20 Comments

WAIT! Where's the info on the family costumes this year?? Inquiring minds want to know!! and this <<In the Midwest, some years the only thing anyone dresses as is bundled up Minnesotans.>> is so spot on. So much of my childhood Trick-or-Treating was done with coat and sometimes mittens. Except for the last year, we were in Nfld that year, it was wicked cold, I dressed up as a Christmas Present, wrapped a huge box in Christmas paper, cut out holes for my head and arms and plopped a bow on the top of my head. I wore my snow suit under and was warm all night. I also loved shouting Merry Christmas at everyone instead of trick or treat, LOL

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The costumes will come. Just waiting for the big reveal (and for them to all arrive from Amazon). That Christmas present sounds like the warmest costume ever.

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My favorite part of Halloween after having kids was the pouring out of the candy and them digging through it to see what treasure their sacks held. Then, it’s time for the auction, “I’ll give you three packs of skittles for three packs of m&m’s...”. Then it’s my turn, “You can each have 3 more pieces of candy if you will each give me 3 pieces of chocolate candy.” The howling, teeth gnashing, and finally acceptance of my demands later. Then we all snuggle up to watch “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken.” Sigh those were the days!

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My favorite part is that my kids don't like Snickers so I get to eat them all as a public service.

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Outstanding! Snickers are the BEST!

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You mean Lola doesn't bake a hundred pumpkin pies out of your bounty? I'm shocked!

We don't care how old trick or treaters are provided they're wearing a costume. We have a new family with kids on our street, so maybe we'll see more this year. When living in Wisconsin, we used to have hot coffee and hot chocolate for the parents. Our house was very popular. Halloween can see snow up dere, ya hey. 😉

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Trick-or-treating on snowmobile would be the ultimate experience. As for pies, people might look at us suspiciously if we left 20 on our porch with a sign for kids to take some.

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Our kids wanted to do that one Halloween, so hubs hooked up the sled to the snow machine, the kids bundled up and off they went! First problem, couldn’t wear a costume, and warm winter face masks ended the idea of face paint, or costume masks. Second problem is once they got home their candy had frozen and they had to wait for it to thaw before the Great Candy Consumption could begin.

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"That kind of wholesomeness burns me like fire." That's the funniest thing you've written. I long ago decided that I was not made for the Midwest. A fact that was reinforced when I was in Indiana and had to go to a grocery store. Somehow people knew I was a stranger in a strange land and asked if they could help me find things. And wanted to chat about where I was from and why I was there and how nice it was to meet me. I'm not that nice to my relatives.

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Maybe you were giving off suspicious vibes. They probably thought you were from Ohio.

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When I was a kid, trick or treating was for 2 nights and until your folks told you to come home or when your sack got too heavy to carry. None of that 3 hour limit put out by cities now! The best part was us 3 sibs emptying our bags on the floor and bargaining and trading for each other's candy that we liked best. And seems to me even tho we were gluttons, we got sick of the candy before we could actually eat it all.

As an adult, I generally do not care for H'ween but I must say there were 2 memorable ones for me. A few years back a friend's son got married on H'ween and it was themed as such. Mr P and I went as Raggedy Ann and Andy in complete costumes, red curly wigs and all, that I made. Best photos we've ever had taken as a couple, I think. The other was as a young married couple we went to a party dressed as mummies. Driving across town at dusk and people seeing us while stopped at stop lights was worth ruining a couple of good sheets....especially when I took a drag on a cigarette through that tiny mouth hole.

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TWO nights of trick or treating? Those really were the good old days. Mummies should be careful smoking. They're super dry and wrapped in flammable material.

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Great story but you left out your girls rejection of a trip back to see Murder Clown !! I mean come on , what gives an adult more joy during Halloween than watching there self assured offspring scream in terror for 15 to 20 minutes ? These are the memories you will hold in your dark heart forever . Your friend Lord Hashtag from Fright Forest.

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They literally screamed when I told them we could go back. I'm glad you were able to give them a foundational memory that will forever be part of their nightmares.

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My daughter trick-or-treated all the way through high school by volunteering to take the kids she babysat for, and this year she is trick-or-treating at embassy row in D.C. as a college freshman, as students there apparently do. This covers her up until age 22. Nice long run! If she has kids young she may not have much of a gap in there. Ha!

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We get a few teenage groups every year. Their costumes can be quite imaginative. I say put on a costume, go with the girls and get your own haul of chemically-altered delights!

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Kids are bigger these days. With the right costume, I could probably pass for an eighth grader.

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We live on a large hill, so don't get any Trick or Treaters. And my kids are young adults and more interested in going to the nightclub than trick or treating. However, my sister lives in a large neighborhood where the houses are close together. I volunteer to give out candy at her Harry Potter themed house so I can still enjoy it...and her and her hubby can go out with their kids.

One house gave out cotton candy last year! The whole neighborhood is fantastically over the top. I love it!!

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Easy way to get the innards out is a potato peeler.

Yummy seeds

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October 16, 2023
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As a mother, you do, in fact, have diplomatic immunity.

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