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In reply to the discussion: Halloween when you were a kid: fun, not fun, never did it, etc ? [View all]llmart
(15,555 posts)We lived out in the country where there were a lot of farms/nurseries. We had one house next door to us but then any other houses were really a hike away and on a busy highway. I only remember going out about three times in my childhood. My father was mean and if he was in a bad mood he wouldn't drive us around. The very first time I went out I think I was about 8 and I couldn't believe people would just give me candy. My mother would do her best to make homemade popcorn balls and let us bob for apples on a string on the enclosed front porch. I hated that my father was so cruel to us when we were kids, so when my two children were little, I vowed I would make holidays happy and fun for them. To this day, they both talk about how much they loved Halloween as kids. They always had homemade costumes, we carved pumpkins, we lived in a lovely neighborhood where there were lots of kids and everyone took part in trick or treating. One of the men who took his kids around would go from house to house with his kids and he'd be drinking a beer! So I'd always offer him one for the rest of his evening. One woman dressed up as a witch with the dry ice in the cauldron. I had a record of spooky sounds and played it really loud on our stereo. For my kids, it wasn't so much about the candy. They just loved the costumes and rest of the fun. I am so glad I gave my kids those wonderful memories because so many of my childhood memories were pretty sad.
I live in a condo complex of mostly seniors and we never get any trick or treaters. I hate it. I used to love seeing all the little neighborhood children.