Life
Trick-or-treating is almost upon us, and you're probably reflecting on your childhood Halloween traditions. Maybe you went trick-or-treating with friends, or perhaps it was a family affair. Regardless, I'm jealous of you. I'm 24 years old, and I'm still salty about not being allowed to trick-or-treat as a kid since my parents forbade it. I was allowed to go once, with friends who dressed up in an attempt to be ironic and laugh at all the people who were trick-or-treating in the eighth grade. Such nerds! Trick-or-treating wasn't the only thing I missed out on. I also wasn't allowed to read Harry Potter, but that's an essay for another day. Still, the pain of not being able to read the most popular book series at my school quickly passed — I was more of a Little Women fan, anyway.
The lack of trick-or-treating still hurts, though. I happen to be visiting my parents this weekend, so I asked my mother if she has any regrets about not letting me or my sisters join our friends on Halloween. Her response: "Nope." Great, glad that's settled. I'm glad she's been able to move on so easily, but I'm in my feelings about my ruined childhood. I'm a bit dramatic because my life was still pretty good, but that sweet Halloween fun won't ever exist for me.
Picking Out A Costume
Do you remember the excitement of going to the costume store as a child? CAN'T RELATE, THANKS. Instead of dressing up in costumes when we were kids, we went to church. When I got older, I was able to go to "Trunk or Treat" events at church, where all the adults served candy from their car trunks. Still no costumes, though.
Having A Ton Of Candy To Pick From
My parents did their best to make Halloween fun for us. They'd buy candy and let us pick out some goodies to eat the night of the holiday, but I still envy kids who got a huge variety of candy because they knocked on doors. I still got to eat junk food, but getting to be choosy would've been nice.
Dressing Up In Family Costumes As A Family
My future kids will be miserable because I'm going to be more extra than Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka when it comes to family costumes. Neither of my parents have ever dressed up for Halloween, so coordinating outfits as a family was never a consideration. I've seriously dreamed about matching costumes since I was a little girl. One day.
Decorating The House For Halloween
You've probably realized by now that I was raised in a family that wasn't big on Halloween. Decorating for the holiday was out of the question. When I see people who have amazing Halloween displays, I'm shook. We never carved pumpkins, bought skeletons or hung lights outside of our house.
Saying, "Trick Or Treat!"
Do you see the joy on President Barack Obama's face? He's probably heard someone say, "trick or treat" and is tickled at the expression. OK, I may be romanticizing trick-or-treating more than I should, but there was nothing I wanted to do more than knock on a stranger's door and gleefully beg for candy. Nevermore.
Getting Candy With Little To No Effort
My mother reminded me of something I've apparently blocked out: Growing up, to get candy at our church event (see above), we had to recite Bible verses. There was pressure involved. Meanwhile, all of my friends were able to get candy without having to do anything other than look cute and walk around.
Bragging About Your Fun Night The Next Day At School
The only thing better than Halloween is the day after Halloween. You've likely sneaked some candy into your backpack for school, and you'll get to talk about your fun night with all of your friends. Maybe you went to a house where they gave out full-sized candy bars. I wouldn't know!
Handing Out Candy To Other People
My family was at church during all of the Halloween fun, so not only did we miss out on receiving candy, but we also missed out on handing out candy to our neighbors. I bought candy last year to hand out at my apartment building, and I was so excited to make a kid's night. No one ended up knocking on our door. Sad!
Reminiscing On Halloween As An Adult
This may seem a bit circular, but I have #FOMO about not having many Halloween memories. I have friends who get bummed about being too old for unadulterated Halloween fun, but I look at Halloween with apathy, since I never got to experience it. It would've been great to celebrate as a kid, but since I didn't, I don't get sad about growing old. Instead, I'm forming my own Halloween traditions with my husband, which I can't complain about. Even though I wasn't allowed to go trick-or-treating as a kid, I have the rest of my life to make sure Oct. 31 is special.
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