1. Walking through Party City and not buying anything, but stealing candy from the big circular candy thing
This might be super niche, but I feel like other kids have to have had this experience too. You would go to Party City, stare at the costume wall in dismay as your mom told you it was too expensive, and then walk around the store in awe for half an hour until you were dragged out. One of my favorite parts of these useless excursions was the circular candy trough they always had–the perfect place for a child to learn the art of shoplifting. But seriously, they left that stuff completely unattended. What was I supposed to do?
2. Plastic vampire teeth
You know them, you love them. Those silly neon plastic chompers. Honestly, I feel like these were one of the only acceptable non-candy things to get while trick or treating. It’s all fun and games until you try to talk with them. They also taste like sh*t.
3. Having to wear a coat over your costume
Every child’s worst Halloween nightmare come true–having to cover up your costume with a coat. In Western New York this is a common fight between every child and their parent during the month of October. How will people even know I’m supposed to be Clawdeen Wolf if they can’t see my purple tiger print skirt Mom?
4. Disney Channel Halloween
Ah, yes. The wave of nostalgia I feel when I watch old Halloween specials of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Wizards of Waverly Place, or Good Luck Charlie is unparalleled. The only thing comparable is the warm fuzzy feeling I get when I see the opening credits of Halloweentown or Twitches, both of which are masterpieces and I would argue some of the best DCOMs to ever be made.
5. 13 nights of Halloween / countdown to Halloween
These Halloween night countdowns were my favorite growing up. I love all things Halloween, especially Halloween movies, so this type of thing was right up my alley. They would always play the same stuff every year, and I always looked forward to the routine. It’s just a shame I don’t have cable anymore as a college student.
6. Trading candy with your friend that has a peanut allergy (bargaining)
Again, a possibly unique experience. Growing up my best friend’s brother had a severe peanut allergy, and he couldn’t eat anything even made in a peanut factory–the poor kid had to give away just about all of his chocolate candy. Enter me, a chocolate lover. Some of the most unfair deals in history occurred in my cousin’s basement on the 31st of October every year. I made out like a bandit.
7. Halloween cooking shows
Repeat: it’s a shame I don’t have cable anymore as a college student. These cheesy shows were always so much fun for me growing up. To this day I love the formulaic nature of cooking shows, and for some reason, these ones always had some crazy stuff involved with them; pumpkin carving, sugar work, and cake were often used in tandem to create Halloween-oriented statues and landscapes. These types of shows were silly, but god were they a good time.