Halloween Memories

It's Mara here.

I am a fan of Halloween. I don't go crazy and I don't dress myself up. But I get excited when it's October and Halloween decorations start popping up in the neighborhood.

I think my love of Halloween started because I loved candy. And a night when you get to dress up, hang out with friends and get a whole bag full of free candy—well, what's not to like?

When Malia was born, I was so excited to dress her up and take her out for her first Halloween experience. And when she was young and would let me dress her, I'd try to make her costumes fun and not just something cookie cutter. The costumes were always store bought, but I would add face paint or a wig or fun accessories. A few of her costumes over the years have been: Minnie Mouse, a ghost, a fairy, a dark fairy, Cinderella, and Cat Woman.

I have a notoriously bad memory, so I can't recall all the various costumes I wore over the years. However, I have very strong memories of one year when my mom made me an amazing costume.

I wanted to be a princess. I wanted to be a princess with a giant puffy skirt that made it look like I was floating. So I asked my mom to make me one.

Looking back on it now, my mother was crazy for agreeing to make me this costume. I'm sure it cost a ton of money and took her hours and hours to sew. But being the super-mom that she was, she agreed. And we spent time picking out fabric and creating the design.

And sure enough, on Halloween, I got to wear my very fancy princess dress, complete with a hoop-like skirt and yards and yards of fabric.

I don't think we have any pictures of it which is too bad. Although, perhaps It's better this way. I'm guessing my childhood memories of the dress are more magical than whatever the reality was. And in my memories it's the most amazing, beautiful dress that ever existed. It's my favorite childhood Halloween memory.

Now that I'm an adult, (an older adult) I don't really do anything for Halloween, although I make sure our candy bowl is well-overstocked, so there are lots leftover after the neighborhood kids have come around. I do this because it's now what I think of as my Halloween candy. And yes, being an adult-type person, I could buy myself candy any time—but nothing tastes as good as Halloween candy.

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Toni here. I remember shopping for the fabric and then spending hours making Mara's princess costume, so it made me so happy to read her description of how much it meant to her. In fact, tears came to my eyes.

I can't remember any of the costumes I wore when I was young, but I remember some that I made for my kids. Top of my list for Mara is, of course, her princess costume. And top of the list for her brother, Jamal, is the spiderman outfit I also spent hours making. 

So what about you? Do you have a favorite Halloween memory? Did you have a favorite costume? Do you still dress up?

Malia dressed as a ghost in 2005.