Entry bubble Happy Halloween Ghouls and Boos

By: Ginger | October 31, 2008 | Category: Fun

Kids in Halloween costumesMy earliest Halloween memory is being dressed as Casper, the friendly ghost, when I was 4. I insisted on sleeping in that costume for the next 3 years and probably would be sleeping in it today, if it hadn’t been tragically and accidentally (so my mother claims) thrown out in the garbage.

My parents would sit us down every Halloween for a safety lecture. They would warn us about razor blades being hidden in Halloween candy; hence the mandate to not eat any candy until they checked it out. As a kid, I had a suspicion that this was really more about my parents wanting to pick out the good candy first. In hindsight, I actually think this is fair. There ought to be some perks to being a parent.

Nowadays, the Food and Drug Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the National Fire Protection Association, and the American Red Cross have web pages devoted to sharing Halloween safety information. In addition, the USA.gov Halloween page has links to all kinds of interesting Halloween facts and customs. Check out the Halloween pages from the American Folklife Center, the White House, the Patent and Trade Office, and the U.S. Census Bureau.

One Halloween, while trick-or-treating, a man told me that I had to do a trick to get my treat. I did an out-of-control cartwheel that nearly took out 2 ghosts, a princess, and a lumberjack. I remember grumbling to my sister about the “old geezer” who made me do a trick to get my treat.

Now, I am the “old geezer.” I make trick-or-treaters earn their treats. I sit outside with the candy and our 2 dogs. I tell the kids they can take one piece of candy or a handful by getting Doc and Daisy to do tricks. Most opt for the handful, so I show the kids the commands for sit, play dead, roll-over, and dance. When the kids get the dogs to complete the correct trick, they grab a big handful of the good stuff.

We know some of the neighborhood kids pretty well. For them, I bring out our cat. I tell the kids if they can get her to do a trick, I will give them my car. They try, but Keeboo just yowls at them and smacks them with her clawless paw. My husband says one day Keeboo may actually cooperate and I will have to give my car to a 5-year-old, but I’m not worried.

So, what Halloween memories do you have?

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