Trick or Treat!

Cheers to a safe and fun Halloween weekend to all - this year Halloween at our house has been pretty low key. We didn't spend time or money recreating this year's most popular costume. What is this year's most popular costume you may ask, well according to Google the answer is there's a tie - that's right a tie between Lady Gaga and the cast of the Jersey Shore. Now obviously, those two options are for adults and I'm sure there are many other choices for kids that are topping the most popular lists.

What I find interesting about dressing up in costumes for Halloween is how those costume choices change over the years as we age. As infants, parents dress their precious little bundles of joy up as bumble bees or tiny pumpkins. As kids, many want to be super heroes like Superman or Wonder Woman. When we enter our younger teen year's, choices might navigate towards what we want to be when we grow up, like a doctor, or you start to trick or treat in groups with friends and everyone dresses up as the same thing - you've seen this, there will be like 5 or 6 girls all dressed up as disco chicks or something like that. Now, for most older teenagers, they're going to opt for the more scary costume - dress in all black, put on some freaky face paint and a wig and that's all you'll get for their costume. Some teens still pull out the more creative side, which can be fun to see what type of costumes they come up with - most will pull from the celebrity side of things, like impersonating their favorite actor or movie figure. Then as adults, when we're invited to Halloween parties, we come up with all kinds of creative ways to make people laugh when we let go of our in habitations and let our fun side show every now and then to come put with some great get ups.

Now, on to the Trick or Treat part of this post. When are people too old to go around trick or treating? I find this to be an interesting questions as I've recently started flipping on the porch light and passing out candy these last few years. I love seeing all the cute kiddo's come up to the house and open their bags or holding out their plastic pumpkins, saying trick or treat for a piece of candy. Some of them brave and confident on what they are supposed to say, others getting right up to the house, then looking back at their parents at the end of the drive way, looking for encouragement on what to say. These are the years of innocence - when there are no worries in life, when you are protected by parents and just out to have a good time! But all that changes when the next group of "kids" knocking on the door is a bunch of sometimes "obnoxious" teens who hold out their pillow case and don't even speak to you. They expect you to just reach down in the bowl and continue to fill their bags up to the brim with more candy. Those few sentences may make me sound like someone who's bitter about passing out candy - like if I'm going to have the porch light on, then I should just be okay with anyone and everyone who comes around trick or treating. What I've learned over these last few years as a home owner, is to have fun with those older kids. Not too much fun to the point where they'll make note of your house number and return to egg your car, but just to make it fun for all parties involved. Case in point - if you are a teenager who doesn't really put any effort into wearing a costume, then expect to do some "tricks" when you roll up on our house. JJ and I will make you stand far back from the candy bowl and you'll have to catch the candy as we toss it to you - or if you come up to the house and don't say "trick or treat" and just hold open your pillow case, then we'll ask you what is that that you want. So, my point to this post (or rant) is that if you are going to participate in the trick or treat game, then play the part - get a costume, dress up, and say the "trick or treat" phrase - it isn't that hard and it's usually fun too!

I hope everyone has a safe, fun and Happy Halloween tonight. I leave you with a few photos from last year's Trick or Treat night in our neighborhood. Even Miss Ella got into the spirit of dressing up!