What started my love of Halloween

[HalloweenMelanie]

Someone mentioned the smells...I always loved the smells too...the "cooking" jack-o-lanterns, the smell of fallen leaves, the first chimneys of the autumn lit in the early evening as we went TOTing.

It's my mom who gave me my love of Halloween...well, my mom combined with my love of nature. My mother (now deceased) made a big deal out of holidays, and on Halloween she hand-made our costumes, from top to bottom, every single year. No matter what we wanted to be, she could and would make it. Literally.

It was exciting to be out at night...it was fun to be hooting and scaring each other...I loved the cold nip of evening falling while my friends and I haunted the neighborhood, bags in hand.

I still love it today. I'm actually not as into the gore as the whole autumnal theme (that's why I said my love of nature must be part of it), visiting farms, tasting the first apples in September and the second round beginning in October (depending upon the variety), the beautiful colors that nature gives out at that time of year. Soooooooooooo gorgeous. I miss the northeast so much. (sniffle) But I still do up Halloween like it's my last day on earth.

I hope my kids wind up with as fond memories as I have.

[Andybev01]

Is "reverse-trick-or-treating" when you take candy away from little kids?

That's a variation, but not the way I do it. =P
I would go door-to-door giving candy away.

HA! Dressed in a business suit.

[Athenagwis]

My love for Halloween has grown over the years as well. Of course I enjoyed decorating and going trick or treating when I was younger, but it really wasn't until I got married that I really started to love the holiday. When I discovered that my husband wanted to go into a Halloween store with me and he actually enjoyed looking at, buying, and decorating with the Halloween stuff as much as I was discovering that I did, it made me have an even bigger love for the holiday. We started by buying bits and pieces of the Lemax Halloween village, and that has tripled in size since and we also add more and more other Halloween decorations every year as well. I have a few permanent displays because I love it so much I want to see my stuff all the time!! We have already decided that when my son moves out (he's 5) his room will have the Lemax collection permanently displayed. LOL We aren't into the gore as much either, we like doing the corn mazes and just enjoying the crisp air of fall.

Rachel

[Bea Evil]

I was born to love Halloween. My mom always called me a ghoul. Still does! I hate warm weather, so I love the cold air and colors and smells. My mom made my costumes, too. She would carve the COOLEST pumpkins! No patterns, no idea what she wanted, she just started cutting and the next thing you knew we had the most evil-faced jacks in the neighborhood! I was really proud of them, and I always got compliments on my costumes. Being a ghoul and no longer little, I have turned to the dark side and try to recreate those nostalgic feelings for kids but always wind up scaring some in the process, 'cause I like horror and gore and scary and evil and I really like when the adults admire my work. Halloween is for kids AND adults, equally....I just hope the kids will understand. I don't think people these days try to give the kids the same experiences. The kids are just all about the candy and the adults are all about getting it over with.... let's keep it real...