Halloween in college is drastically different from what we used to do as kids. Some days we all wish that we could go back to the carefree world we lived in when we were young. Halloween, for me, is one thing that I always looked forward to during my childhood. Here are some things that everyone misses from Halloween as a child.
1. Balling out at the Halloween store
Before committing to a costume, it was important to stop at every Halloween store to see what they had. Even after your mom explained that they all have the same things, you wasted hours going from store to store to find the perfect costume. Once you found "the one" there was nothing that could stop you from leaving the store with it, even if it was way overpriced.
2. Carving pumpkins
Some of us still carve pumpkins, but it's still not the same as doing it as a kid. Carving with a big knife was a huge responsibility and there was no way you could do it unsupervised. The intricate design that you had planned turned out to be a very beginner smiley face but you were still proud. Once the masterpiece was finished, you had to pick the perfect spot for it so that the whole block would see it when they passed your house.
3. Trick-or-treating
There's nothing like going from door to door watching your bag fill up with candy as the night goes on. It's important to have a game plan of what houses you need to stop at because they gave you the best candy last year or they have the scariest decorations outside of their house. You also have to compare costumes with the kids that you pass, always remembering the coolest ones.
4. Feeling super cool because you're out late
What's cooler for a kid than being out late, especially on a school night?! There's nothing like being up past ten when your usual bedtime is at eight. You're determined to stay up as late as possible because the next day at school everyone will brag about how late they were up. Even though the dark was a little scary back then, there's no way bedtime would be followed.
5. Organizing your candy from best to worst
After stopping at the last house, it was time to organize. You would dump out the candy all over the kitchen table and start to sift through it. It was important to have different piles for each type of candy and to make sure none of the wrapping was open on them. You found a perfect hiding spot for the best candy and then headed off to bed.
6. Trading candy
Bringing the unwanted candy from trick or treating and trading it at school was a must. There's nothing like getting someone to give up a Twix for a Tootsie Roll. Halloween candy was like money back in middle school. If you had the good candy, you had the power at school that day.
7. Having candy with every meal for the next few weeks
After Halloween, every kid had at least one piece of candy in their lunches for the next month if they rationed it right. You would start out with the best candies but once you got to the end of your reserve you would deal with the Tootsie Rolls that weren't very good. No candy was going to waste no matter how long it would take to eat it all!
Halloween has a special place in childhood memories and its fun to look back at times like these. Take some time, look back on some cringe-worthy Halloween pictures, and have a piece of candy for your childhood self. No matter what you're doing this Halloween just be safe and have fun!! Happy Halloween!!