Halloween is fairly anti-climactic for weird costumes given the tendency of some parents these days to let their pre-teen kids dye their hair bizarre colors, wear dog collars and even allow 10-year-old boys to have a pierced ear or two.
About the only costume option left to some kids that won’t confuse family and friends with their regular day dress and grooming is to go as Beaver Cleaver.
The choice back in my pre-teen days in the 1960s was fairly simple. You either bought a cheesy store costume with a plastic mask, you used shoe polish on your face and went as a bum, or you simply took an old white sheet, cut two holes in it for eyes and went as a ghost.
This Halloween I defy you to find a single bed sheet out there that’s been converted into a ghost. I used to think it was because kids today lacked simple imagination. But after spending time a few months ago in stores looking for bed sheets - plain white or even simple colored sheets - white sheets are passé. It would be difficult to go as a ghost if your sheets are covered with reproductions of the Joe Boxer smile or Spiderman.
The store-bought costumes are no longer cheesy. They’re downright cute with equally cute prices to match.
Some are so elaborate that the kids wearing them need a support crew to make sure they don’t trip or get caught up in all of the accessories.
Of course, nothing is ever as we remember it when we were younger. I’m sure in 20 to 30 years from nowadays trick or treaters will roll their eyes at whatever the pre-teen set is wearing this year while ringing door bells in search of the big candy score.
Transformers look like they are going to be big again this year but in 2040 it’s going to sound a bit weird explaining what you wore to your kids.
While I don’t plan on being at home this year, answering the door for trick or treaters after two hours sometimes gets to be a bit monotonous. The pain-in-the-neck factor dissipates pretty quickly, though, when you remember back to when you were a kid.
That may explain why I always in the past tried to have candy that are mini-versions of the mainstream stuff such as Snickers, Hershey chocolate bars, M&Ms and such. I don’t want to sound like an ingrate, but there was nothing more disappointing than to return home from a night of trick or treating and have candy that is unfamiliar not just in packaging but in taste as well.
That still happens in this day and age of mega-candy sales at Halloween as you will come across candy that has the staying power and universal appeal of fruit cake.
Back in the 1960s at Halloween the neighborhood we lived in wasn’t candy central. When you rang the door bell followed with the age old greeting “trick or treat” more often than not folks would give you a piece of fruit, a homemade cookie (what 9 year-old kid likes persimmon cookies?), a plastic penny toy or - as one retired teacher gave us every year - a pencil.
I’m not complaining, mind you. It was kind of neat. Unfortunately, you won’t see that happen today thanks to the fear people have with the potential of foreign objects in treats received at the doors of strangers.
Granted, the odds of your kid getting a foreign object in their treats that could harm them are astronomical. It isn’t, however, wise to take chances with your kid.
The days of innocent fun that could be yours for the price of an old white bed sheet aren’t gone. There’s just a difference in style between the Flintstones and MTV generations.
But by the same token, if I were giving out treats and a kid were to ring my doorbell wearing a basic white sheet with holes cut out for eyes, they might just score an entire bag of Halloween candy.
About the only costume option left to some kids that won’t confuse family and friends with their regular day dress and grooming is to go as Beaver Cleaver.
The choice back in my pre-teen days in the 1960s was fairly simple. You either bought a cheesy store costume with a plastic mask, you used shoe polish on your face and went as a bum, or you simply took an old white sheet, cut two holes in it for eyes and went as a ghost.
This Halloween I defy you to find a single bed sheet out there that’s been converted into a ghost. I used to think it was because kids today lacked simple imagination. But after spending time a few months ago in stores looking for bed sheets - plain white or even simple colored sheets - white sheets are passé. It would be difficult to go as a ghost if your sheets are covered with reproductions of the Joe Boxer smile or Spiderman.
The store-bought costumes are no longer cheesy. They’re downright cute with equally cute prices to match.
Some are so elaborate that the kids wearing them need a support crew to make sure they don’t trip or get caught up in all of the accessories.
Of course, nothing is ever as we remember it when we were younger. I’m sure in 20 to 30 years from nowadays trick or treaters will roll their eyes at whatever the pre-teen set is wearing this year while ringing door bells in search of the big candy score.
Transformers look like they are going to be big again this year but in 2040 it’s going to sound a bit weird explaining what you wore to your kids.
While I don’t plan on being at home this year, answering the door for trick or treaters after two hours sometimes gets to be a bit monotonous. The pain-in-the-neck factor dissipates pretty quickly, though, when you remember back to when you were a kid.
That may explain why I always in the past tried to have candy that are mini-versions of the mainstream stuff such as Snickers, Hershey chocolate bars, M&Ms and such. I don’t want to sound like an ingrate, but there was nothing more disappointing than to return home from a night of trick or treating and have candy that is unfamiliar not just in packaging but in taste as well.
That still happens in this day and age of mega-candy sales at Halloween as you will come across candy that has the staying power and universal appeal of fruit cake.
Back in the 1960s at Halloween the neighborhood we lived in wasn’t candy central. When you rang the door bell followed with the age old greeting “trick or treat” more often than not folks would give you a piece of fruit, a homemade cookie (what 9 year-old kid likes persimmon cookies?), a plastic penny toy or - as one retired teacher gave us every year - a pencil.
I’m not complaining, mind you. It was kind of neat. Unfortunately, you won’t see that happen today thanks to the fear people have with the potential of foreign objects in treats received at the doors of strangers.
Granted, the odds of your kid getting a foreign object in their treats that could harm them are astronomical. It isn’t, however, wise to take chances with your kid.
The days of innocent fun that could be yours for the price of an old white bed sheet aren’t gone. There’s just a difference in style between the Flintstones and MTV generations.
But by the same token, if I were giving out treats and a kid were to ring my doorbell wearing a basic white sheet with holes cut out for eyes, they might just score an entire bag of Halloween candy.
