from Tracey G.

I’m sure I have a ton of great Halloween memories (from childhood right on through adulthood!), but the ones that really stick out are the not-so-fun ones!

I have one remembrance, and really, it is quite a bit faded because I think I was around 4, but it stands out in my mind because… My beautiful princess costume shrunk. As I was wearing it!

We still lived downstate in Garden City, and it was a typical crappy Michigan Halloween. Cold – no snow (which is always possible), but drizzly/rainy. I do think I had a winter coat on (also typical), but wherever the water ended up, the material decided to shrink up. I can remember we cut the trick-or-treating short, and by the time I got home it was a wrinkly shrinkly mess. I was so bummed! So much for having it to play dress-up with later on down the road!

As I said, there’s tons of good memories – but something that’s been a plague all through the Halloweens of yore, (and it still happens) was the need for a winter coat! There’s been quite a few years where you had no choice but to bundle up in you winter gear to go score your Halloween loot. And it was a drag too – kind of defeated the purpose of a costume – and when I was a kid, there were only a few years that we bought my costume. Once I hit a certain age, I made my own, so it was a huge bummer then to have to cover it up! Ugh!

I still love Halloween, it is my FAVORITE holiday, it beats them all as far as I’m concerned! I love the dress-up aspect of it, that hasn’t gone away, and I just in general have always had a thing for spooky anything! There were a lot of fun parties and good times through the years AFTER the trick-or-treat age!!

from Kris B.

My memories of Halloween are a mixed up mess of things running the gamut from super fun to not so fun at all.

As a child, Halloween was not that big a deal to me.  The only costume I can remember was the one that I had when I was seven years old…in 1969.  I was an astronaut.  Go figure.  The lunar landing has just happened and I was fascinated by all things space.  It’s hard for me to believe that that memory is forty-nine years ago!  I know that I had many other Halloween costumes in all those years, but honestly, I don’t remember any as well as that one-piece spacesuit that I stepped into and tied up the back and that plastic-y mask that was held on with an elastic band.

My other childhood memories of Halloween are a little spookier.  They come from the time when ERs would x-ray candy bags for free because there were those whose trick it was to put razor blades in candy.  Fortunately, I was never a victim to such a trick.  And then there were those who would lace candy with drugs.  My mom worked carefully inspect every wrapper looking for punctures from needles.  Does this still happen?  I think peoplle with access to such drugs are not going to waste their goods on a child’s candy.  They are going to keep them for themselves!!!

With my own kids, I loved making their costumes.  I made clown costumes and princess gowns…that did not shrink!  I made a little fuzzy mouse with the cutest ears and tail.  I made Eeyore.  I remember threading every piece of yarn for what seemed like his mile-long mane!

And then there was the bookworm…

It involved a paper mache head with spectacles and a top hat.  And a book big enough for an eight year old child to step into.  That child wanted the book to be Black Beauty, with a leather bound book gold lettering.  Oh, and a painted picture of Black Beauty on the front.  I did it all and it was adorable.  However, the whole time I was thinking to myself that my mom had it so easy with my off-the-shelf astronaut costume.

But, I wouldn’t change having made all of their costumes for anything!!!

I wish I had a few pictures to post, but my picture organization from back then was, well, non-existent.  If I start looking now, I may be able to find them by next Halloween!!!