Halloween memories

This is a re-post from 2010, but I have a lot more followers now than I did then so I wanted to share it again. 

I remember with fondness many years of dressing up and heading out for trick or treat. Back then, we didn't have a lot of money for extras like store bought costumes or trick-or-treat bags. We simply dressed in things Mom found around the house and we carried pillow cases for our treat bags.

Each year, I went as either a gypsy or a housewife. The gypsy always had big gold hoop earrings. We would take the rings from Ball or Mason jars and tie yarn on them. Then we would loop the yarn around our ears. Wah Lah....instant earrings. We would also wear extra jar lids as "jangle" bracelets on both arms. When we dressed like a housewife, we would wear one of Mom's house dresses and stick a pillow in the top to give us bosoms. We would put a belt under the pillow to hold it up. By the end of the evening, everything was slipping and we just sagged. We always put a head scarf on and tied it under the back of our hair. Either costume was so much fun because we got to wear rouge (never even hear that word anymore) and bright red lipstick. 

(Courtesy Pop Sugar)

Back in WV, late October was so cold, you usually had on layers of clothing under your costume to keep you warm. But by the end of the evening, you were so hot and sweaty, you couldn't wait to get home and out of the costume. We would have to wash and get our PJ's on when we got home. Then we were allowed to lay in the floor and dump our goodies out and "trade" with one another. Some things my siblings liked that I didn't so we would swap and deal. 

Those were some good times and some wonderful memories. Gladys and Walter across the road always gave apples and Orvel Marcum always gave the big size Snickers and Milky Ways. 

I polled some of my friends and the majority of them also grew up using homemade costumes. They went as ghosts, princesses, some of the boys I polled even dressed as women. What fond memories. Many of them remember their grandmothers always making popcorn balls for Halloween. Have things changed that much over the years or have we? Do we now take the easy way out because it is faster and we live life at a higher speed. I don't know, but I know I miss those simpler times. 

My daughter-in-law puts a lot of thought into the costumes she makes for her kids. The first time she decided to get creative, Garret was a boy in a cage carried by a gorilla. Jamie made the entire outfit. His legs are inside the gorilla suit and the top of the gorilla body is stuffed. I wish I had the year Alexis was a mermaid in a treasure chest. She is so talented. I was amazed at the ideas she came up with.

My daughter works at a company that all the departments dress up each year. Sometime it is a theme and sometimes it is just whatever you want. 

(My daughter is the 3rd from the left)

My cousin Connie said it best " I think our homemade ones were better and more creative than store bought ones. And we had just as much, if not more, fun with our costumes."