Happy Halloween

Holidays always conjure up childhood memories and Halloween is no different.  As a child, I remember trick-or-treating with my older brother.  We would use pillowcases to hold our candy and he would make me run from house to house to get as much candy as possible during the two hour time limit.  Afterwards, we would dump out our candy on the living room floor and see what kind of loot had we collected.  What a great holiday!  Candy on demand.

Fast forward twenty years to when I had children of my own.  Since I'm not a seamstress, I hated Halloween.  Coming up with costumes for three children was a nightmare for me.  My poor kids had the worst costumes in the neighborhood.  As adults, they probably suffer from some kind of disorder because of it.  Thankfully, they are grown and I don't have to worry about it anymore.

Annie as Big Bird.  

It was cold out and I made her wear her jacket.

Now all I have to worry about is where to hide the candy for the trick-or-treaters so my husband doesn't eat it.  For years, I would buy candy (usually M&M's) well ahead of the holiday.  But by the time the 31st finally rolled around, I would have to buy more.  I tried hiding it, but it was no use.  I swear he's part bloodhound as he could sniff it out no matter what.  After 29 years, I've finally eliminated the problem.  I buy microwave popcorn to hand out.

Last year was the first year for popcorn.  My husband was totally indignant when the first trick-or-treater came.  "I'm not handing that out," he said, "it's embarrassing."   The little tot's reaction when I opened the door was, "Ooh, popcorn!"  You can guess who had a smug look on her face after that.

So this year, it was popcorn again.  It's actually a good thing on two fronts.  I don't have to hide it and I'm not tempted to eat the leftovers.

The first trick-or-treaters tonight. 

No running for these kids.  This is the way to go.