Halloween Was Different When We Were Kids, Remember These Traditions?
Remember These Halloween Traditions From Your Childhood?
I know I'm only twenty five but it's safe to say that Halloween has changed over the years a little bit. It's kept it's traditions but there have been trends and fads that have slowly gone away.
I don't know about you, but when I think about Halloween as a kid, I remember the excitement of picking out a costume, getting ready to go trick-or-treating, and coming home with enough candy to last me until Christmas. Although, let's be honest, that candy never actually lasted that long.
Now, don't get me wrong, Halloween is still a lot of fun, but there are certain things we did growing up that kids today might not experience quite the same way.
And depending on when you grew up, some of these might bring back a few memories!
Wearing Those Plastic Halloween Masks
Remember those Halloween costumes that came with the plastic masks held on by a thin elastic string?
You could barely see out of them, they were uncomfortable, and somehow your face would get all sweaty after about five minutes.
And that little elastic band? It always seemed to snap at the worst possible time.
Carrying Around a Plastic Pumpkin Bucket
You know exactly which one I'm talking about.
That classic orange plastic pumpkin with the black jack-o'-lantern face.
I feel like almost every kid had one at some point. And if you didn't have the pumpkin bucket, you probably carried around a pillowcase.
I wish the pillowcase trend didn't end because you could fit a whole lot more candy in there.
Dumping All Your Candy on the Living Room Floor
This might have been my favorite part of Halloween.
You'd get home from trick-or-treating, dump your entire candy collection onto the living room floor, and immediately start sorting through everything.
There was always a pile of your favorites, a pile of candy you didn't really want, and then the stuff you were willing to trade.
And if you had siblings, you know how serious those candy trades could get.
A Reese's Peanut Butter Cup was practically worth its weight in gold. Or my personal favorite, the sticky popcorn balls or mini bags of pretzels that looked like bats.
The Halloween Parade at School
Halloween at school is a different ballgame. Whether it's a Halloween parade or you're watching Hocus Pocus while Pizza Hut just got delivered.
You'd show up wearing your costume, and at some point during the day, your entire class would walk around the school showing off what everyone dressed up as.
Sometimes parents would come watch, and there was usually some kind of classroom party afterward.
I'm talking cupcakes, candy, Halloween games, and absolutely nobody paying attention to schoolwork.
Watching Halloween Movies on TV
Before we could pull up just about any movie whenever we wanted, watching Halloween movies on television was a whole event.
You had to know when your favorites were coming on, and if you missed them, you might have to wait until they aired again.
Movies like Hocus Pocus, Halloweentown, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown were practically required viewing.
And I don't care how old you are, some of those movies are still worth watching every October.
Trick-or-Treating Until Your Feet Hurt
Remember when Halloween night felt like it lasted forever?
You'd go from house to house, trying to hit as many neighborhoods as possible before everyone turned their porch lights off.
You didn't have a phone telling you how many steps you'd walked. You just knew your feet hurt, your candy bag was getting heavy, and you weren't ready to go home.
And there was always that one house everybody talked about because they handed out full-size candy bars.
That was the jackpot!
Carving Pumpkins and Saving the Seeds
Carving pumpkins was always a whole production.
You'd spread newspaper across the kitchen table, cut open your pumpkin, and then came the part nobody really wanted to do.
Scooping out all that slimy pumpkin stuff.
Some people loved it. Personally, I think digging through pumpkin guts is one of those things that's a lot more fun when you're a kid.
And if your family saved the seeds to roast them afterward, that was an added bonus.
Of course, no matter how hard you tried, your pumpkin never seemed to turn out quite like the picture you had in your head.
Getting Those Little Halloween Treat Bags
Remember when neighbors, teachers, or family friends would put together little Halloween goodie bags?
They usually had a few pieces of candy, maybe a spider ring, a Halloween pencil, or one of those tiny plastic toys.
And somehow, getting a little bag of random Halloween goodies was just as exciting as getting candy.
I feel like those little spider rings ended up everywhere.
Halloween Just Felt Different Back Then
Maybe it's because we were kids and everything seemed a little more exciting, but there's something about Halloween growing up that you just can't recreate.
It wasn't about having the most expensive costume or the most elaborate decorations. It was about getting dressed up, running around the neighborhood with your friends, and seeing how much candy you could collect before the night was over.
Of course, plenty of families still keep these traditions alive today, and I love that.
But now I'm curious. What's one Halloween tradition from your childhood that you wish would make a comeback?
Because I think we can all agree that some of the best Halloween memories had nothing to do with how much money anyone spent. They were just about having fun.
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