Trick or Treat?

My mom used to tell me I loved collecting pennies when I was young. It's funny because now I pick them up from the street all the time. Some people only pick up the ones that are heads up, but I pick up most of the ones I find, I think of them as pennies from heaven, someone up there is thinking of me. Sometimes I even turn the pennies over to head's up, maybe giving someone a lucky day.

We lived in Long Island until I was about 5 and I was still collecting my pennies but then we moved to Brooklyn, right around the block from my first candy store, Jacks. My mom said I was in my glory when I discovered what all my pennies could buy. I can remember going in there, the gumball machine you put a penny in and gum came out! The pretzel jar. Penny candy, I was in my glory. Unfortunately, it was the start of a terrible relationship! I would use the bus fare money my mom gave me to go to the dentist to buy candy, and walked over 20 blocks each way just to have it!

When I was in third grade our teacher, Mrs. McVay, read to us the book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". We were all entranced by the story, gave up playing in the yard at recess to listen to more of the story. I dreamed of living in that world! Everything made of candy! I was about 12 when the movie came out and loved it. I still dreamed of a world of candy! I really didn't enjoy the second movie with Johnny Depp, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". I love Johnny Depp, think he's a great actor, but the movie was too dark for me, there was nothing dark about the story I heard in third grade, and the first movie just captured what I imagined it would be like.

So obviously Halloween was my favorite time of the year. We wore those cheesy boxed costumes when we were really little, but eventually starting making home made costumes which I think are always the best. Some people over the years have come up with some costumes that I still remember, they just stand out, so original, so creative! And the Village Halloween Parade! Those costumes are amazing. I went one year, but even if you can just catch it on TV, it's worth it.

Kids now have much nicer costumes than we did and they are too cute and also very scary too! I remember our friend Annie (more like part of our family) dressed her son Ryan up as Winnie the Pooh. He was about 2 or so and absolutely adorable. His cute chubby baby face and even the way he walked at that age, I will never forget how cute he looked.

That year we were up in Boston and they don't even go out until after sundown up there, different traditions everywhere. I looked up on line, of course, about the history of Halloween. It's changed so much other the years and has been influenced by many different cultures. It's interesting, look it up!

The trick part of it seems to have just disappeared from Halloween. Thank goodness! Had I known about the trick part as a kid and young adult, I probably would have given up the candy for the trick!!

Halloween starting changing when I was about 10 or so. I remember razors being found in apples, we started to throw away the loose candy. Kids, teens started throwing eggs, Nair Hair Removal and shaving cream all over people, cars. Halloween ended for us before sundown and we didn't mind. As much as we were losing bags of candy, it was safer staying home. As a teen living in Staten Island, me and my sister were walking our dogs one morning and Linda got hit in the head with an egg. It was like a rock hitting her, I felt so bad. It's such a shame it got out of hand. In Brooklyn I never heard of "mischief night", but in Staten Island it was big. It was the night before Halloween and kids would be out throwing eggs at each other, at cars and buses driving by. It got so out of hand stores would actually have signs saying only adults could buy eggs during the Halloween season and there were lots of adults who bought eggs for their kids. I wonder if any of them got hit with an egg in the head or had an egg thrown in their windshield or windows as they were driving.

It seems to have stopped, changing again as everything does. Maybe just in my neighborhood, but I hope everywhere. It seems to be a nice holiday for kids again. They have way better costumes than we did, and even though parents have to take their kids out to keep them safe, they get to see how much fun their kids are having running from door to door for candy.

I've made a few fun things for the kids to bring to school when they were younger, now they are "too cool" for this kind of stuff, maybe I can still make some for Bella, but I'm not too sure? They are growing up way too fast!!!

These are mini-chocolate bar wrappers I made for Halloween a few years back. Same as the bigger wrappers, only I just seal the edges and don't crimp them, I think it looks better without the crimping but you could do that too. I made individual ones for Robert, Jojo and Bella and then just some generic ones. Jojo and Robert loved their costumes and are even posing for their pictures, no way I can get them to do that anymore!



And these were great, for those school parties where they don't want any more candy (poor kids!) These are Utz mini Halloween pretzel bags. I made a tent card and just glued it on the top of the bag. These were for Bella when she was in pre school. At that age she thought they were cool! And she was the cutest poodle I ever saw!