trick or treating, and Halloween traditions

How we "do" Halloween nowadays looks a lot different than what it used to.  First, my kids are all older now, and not all of them trick or treat.  Teenagers trick or treating is such a controversial topic on our town's watch page on Facebook.  Personally, I don't mind giving out candy to ANY kid or teenager.  There are bigger things to worry about.

When they were all really little, we always went to my sister Lisa's house.  They were all in the toddler phase and lower elementary grades when we would do that.  Lisa would always have a big bash, because our family loves Halloween and it was also her dad's birthday.  One of my favorite memories is one year when she bought her dad a black birthday cake.  Jerry loved Halloween, too.  She went to transfer it from one area of the kitchen to another, and she dropped THE ENTIRE cake all over her beautifully tiled floor.  I think it took months to get all that black icing up.

Then her kids grew up and started doing their own thing and mine wanted to stay in our own neighborhood, so we started having our family over to our house.  It was anyone that wanted to come, basically, from my side and from Todd's side as well.  All the grands loved seeing their grandkids trick or treat.  I would make a huge pot of soup, we would eat, then Jerry would pass out the Halloween candy.  He always made our night entertaining and more fun.  Todd and I, along with Big Daddy and Mimi, usually, would take the boys trick or treating.

Jerry died five years ago, and not a Halloween goes by that I don't think of him.  I'm glad my kids got to know him, and that he was able to enjoy their childhood and watching them dress up.  He used to love to scare them by taking his dentures out in front of them.  I cannot type that sentence without chuckling.  We all loved Jerry so much.

Also, it was on that type of night (Halloween) when Jonah and Noah were in kindergarten, when I first made this soup.

[Chicken tortilla.]

Then we started going to our church that we still attend, and they always had a Fall Festival.  Graham and Drew were always on the puppet team, and while Jonah and Noah would run around and play games, Graham and Drew would perform, then enjoy some of the games, as well.  The church always supplied us with dinner~hot dogs and chili.  The fest only lasted from 5:30-7:30, so then they would come home and trick or treat on a few streets nearby.  All the grandparents always came with us to the Fall Festival, and it was there one year, that my mom-in-love fell during a rousing game of Cake Walk and injured herself.  [I am so sorry, Phyllis, but I also chuckled when I wrote that sentence.]

Now that they're all teenagers, they don't all go trick or treating.  Jonah and Noah usually go still, but this year, I don't think any of them are.  I told them I would just buy them a bag of good candy and they could eat it.  [This is all very likely to change, by the way.]  Our Fall Fest at church is happening on the night before Halloween this year, so that our church family can stay in their own yards and build relationships with their neighbors.  I love that they encourage that.  We have been doing that for years, ever since we had Andy, who was traumatized by the doorbell and strange people on our front porch.  We started taking our chairs out to the driveway with the bowl of candy, and that way the dogs wouldn't go nuts, once we added Crash to our mix.

This is about all the dressing up I can get them to do, and it's always for Way Back Wednesday in youth.

Most likely we will eat hot dogs and Rotel [and maybe some chili] this year and let the boys do their thing, whatever that may be.  I would love to pull out the fire pit and sit around it this year, too, while we hand out candy. 

[Also, how perfectly natural is Drew, as Buddy the Elf?  Thanks to my friend's hubby Jason, for letting him borrow his costume!  Noah and his friends went as Alvin and the Chipmunks.] 

Jonah didn't want to dress up. 

Things may look differently, but we always have a fun night.  For the last two years, Missy and her husband have come over to hang out with us, and she and I are always the ones outside handing out the candy.  This year, I think we'll all be out there.  :)  Also, I have a feeling their friends will be here, as well.  The more, the merrier.

What does your family do?  I would love to hear! 

Thanks for reading!  Love to all.