...our HALLOWEEN TRADITION.....then vs. now. . . . oh, how we've been outdone by our children and their families!

My husband and I weren't very into "Trick or Treating" but we knew our children wanted to do it.  So while they were very young I'd make what my Momma called her "Nut's and Bolt's", bag it up individually for various families on our block and I'd dress us all up as hobo's or clowns, since that was easy and we'd take our Little Red Radio Flyer Wagon around full of our treats and have the kids ring the doorbell's of our friends and neighbors and say "Our turn to treat." instead of "Trick or Treat" (of course that didn't last long as our children grew older but it was fun while it lasted).  Later we just would sit out by our front door as all our neighbors soon started to do and we'd look out for each other's children and let them have a little freedom.  This all came about when so many families from the south side of town would bring their children into our neighborhood for a safe trick or treating experience and a carload of teenagers went roaring thru our street shooting bebe's at the trick or treaters.  We took in kids from in front of our home as did all the neighbors to have the kids call their parents while they waited safely within our homes.  It was also a Tradition for me to prepare a "Dinner in a Pumpkin" to fill up my kids before they started eating their Halloween candy, (which I went thru piece by piece before they were allowed to eat any of it, but I am sure they ate some along the way without my permission).  NOW our children and their families go one better, in carrying-out our Halloween Family Tradition, they always have such different and fun costumes for their whole families and we can't wait to see what they are going to be each Halloween.   Sometimes they even come over to our home to show off, or invite us to their Ward Trunk or Treat activity to see them.