Halloween
Shocked at the amount of people not taking part in Halloween. When I was a kid every house would be lit up and it was such a big event. Now I take my 6 year old son out and maybe 1 out of every 10 houses will have the lights on. So sad.. Kids get very excited to dress up and go door to door..what a let down for them when the community doesn't take part.
Having candy around is a huge issue so I buy candy closer to the day, keep in the trunk to avoid temptation. Hubby gives it out while I take our son out.
Unfortunately, a lot of parents are afraid of letting kids go to houses of people they don't know anymore, for safety reasons. People just don't know their neighbors like they used to when I was a kid. In my town, I may get a half-dozen kids come by, but there are no bands of kids going around like they used to. The biggest attractions here are the stores on the "main drag," (and some churches) that all have candy for the kids and stay open late on Halloween just for them. Kids go from store to store getting treats and get to see a lot of other kids in costume. Otherwise, parents drive kids to the homes of families they know, and that's it.
I lived in St. Louis as a kid, and we used to go out and roam neighborhoods 3 and 4 blocks away in great groups of kids and have a blast. We got so much candy we had to use pillowcases, and sometimes had to go home, empty, and go back out again. We got homemade popcorn balls, candied and caramel apples, cookies, fruit, and all kinds of homemade an non-wrapped items, in addition to candy bars, etc. I was about 12 when we heard the first stories of needles and razor blades in apples. I remember how shocked we all were, It scared my parents so that the next year, they trimmed out trips to just the neighborhoods where we knew people, and I remember hospitals letting people bring their bags to be x-rayed. It was sad to see that wonder and innocence come to an end :(
