Thursday, October 29, 2009

Trick-or-treat vs. Trunk-or-treat

Today I am participating in Mama Kat's writers workshop:
5.) Describe a favorite Halloween moment you wish you had on video.

Times have changed, haven't they?

Halloween for my boys is an entirely different affair than it was when I was a kid. This year (as in years past) our community is holding a "trunk-or-treat". For those of you who don't know, that means you all meet up at the church/community center and pass out candy to your friends and neighbors from the trunk of your car.

In some ways it's really nice. You get to see all your friends, neighbors and their kids in costume without having to walk around the entire neighborhood. It's kind of like a big costume parade! You finish your trick-or-treating pretty quickly and then go home. It's also safer because you are only getting candy from people you know.

But somehow I can't help but think that my boys are missing out on part of the experience of Halloween. They are missing out on trick-or-treating... you know, the way I experienced it growing up in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming.

I wish I could show you a video of what Halloween was like when I was a kid.

It seems like I always made my own Halloween costumes... and so did my siblings and most of my friends (or their parents!). Then on Halloween night my mom would pile the six of us into the van to go trick-or-treating. Our nearest neighbors lived about a half a mile away, so we had to drive. When we reached a house we would all pile out of the van and probably dash through several inches of snow to get up to the house.

"Trick or Treat!" we would all scream with delight. Then our friends, neighbors, and relatives would fill our pillowcases with yummy treats. I am not just talking about wrapped candy! My aunt Kristy always used to give out the yummiest popcorn balls... which everybody loved! And there were always cookies and there was one house that always handed out homemade donuts... tons of them! Often we would all be invited in for hot chocolate or cider.

Now you don't let your kids eat anything unless it is store-bought and wrapped. Most of the Halloween costumes come from the store too. And someone inviting you in for hot chocolate would probably be considered scary.

I LOVED Halloween when I was a kid. Popcorn balls, cookies, hot chocolate, donuts, candy, and visiting friends and neighbors. Those are the Halloween moments I remember. It seemed to be such a friendly family affair. I don't want Halloween for my kids to be all about the candy, you know?

How about you? What was Halloween like when you were a kid?

8 comments:

  1. We have those 'parties' here too but I don't like them b/c there is just something about going door to door. I want my kids to experience that.

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  2. I think Halloween has changed a lot too. While we've never actually participated in a trunkortreat, I think it's a clever idea. However, I like walking the girls around to the houses. lol! I hope you have a fabulous Halloween this year and maybe we can all sneak a little of our younger days in with our kids. :)

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  3. you pretty much described how it was for me and my kids. We do the trunk or treat now as well. But we still take the grandkiddies to trick or treat at some of the neighborhoods. If you want to come on by here’s my story

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  4. not nearly as cool as your childhood Halloweens. We were told "never take unwrapped items" and we didn't know most of our neighbors. The only thing that I really miss is that we always had great weather. Unlike here where it is supposed to be pouring rain for Halloween....

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  5. Oh honey, exactly! We still go back to my parents' house for Halloween so it's a small Nebraska town. We know most everyone, but there are no homemade treats. I remember popcorn balls! I love those! And cookies.

    I would love to make homemade Halloween treats, but I know no parents would let their kids eat them. (I'd make Elmo cupcakes). lol

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  6. I have never taken my kids trick-or-treating door to door. I have never had to deal with weather or iffy neighbors and questionable treats. Our mall has a trick or treating event every Halloween and my aunt lets the younger kids trick or treat inside her huge house. They are not missing the outdoor experience at all...

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  7. I always looked forward to going around the neighborhood trick-or-treating. I loved seeing the decorated houses and getting all that candy. Then trading with my sisters and brother when we got home. Mine usually lasted until pretty close to Easter!

    Here's the link to my writers workshop post: http://zemeks.blogspot.com/2009/10/bewarea-peek-at-my-spooky-side-writers.html

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  8. Thankfully my neighborhood is still a trick or treating one. I do miss the homemade goodies though. Popcorn balls were a favorite. Have fun Trunk or Treating!

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