It's Candy Time!

I love the movie Monster House; it was actually pretty scary for a kids movie. Thinking about the movie, obviously makes me think of Trick-or-Treating. I was never allowed to Trick or Treat by myself or even walk around the neighborhood. My mother had to drive me around from house to house; we also didn't get to go to many houses because my mom didn't want to drive that far. The only exception to this was when I went Trick-or-Treating with a friend or relatives. In those cases, I usually got to walk around in a group and the parents just maintained a distance from behind. The last time I went Trick-or-Treating, I was in 8th grade.  I went with my sister around our small neighborhood (by ourselves) and we took our cat along in a bag. He wore a bandana around his neck; we said he was a biker kitty. I have two vivid Trick-or-Treating memories from my childhood.

The first: I was a mermaid for Halloween. It was one piece dress with a light, blue long sleeved top, gold seashell bikini, long, shiny green skirt. I guess I thought the dress was too open or loose to look like a tail. I remember my aunt sewing it tighter around my legs which made it difficult to walk fast or run. I remember me, my sister, and cousins all going out and racing to this one house. My skirt being constricting and my shoelace untied, I tripped and fell face flat in the wet grass. By the time I got up, everyone was back with candy.

The second: I was in 5th grade; I think I was a witch or something generic. I went out with my sister, my mom's friend and her two daughters (about the same age as my sister and me). We were in a large, rich neighborhood, and there was one house with a two door garage turned into a haunted house. There was a clown running a popcorn machine outside. We got a bag of popcorn and ate it before going inside. There cobwebs and purple and green lights all over. There were people in scary masks and costumes lurking in the corners, jumping out and growling at us. I remember my friend saying, "Just stick out your hand, and they'll give you stuff." So I stuck out my hand while closing my eyes, I got a Halloween pencil with a purple bat eraser and candy. It was pretty neat. To this day, I still think of it as the best house I ever visited Trick-or-Treating.

After I got home from Trick-or-Treating, I dumped out all my candy out on the floor. I carefully sorted it into piles. I separated them into name brand candy bars, Reeses or peanut butter candies, suckers, chocolate coins or other plain chocolates wrapped in colorful tin foil, and Nerds and other fruit flavored candies. There was pile far off to the side of the reject candy; it was filled with cheap, bad candy or candy I didn't know the taste of. I always threw out those orange and black wrapped candies. I never knew what they were and always assumed they were bad. I just recently saw a bag of them at the Dollar General and learned that they are peanut butter taffy candies. I also threw out the black and white striped rectangle candies, which I eventually learned were Mary Janes. Then there was some yellow, red, and blue wrapped rectangle candy I threw out.

I always made my candy last, and rationed out certain candies so all the good ones wouldn't be gone first. My mom never checked my candy either. I always remember the warnings about razor blades and poison being put in candy or apples; I never heeded them though. I ate my candy as soon as I got back from Trick-or-Treating.

What's one of the most vivid Halloween memories you have? How did you go Trick-or-Treating; what were you allowed and not allowed to do? Did you ever sort your candy or just eat it all at once? Were there any candies you shunned and automatically threw out? Did your parents have to check your candy before you ate it? What's the oldest you've gone Trick-or-Treating? Do you take your younger siblings or relatives out and mooch of their candy?