Trick or Treat ~ Halloween: It's Not About the Candy

Everyone has a an alter ego. Once a year we have an opportunity to be someone else.   Halloween is a strangely wonderful holiday that gives kids of all ages permission to let their alter ego come out and............beg for candy.

You'd think that Christmas would be the big one - the holiday that got  the most hype in our house.  Our kids need only be concerned with being really nice between Black Friday (the official  start of Season's Greetings) and Christmas Morning; about a month.  They had to deal with the paranoia that came with the repeated reminders that 'Santa was watching so..... they had better not pout or cry. Watch out! He's coming and he knows EVERYTHING.'  Pretty scary and far too stressful.

Our kids didn't live for the season that was run by a big guy, in a red suit, who also had his own CIA.  His spies were watching their every move and taking notes. Nope - they didn't live for the Ho-Ho-Ho holiday.  They lived for the Trick or Treat.

Our kids spent the entire year planning it. They were very serious about the costume they chose to represent their alter ego. Who would they want to be: a princess, a super hero or.......a  bad guy? Whenever they saw a character they related to in a movie or TV show, they'd say "I want to be THAT for Halloween!"  They changed their minds frequently throughout the year, so we couldn't really plan ahead.  It was usually best not to get a costume until the last minute - in case one of them changed their mind.  Okay, maybe it wasn't  best to wait (the pickins were slim), but I work better under pressure.

As they got older, they decided it was more fun to be a villain. Villains always had more fun.  Our kids didn't just dress up.  They got into character and made it a day of acting like someone else; someone who was nothing like them. Jim Carrey's version of The Riddler was the inspiration one year, and an easy look to pull off. The movie was a current hit and the costume could be found everywhere.

My husband and I remember one Halloween in particular.  My oldest son wanted to be Darth Vader. There was no convincing him of being anyone else. His mind, along with his heart, was made up. Unfortunately, there were no Vader costumes to be had.  My son was a trail blazer - the Vader costume was only available in too big adult sizes, at ridiculously big prices.  He already had a toy light saber.  He could have easily been Luke Skywalker - his white karate uniform was all he needed to complete the transformation into the good guy.  I might as well have suggested that he dress as Princess Leia - he wanted no part of playing a good guy after he'd set his mind on being the super villain of all bad guys.

I never wanted to let my kids down and Halloween was the biggest event of the year for them.  Creating a Vader costume was challenging and next to impossible.  Never say 'never' - a mother will do what she has to do, to help her child enjoy the simple pleasure of playing the part of a bad guy hero. The search for a suitable helmet was futile - we'd been to 3 shopping malls and countless department stores until........... we found a Speed Racer costume.   It came with a black helmet with a black face shield. Jackpot!  I'm sure I made a scene in the store - grabbing it and holding on to it like it was the last Tickle Me Elmo on the shelf.  I looked possessed. 'It's mine - don't even think about trying to take it!'

We steamed off the decals and it became a suitable Vader helmet. The rest of the costume was recycled; a Batman cape, a black turtle neck, black gloves and black snow boots made do for most of the costume.  He wore his black snow pants from the prior winter.  Even though they were a little too small, they worked.  I tacked on some shiny buttons and stickers on the bib and voila - he was transformed into the once good guy, who turned to the Dark Side and, eventually found his way back to good.  He didn't care that it wasn't exact - he felt like Vader and fell into character.

Halloween was never about how much candy they got or if it was safe enough to eat.  Sure, they'd score lots of treats when they went out for a night of fun, being someone else.  My husband and I would examine all of the candy and dispose of anything that wasn't prepackaged.  We'd also sift through and pull out the stuff we knew they wouldn't eat (conveniently the candy we loved).  They'd ration out their candy and make it last, but they never ate it all. We'd end up throwing it away (we grownups ate it).  They weren't really concerned with eating all of it anyway - they were too busy trying to decide who they were going to be next year.

Our kids are now all grown and in college.  Even though they've grown into adulthood, they're still young at heart. They still like to dress up on Halloween. My husband and I can't help but smile and reminisce about our own little ones' when we hand out treats on Halloween. "Remember the year we couldn't find a Vader costume and we had to make one?" I'd say to my husband.

"Yeah - that was a great Halloween." He'd say with a smile.

Have a safe and happy Halloween ~ HSM