Sitting in class reminicing about my childhood happens occassionally; during October it happens often. October has always been a month full of Halloween to me (yes, you need a whole month to celebrate Halloween). I remember watching repeats of Halloweentown all month long. When I turned 13 I was highly disappointed that I didn’t turn into a witch like Marnie. There are many reasons why Halloween was better when I was a kid. Now that I’m older it’s still a great holiday, but it has lost the special magic that it had when I was younger.
You were able to eat all the candy you wanted.
Granted, you can still do that now that you’re older, but it also comes with a nasty sugar crash, and there is now more of a concern for eating healthy. When I was a kid I ate whatever tasted good, which was Halloween candy.
Trick-or-Treating was still acceptable.
Trick-or-treating was the best time to run from house to house with your friends collecting all the candy you could manage. If I did that now that I’m 21, I would receive dirty looks from adults and someone mentioning that this holiday is for kids (Yeah, but what other time am I supposed to get free candy?!).
Picking out a costume that was cute, not trashy.
Looking back on my Halloween costumes as a kid, I was pretty freaking adorable. I had costumes from Blue in Blue’s Clues to Sandy in Grease to Princess Jasmine. As I ran from my neighbors’ houses collecting candy, there would always be an adult to comment on how cute I looked, then ask to take a picture. Now, we often try to see how trashy we can make our costumes by using minimal material. I really don’t understand this concept since Halloween is usually THE COLDEST night of the entire year. Good luck, and don’t get frostbite!
Watching Halloween movies was “totally cool.”
October nights as a kid would consist of endlessly watching Halloween movies and playing with my toys. Watching abundant amounts of Halloweentown or Hocus Pocus was considered normal; now I often get told that I could be doing something more productive with my time. I honestly do not know what is more productive in October than watching a marathon of all four Halloweentown movies.
When you got sick, it was from candy, not alcohol.
Getting sick off of Halloween candy as a kid was a yearly must, yet now the sickness is usually from the amounf of alcohol consumed. I would totally take a tummy ache from eating too much candy over the “brown bottle flu” anyday.
Carving pumpkins was a yearly must.
I often remember as a kid my mom carving pumpkins with me for the front step the weekend before Halloween every year. I would love to still be able to do this tradition, but papers and tests often get in the way of this being accomplished.
Overall, Halloween was so much better as a kid. With the stresses of everyday life, Halloween is often put on the back burner; tests and papers come first. Reminiscing about how fun Halloween used to be makes me hope that other little kids find the fun in it that I used to. Heck, if you want to binge eat Halloween candy, obsessively watch Halloweentown and relax in your adorable Halloween costume, then you have my blessing. May your Halloween be the best one yet!