”Clothes make a statement. Costumes tell a story.”
The morning is lovely, a bit chilly though, only 48°. We have sun, but partly cloudy is the forecast. I checked the bird feeders this morning through the window and noticed the traffic is heavy. I filled all the feeders yesterday so the word is out.
The dogs are festive. They are each wearing their Halloween collars. Nala’s has witches, mummies, Mrs. Frankenstein, bats, webs and skeletons, a perfect choice for her. Henry’s has cats, smiling pumpkins and ghosts and witches. His ghosts look like Casper. His collar creatures are much friendlier than Nala’s.
When I was a kid, choosing a Halloween costume was never easy. The planning took weeks. I’d pick one, discard it, pick another, discard it and then keep looking. Some kids bought costumes from Woolworth’s. They were usually one piece worn over clothes and tied in the back on the top. The fronts were characters like skeletons, witches, cowboys, clowns or the devil. The masks were plastic with such small eye holes it made them difficult to look through, and they were hot. We always wore homemade costumes. My mother was a costume designer. Many kids did. A ghost was the easiest, a sheet and two eye holes. Some girls wore old dresses and hats their mothers used to wear. Cowboys were big as were hoboes who always carried a stick with a tied neckerchief at the end. They had dirty faces rubbed on from a burnt cork. My sister, who took dance lessons, wore her tutu one year. The only bought thing was a new mask every year. It looked like the sort the Lone Ranger wore except it was colorful.
My mother had a set of Pyrex bowls and a set of tulip bowls. The sizes nested. We’d use one of the bowls to hold our candy. I’d carry the bowl with me, but at night I’d keep the bowl under my bed for quick access. Years ago, I was shopping at an antique mall sort of shop. I watched a woman put out a set of those tulip bowls for sale. I bought them right away. Those bowls carry with them strong memories.
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October 15, 2024 at 6:55 pm
Hi Kat,
Today should be the last of the 90° days for a while. Maybe until May of 2025.
Like you, when I was a kid, choosing the right Halloween costume was an important decision. Unfortunately, my mother didn’t have the imagination nor the time to make our costumes. We wore the Woolworth variety with the crappy plastic masks.
My mother did give us pillow cases to haul the load of candy with. In those simpler times we didn’t have to have the candy X-rayed to make sure there were no dangerous items inside. I recall that in the 1990s, a local hospital would X-ray your kids trick or treat bag. Sadly, people were inserting razor blades in the candy.
I hated when a person gave out cheap candy like suckers or red hots. I wanted and still do I large crave chocolate bars.
October 15, 2024 at 8:27 pm
Hi Bob,
Only a few kids in my neighborhood had store bought costumes. Most had mother inspired costumes. We’d tell my mother what we wanted to be, and she’d give them a go. She did well.
There has never been a case of razor blades in Halloween candy. The only proven case of a child dying from poisoned candy was when the boy’s father murdered the boy on purpose with cyanide.
I agree that the best were the chocolate bars. I really hated popcorn balls and the little twisted bags with a few candies. I give out big bars!