Anyone into Halloween stuff?

When I first immigrated to the US, Halloween was the only holiday I didn't like or care about. Still don't. What is it about Halloween that makes you say: Oh, it's that time of the year again! Let's put up toy spiderwebs and spiders all over our house!

 

LOL!

 

Here in the UK it's just an excuse for the local scum to throw eggs at your house when you refuse to answer the door to the so called "trick or treaters".

 

LOL...it can be a fun time, you know...I had a lot of fun (and got a lot of candy) as a kid...

We are in a kid-friendly neighborhood that is very well-lit and has no traffic other than neighbors coming home. And it covers several streets that are all readily walkable. It is the kind of place that parents in minivans drop off a group of kids and then pick them up again an hour later on Halloween. If it is a "bad" day, weather-wise, we will only get 70-80 kids at our door. Last year, the weather was warm and we had 120 candy bars and ran out and had to raid our son's take from his personal trick-or-treating. This year, it is on a Friday night and if it is warm...well, we bought 150 candy bars this time (they come in packages of 30.)

But, I have better stories about Halloween. Like the time my wife and I got invited to a Halloween party in an old Victorian house in Salem, MA! It was Halloween night and the streets in that town were filled with witches and wizards and other strange creatures. Then there were the kids in their costumes. We went as Jimmy and Tammy Faye Baker, the TV evangelists. Jimmy was on his way to federal prison for fraud or something, so I went in handcuffs, etc. Anyway, it was a very spooky night and the Victorian house that our friends were renting for a few years only made it better.

My son's birthday is October 29th, so his "holiday" is Halloween. For most people that I know, Halloween has lost any evil meaning and is just viewed as a fun time for kids to get dressed up, go around the neighborhood and squeal in delight when they get a favorite candy bar.

By the way, we buy full-sized candy bars to give out (in bulk from a discount club store) and it is particularly fun to see the kids' reactions when they are getting a full-sized candy bar instead of the typical "trick-or-treat size" that is given out. We have even had return young visitors comment as they were leaving, "See, I told you this house would give us a big candy bar. Just like last year."

Most young girls dress as princesses (80%?) and most young boys are some type of superhero. Very few get dressed as evil or dead, spirits or monsters. And they get to go out and get free candy once a year. And adults get to enjoy seeing a parade of them one evening in exchange for giving a treat.

Around here, anyway, it is a bit like a kiddie Mardi Gras and a lot of fun. I liked the holiday as a kid and that does not seem to have diminished.

Oh, and we do decorate a little outside the house. Just enough to let the kids know that we are "open for business."

 

@jrbiz WEIRD! Just kidding.

No, I get the spirit of festivity and the fun associated with dressing up, consuming candies and so on.

The pastor of one church I went to, back in Ohio, actually encouraged the members to take their kids trick-or-treating (as opposed to some churches that see Halloween as nothing but evil).

Halloween is the only holiday that assimilated citizens don't appreciate, feel bad about and do not want to be part of. Not all of them, of course. But I've met quite a few folks over the years who expressed their strong, negative opinion about it. I guess, one has to be born in the US to fully appreciate the festivity. Like you said, it goes back to your childhood and you still feel like a kid around this time of the year. Although, my wife who was born here, doesn't like the idea of Halloween at all either. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

 

Its seems like now you getting like it... because if we don't like something our unconscious mind keep pushing us to think ...so then we also get a react to see whats going on outer world(long story=short) so this way for me there is nothing wrong with that but marketer like us it is getting opening a new market,,

 

The interesting thing about religion and Halloween is that its roots are in a religious holiday known as All Hallow's Eve or All Saints Eve because it is the night before All Saints Day which is dedicated to remembering the saints (hallows), martyrs, and the departed faithful. In fact, many Catholics here in the U.S. go to mass on All Saints Day after taking their children trick or treating the night before. I think that some churches have forgotten these roots because Halloween is not about celebrating evil, it is about confronting death, facing it down, ridiculing it, etc.

 

Yeah, probably the only opportunity to walk outside wearing whatever I like (Toilet paper pants, bags hats etc.). It's pretty fun. Aaand also new Simpsons episode

 

Way for businesses to make money and fun for the kids. I bet dentists love this holliday.

 

I use to be pretty active around Halloween.

 

I believe that more candy is sold in the U.S. for Halloween than any other holiday or reason. There are seasonal stores that spring up for a month or two that only sell Halloween costumes. The only other time that I see seasonal businesses springing up are the Fireworks sellers around the 4th of July, but not to the extent that Halloween costume stores spring up.

My wife remembers (negatively) that when she was a child, her local dentist in the neighborhood would give out toothbrushes, instead of candy, for Halloween. Kids quickly learned to avoid that house!

 

Tricks? or treats?

 

It seems to be human nature to avoid those things that are good for us. It's nice to know there are dentists that really want to help and arn't just money hungry.

 

Its fabulous to celebrate Halloween. I like the create part of it. the pranks and all the scary stuff. I hope its similar when we die

 

So, how did it go for you and your kids? Any fun stories?

 

It's tonight! The weather is looking to be quite good, so we are expecting a full contingent of ghosts, goblins, princesses, and superheros to stop by this evening. Generally, it starts around 6:00pm for us and lasts until 8:30pm or so. We tie the dog (big Golden) to the stair bannister so she can see and approach but not actually reach the kids who come to the door and this always adds to the excitement for the trick or treaters.

I will, of course, produce a full and final report either later tonight or some time tomorrow. We have 150 candy bars on hand, so I am fairly confident that there will be no stories of my having to run to the store for more supplies in the midst of the deluge as in other years. But I am expecting this to be a new "attendance record" for the event.. We have two new neighbors whom I have warned about the numbers, but I am not sure that they believed me. They could be in for a rough time. Stay tuned!

 

Some of my friends in Ohio had their trick or treating last night, and since I am not into this stuff, I thought the whole country had it last night too. LOL. The neighborhood I live in, is kind of hit or miss so I don't even know if most families will be doing trick or treating tonight. Christmas is big here though.

 

When I was a kid in western Massachusetts, we went out on two nights: October 30th and 31st. Not all houses would be "open for business" on the first night, but you still brought home a good amount of candy. The 31st, however, was the "big" night. Here in RI, it is just the 31st, as far as I am aware. This being a Friday night and the weather being nice, I am happy that we are sitting on a big pile of candy.