changed so. We would go all over the place, not worry about needles in candy. We would run around without our parents. Now we go with our children, only go to homes where the people are known to us. Our kids make their costumes. They get together with other kids and figure it out. It's fun for them and keeps them thinking.

Bill said...

I agree, Jen. My favorite costume was R2D2. And we would get pillow slips to gather the candy. Would you believe that we would empty them and go out again. Those were the days. Now we go to the neighbors we know and my wife and I get very little candy! Not enough for the kids to share with us.

Lori said...

We have a parade here and the kids go to the fire house for a party...no trick or treating in the neighborhoods. There was an accident where a child got hit by a car and ended up in the hospital, so the community decided to go this route. I have to admit, I kind of miss walking around the neighborhood and talking to everyone while the kids run from house to house.

SassySam said...

We carefully explain to the kids that before they eat any candy, we have to examine it. Then we pick our favorites while they are sleeping. As they got older, they caught on and only let us examine it if they are watching and counting. How many give out the yucky candy that you collect? We do the neighborhood, go thru the candy, pick out the good stuff and give out the yucky stuff. OK, I know, but what is one man's garbage is another's find or something like that. Glad Ava is feeling better. And boooo to the child who was fearful of the costume you made.

Jessica said...

I dressed up as Raggety Ann and won a prize in a contest. I was looking very cute. I saved the costume for my daughter, but she would have no parts of it. My favorite treat was a candy bar. We would trade amongst us so we could get the ones we liked. And yes, we raid our kids candy bag! Love the pumpkin picture, Mia.

Shelly said...

I love Halloween! We always have a costume party for all the families in the area. It's fun with the kids. We bob for apples, eat donuts off a string. It's such fun and we vote for the best costume. It's nice that all the family participates.

Tim said...

I don't give out candy, I sit at home and eat it all.

Elizabeth said...

I love to watch the kids trying to hold their bags full of candy, running from house to house. They are so cute! If I run out of candy,I feel awful, so since that happened one year, I always buy way too much. I'll send some your way, Tim.

Ben said...

The Rangers won, the Penquins won, so Tim, you have to cheer so that the Steelers win tomorrow. I have to say, Pirates should have kept Freddie Sanchez, but maybe they will learn from their mistakes. Happy Halloween everyone. I loved the whole idea of getting lots of candy when I was a kid. Come to think of it, it would be fun now too.

Allie (cat) said...

It is cat's favorite holiday, with our beautiful eyes peering in the dark, backs hunched, ready to pounce on anyone trying to take our candy!

SocialWorker2 said...

Big Halloween party at our fire house last night, and the kids had a blast. The costumes were great. I think the best were the unique ones, not the store bought ones. The kids loved the visit by the Great Pumpkin.

Mark said...

Sad night for Steelers last night, but there is always next week. Pens won, so there is a bright spot. Scary scarecrow there, is that Monkeyboy or Bean? Nice job on the pumpkin.

Anonymous said...

Quite an elaborate pumpkin carving. Very nice. As is the costume. We had about 90 kids at our house. They block off the street for an hour so the kids are safe. Made our own costumes as kids. Cowboy hat, old clothes of our parents.

Jackie said...

We used old things we found around the house. Mostly clothes, but boxes from appliances, hats, etc. It was a fun time. I wonder if kids who buy their costumes have as much fun. They are so expensive and I can't imagine they use them for more than a couple of years.

JD said...

Welcome, Jackie, haven't seen you before. I didn't have a favorite costume growing up, we used whatever we could put together and in a pinch, it was an old sheet with eyes cut out. I am amazed at the costumes I see now, very elaborate.

Twigs said...

Halloween is my favorite. I have a big party every year, and you have to come as your favorite personality. It is such fun to see that some come as old time movie stars, some come as Angelina Jolie. It's just a lot of fun. I love that pumpkin carving!

Tigger said...

Nice of you to join us, Jackie. We have a Halloween party at our church. Everyone dresses up and we dance, sing and have fun. We all bring a covered dish and the great pumpkin brings the candy for the kids. I was the great pumpkin....sshhhhh

Noelle said...

My favorite costume was that of a ballerina in third grade. It is why I like hearing about Bean and seeing the pointe shoes. And that carved pumpkin is amazing!

Kevin said...

I watched the game last night, and Tim, I didn't see you. I looked very hard, but I guess I missed you.

Kevin's wife said...

It's because you were snoring loudly on the couch with your eyes closed.

Kevin said...

I was not sleeping, I was meditating.