October 31st was a day I looked forward to all year when I was a kid. Why? Because I got to dress up as something or someone else in a fun costume (read about my favorite Halloween Costume ever here) and because I got a ton of free candy that lasted me for a whole month! I didn't have to dip into my allowance for a whole 4 or 5 weeks thanks to my greedy little Trick or Treat runs!Back in the fifties Trick or Treating was an art! We knew exactly how to get the most amount of candy in the shortest possible time, we knew the "good" neighborhoods and houses (the ones who gave out full sized candy bars and home made treats), and we knew which houses to avoid - the ones that gave out fruit or boxes of raisins - boo to that!
Sometimes we would hit a house that gave us each a whole Halloween bag full of all kinds of different treats! This was a jackpot house and usually one of the houses that was totally decked out for the holiday with multiple Jack-O-Lanterns, spooky floating ghosts in their trees, dancing skeletons hanging from rafters and a costumed adult who was enjoying the Halloween as much as us kids.
Below is my list of my favorite Halloween Treats of all time. I hope it brings back some fond memories of All Hallow's Eve for you too:
1. A REAL HONEST TO GOODNESS HOME MADE CARAMEL APPLE
Yes, in the "olden days" people actually made these up and gave them out as Halloween Treats on October 31st! I loved them as a kid and still do. There is a green apple lollipop coated in caramel out there now that's not such a bad substitute made by Charms.
2. A REAL HONEST TO GOODNESS HOME MADE POPCORN BALL.
This was one of my Mom's favorite things to make up for Halloween Trick or Treaters and I looked forward to them all year. She used Jolly Pop popcorn and Karo Corn Syrup to make them and there's nothing out there made commercially that compares to my Mom's popcorn balls! My first stop for a treat on October 31st was always my own home!
3. FULL SIZE HERSHEY'S BARS
In those days a full size Hershey's Chocolate bar was 5 cents. That was a whole weeks allowance for me! So getting one in my Trick or Treat bag was a totally awesome haul!
4. PEANUT BUTTER FILLED MOLASSES TAFFY
I still love these and I can only find them at Halloween. They always come wrapped in orange and black wax paper. They're hell on my teeth but I'll gum them if I have to as I age.
5. BUTTERFINGERS
I love Butterfingers when they're fresh. Crunchy, sweet and salty and full of peanut butter goodness. Yum! If they're stale and hard and don't melt in your mouth they suck though, lol.
6. CHOCOLATE NECCO WAFERS
I liked all the Necco wafers but all chocolate packages were my fave!
7. BLACK JACK GUM
I'm very fond of licorice and this was the best licorice gum ever made - in fact, maybe the only licorice gum ever made, lol.
8. MARS BARS
The old style ones! You know, where there were full sized almonds on the top? The new Mars Bars just don't cut it for me.
9. TOOTSIE ROLLS
Tootsie Rolls are still one of my favorite "chocolate" flavored candies. I especially loved the long, skinny ones but the tiny bite sized ones were good too. The full sized bars always made me think of doggy poo and I had to break them apart to eat them - same candy but the psychological effect ruined the taste for me, lol.
10. WAX LIPS AND FILLED WAX BOTTLES
Wax anything is fine by me. I used to love wax lips, whistles, and especially the sweet, liquid filled wax pop bottles. Do you remember those? They came in a six pack!
11. DOTS
Dots were always my favorite gummy style candy. These were around way before the days of the gummy candy of today which I have never cared for - it's too hard and chewy! Dots were soft and I loved getting them at the movies too. Nope, JuJuBes sucked, sorry!
12. CRACKER JACKS
Still the best caramel corn out there and still comes with a prize!
13. A CUP OF HOME MADE HOT CHOCOLATE AFTER A HARD NIGHT OF TRICK OR TREATING - WITH MINI MARSHMALLOWS, OF COURSE!
Yes, in the "olden days" people actually made these up and gave them out as Halloween Treats on October 31st! I loved them as a kid and still do. There is a green apple lollipop coated in caramel out there now that's not such a bad substitute made by Charms.
2. A REAL HONEST TO GOODNESS HOME MADE POPCORN BALL.
This was one of my Mom's favorite things to make up for Halloween Trick or Treaters and I looked forward to them all year. She used Jolly Pop popcorn and Karo Corn Syrup to make them and there's nothing out there made commercially that compares to my Mom's popcorn balls! My first stop for a treat on October 31st was always my own home!
3. FULL SIZE HERSHEY'S BARS
In those days a full size Hershey's Chocolate bar was 5 cents. That was a whole weeks allowance for me! So getting one in my Trick or Treat bag was a totally awesome haul!
4. PEANUT BUTTER FILLED MOLASSES TAFFY
I still love these and I can only find them at Halloween. They always come wrapped in orange and black wax paper. They're hell on my teeth but I'll gum them if I have to as I age.
5. BUTTERFINGERS
I love Butterfingers when they're fresh. Crunchy, sweet and salty and full of peanut butter goodness. Yum! If they're stale and hard and don't melt in your mouth they suck though, lol.
6. CHOCOLATE NECCO WAFERS
I liked all the Necco wafers but all chocolate packages were my fave!
7. BLACK JACK GUM
I'm very fond of licorice and this was the best licorice gum ever made - in fact, maybe the only licorice gum ever made, lol.
8. MARS BARS
The old style ones! You know, where there were full sized almonds on the top? The new Mars Bars just don't cut it for me.
9. TOOTSIE ROLLS
Tootsie Rolls are still one of my favorite "chocolate" flavored candies. I especially loved the long, skinny ones but the tiny bite sized ones were good too. The full sized bars always made me think of doggy poo and I had to break them apart to eat them - same candy but the psychological effect ruined the taste for me, lol.
10. WAX LIPS AND FILLED WAX BOTTLES
Wax anything is fine by me. I used to love wax lips, whistles, and especially the sweet, liquid filled wax pop bottles. Do you remember those? They came in a six pack!
11. DOTS
Dots were always my favorite gummy style candy. These were around way before the days of the gummy candy of today which I have never cared for - it's too hard and chewy! Dots were soft and I loved getting them at the movies too. Nope, JuJuBes sucked, sorry!
12. CRACKER JACKS
Still the best caramel corn out there and still comes with a prize!
13. A CUP OF HOME MADE HOT CHOCOLATE AFTER A HARD NIGHT OF TRICK OR TREATING - WITH MINI MARSHMALLOWS, OF COURSE!
DEAR ADULTS: HERE'S YOUR HALLOWEEN TRICK OR TREAT TIP!
Don't hand out fruit! Don't give kids a penny or a nickel (yes, some people did that - although a nickel in those days was acceptable!) Don't give out pamphlets telling kids that Halloween is evil and don't turn off the lights, lock the door and ignore the knock or doorbell! If you do any of these things then you deserve to be peeling off soggy toilet paper on November 1st!
TRICK OR TREAT, SMELL MY FEET! GIVE ME SOMETHING GOOD TO EAT!
ONLY TWO MORE DAYS TO HALLOWEEN and my RETRO HALLOWEEN PAJAMA PARTY RADIO SHOW - Join the fun on Friday, October 31st at 4 pm (pacific), 6 pm (central) or 7 pm (eastern)!
---------------------------
Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. (leave your link in comments)
Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Candy Corn Photo courtesy of Willc2
