As an elder Gen X (born in 1968) I really miss the wild variety of treats we used to get for Halloween - everything from popcorn balls to full-size chocolate bars to weird old-people candies to comic books and trinkets. The candy my kids would receive from trick-or-treating in the early 2000s was very monotonous by comparison.
Full sized bars and comic books were the best! One year an older person in our neighborhood was giving out old comics and I got a bunch of them at the end of the night. Years later I realized she was probably giving away one of her grown kids comics collection.
Great story! I never really thought about the fun-size candy and loved reading the history. I do remember getting lots of them in my Halloween bag. Those little treats are now on my grocery list this week - I’ll enjoy a few along with some great memories!
We often claim nowadays not to "know" our neighbors very well through a lack of socialization and suspicion of motivation. The decline of the importance of homemade treats in Halloween trick-or-treating that you talk about here is one such factor. Associating certain people in neighborhoods with positive qualities or attributes (such as producing unique candy treats) can be a means of bridge-building that has become almost foreign in our current micro-managed holiday affairs.
If I got anything home-made while trick or treating my Mom seemed to be able to recognize certain one right away from people she knew. Those were the ones I was allowed to keep. As time went on though, throwing them out was just the default.
I have many memories of popcorn balls and apples (and one house that gave handfuls of popcorn loose! Ugh, such a mess at the bottom of the pillowcase!). Those were the “worst”, followed by candy like caramel bats (long flat pieces of caramel on a stick), candy corn, lifesavers and mini-boxes of Chiclets. Chocolate bars were the apex!
As an elder Gen X (born in 1968) I really miss the wild variety of treats we used to get for Halloween - everything from popcorn balls to full-size chocolate bars to weird old-people candies to comic books and trinkets. The candy my kids would receive from trick-or-treating in the early 2000s was very monotonous by comparison.
Full sized bars and comic books were the best! One year an older person in our neighborhood was giving out old comics and I got a bunch of them at the end of the night. Years later I realized she was probably giving away one of her grown kids comics collection.
Great story! I never really thought about the fun-size candy and loved reading the history. I do remember getting lots of them in my Halloween bag. Those little treats are now on my grocery list this week - I’ll enjoy a few along with some great memories!
We often claim nowadays not to "know" our neighbors very well through a lack of socialization and suspicion of motivation. The decline of the importance of homemade treats in Halloween trick-or-treating that you talk about here is one such factor. Associating certain people in neighborhoods with positive qualities or attributes (such as producing unique candy treats) can be a means of bridge-building that has become almost foreign in our current micro-managed holiday affairs.
If I got anything home-made while trick or treating my Mom seemed to be able to recognize certain one right away from people she knew. Those were the ones I was allowed to keep. As time went on though, throwing them out was just the default.
I have many memories of popcorn balls and apples (and one house that gave handfuls of popcorn loose! Ugh, such a mess at the bottom of the pillowcase!). Those were the “worst”, followed by candy like caramel bats (long flat pieces of caramel on a stick), candy corn, lifesavers and mini-boxes of Chiclets. Chocolate bars were the apex!
Awesome bit of nostalgia, thanks!
LOOOSE POPCORN?! That is so odd, I mean maybe you could eat a fistful at the door, but o put it in the bag? 🤮
I know! We knew it was weird at the time.