The Ghost of Halloweens Past

Growing up, Halloween was one of the greatest holidays. Not only was it great to dress up, but trick-or-treating was one of the most enjoyable traditions out there. Back when you'd get all dressed up and, with supervision of course, you walk around your neighborhood door-to-door, ringing doorbells and yelling trick or treat with such thrill that you barely noticed the terrible cold (Utah+October=FREEZING!!). But this tradition is fast becoming nothing more than a memory. First, it moved from door-to-door to trunk-r-treat. This may have been a Utah thing as it centered around the Mormon church. The members would get together in the parking lot and kids would go from trunk to trunk collecting candy. Though this still kept the essence of trick-or-treating, it lacked any real threat of the trick and the event went more quickly than the door-to-door method. Then our little town also tried what we called BooFest, where the local businesses on downtown would give out candy to trick-or-treaters. Sadly, both of these traditions have faded and it's simply not safe to go around trick-or-treating anymore, even in our little town. In my opinion the only solution to this is to throw a party. Whether it is simply a family party, or a neighborhood block party, it's really the only route to go anymore. Adults have been having costume parties for years now, but I'm more worried about the kids. But there are so many websites out there giving ideas for Halloween parties, the work is almost done for you. Costume contests are almost necessary, because we don't want to lose the importance of dressing up. And the food is always key, with cauldrons full bubbling over with dry ice, and a menu with spooky names. Or, for slightly older kids, create a haunted house. I loved doing this when I was younger. You could do it in a garage or use laundry line and put up partitions in the back yard. Do it just for the family, or invite the whole neighborhood over. Also, check out this article for some other great and easy alternatives to trick-or-treating, it had the best info I've found. We can't let Halloween die. Just because we can't safely send our kids out trick-or-treating doesn't mean Halloween can't be just as fantastic, if not better. Just don't forget to tell your kids what Halloween used to be like.