Halloween Memories

If you know me or my family, you'd know that we enjoy dressing up. For themed parties, for opening nights of movies, and for Halloween. However, my childhood was not filled with trick-or-treating memories. Not that we couldn't. Not that our parents didn't let us. But because we lived just a little too far out, and it would be a pain to fight the crowds in the FEW neighborhoods we had around.

That didn't stop my brother and me (or my parents).

When we grew out of attending the "church fall festival" on Halloween night, we took matters into our own hands. I want to share three very fun (at least fun to us) Halloween memories that we came up with while we were growing up.

Haunted Halloween Trail. My parents have seventeen acres with three separate walking trails. At this time, my brother and I were fairly young. I would say middle school and elementary-age. We decided to construct and rehearse for a "Haunted Halloween Trail" and invite my parents to walk through it. I remember a couple days before Halloween, we went out and started mapping our plan. We got our decorations, handmade road signs, "caution tape" (ribbon), etc. We planned where each of us would be at certain sections of the trail. (Example: I would greet them, give them a mini flashlight, and send them down the beginning of the trail where my brother waited at the first "scaring station." After sending them off, I would then run to the END of the trail and take my place further down. After my brother would scare them, HE would run to the end to his next spot, etc. etc.) Our parents received the invitation and time. We definitely got some good screams out of my mom! At the end, we had set up a mini table with candy corn and cups of water. Best. Halloween. Ever. The memory still makes me smile.

Trick-or-Treating. Wait, what? You just got finished saying that you never really went trick-or-treating. You're right! One year, my grandparents were in town, along with one of their friends from Florida. On Halloween, my brother and I decided to drag our costume boxes (probably two or three at that time) to the top of our driveway before it got dark. Once it did get dark, we made some sort of excuse to go outside. We ran up to the costume tubs, threw on a costume, and went back to ring the doorbell. "Trick-or-Treat!" After we got candy, we ran back up to the driveway, changed, and came back in a DIFFERENT costume. My grandparents and their friend thought this was the greatest thing ever. We did that over and over until we had no costumes left. That was a fun night.

These were only a few snapped with the disposable camera ... you can tell
when we came to the door in garbage bags, we were really grasping for ONE MORE outfit. ;)

Tricking Family and Friends. When we got into our teen/high school years, we changed up the game a little. As a family of four (dad, mom, Neil, and myself), we dressed up in big, baggy clothes and wore "old man" masks so we were unrecognizable. Then we drove to family members' and friends' houses to pull a trick-or-treating prank. All of these people we tricked were friends and family who lived out in the middle of nowhere, like us. They never got trick-or-treaters. So when four full-grown adults in masks showed up on their porches that night, talking in gruff voices saying "trick-or-treat" ... there were QUITE a few interesting looks and moments of true discomfort. My mom was the master of keeping it going to the point of making everyone uncomfortable (Example: telling the people, "This candy stinks!" or "This is all we get?!" or "What do you mean you don't have any candy?!") ... then my dad would rip off his mask in a panic, and all of us would start laughing hysterically. Good. Times. I love a good trick.

We couldn't find the picture of all four of us ... so here is one of my parents. Hahahaha

Now that we're older, we attend Halloween parties, paint pumpkins, host Halloween bonfires, and take our animals "trick-or-treating" for dog treats. However, it's so fun to remember the times when we were little, trying out some new idea for Halloween. It was never dull.