Halloween Hoopla

When did Halloween become such a big deal? I know, I sound crotchety... But, I remember being a kid: On the day of Halloween, we would parade around school in our homemade costumes (thanks, Mom) and then, that evening, Dad would take us up and down the neighborhood street until our fingers froze. When we returned home, we'd dump out our candy on the living room floor so Mom and Dad could inspect it (This was the start of the razor blade scare.) Then, there would be a few trades, and the buckets would get stored on top of the fridge, with the contents rationed out until Christmas.

Halloween isn't even here yet, and my little goblins already had a big weekend. Amanda and Elisabeth were invited to a costume party at the home of some friends. Plus, we went to the Home and School Association event at Amanda's school. The girls had to wear different costumes for each... Nothing I paid full price for, of course, but there was a lot of digging in the orange and black bins to find just the right looks.

Then, at supper last night, the kids-- BIG kids, like me, included-- all got our Halloween presents from Grandma P. Did you know this was a gift-giving holiday? The big winner was a Halloween joke book Amanda got. Two highlights: It came with punch-out masks (see photo,) and the girls are already cracking up over punchlines about "Hollow Weenies!"