Thursday, October 30, 2014

Happy Halloween by Guest Author Kathryn Albright

It’s here - Halloween! I’m hoping all the trick-or-treaters out there have a safe, fun evening.

I grew up in southern California. With the temperature in the high 60’s and the tall palm trees, Halloween didn’t seem scary at all. Now that I live in the Midwest, I confess I enjoy the autumn most of all. Halloween seems to “fit” here with the big harvest moons, the gnarled oak trees losing their colorful leaves, and the bite of the wind over the dying cornfields bringing in a hint of the coming winter.

When I was young, the PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) hosted a small carnival on the school playground every Halloween. No rides, but games like knocking down milk bottles with a rubber ball, fishing in a small swimming pool for goldfish, or doing the cake-walk. My mother would make a cake or two for that game. (Actually she did a lot more than that—always involved!) There was also a barbeque beef sandwich booth and a costume parade. Although there were store-bought costumes, many of my friends made something out of what they had on hand. My mother loved to sew and always had plenty of material from which to choose. I did come to realize that I hated the plastic masks from the store and would rather paint my face. (It’s also safer!)

I must have inherited my mother’s passion for getting involved and sewing. Here’s a picture of my three sons in costumes I made for them.

How about you? What are your favorite Halloween memories?

BIO


From her first breath, Kathryn Albright has had a passion for stories that celebrate the goodness in people. She combines her love of history and her love of a good story to write novels of inspiration, endurance, and hope. Her newest release is Dance with A Cowboy in the Wild West Christmas anthology. Visit her at www.kathrynalbright.com, or Facebook.

15 comments:

  1. Hello, Kathryn, and welcome to Sweet Romance Reads! My boys are grown now, but I have wonderful memories (although they might not call them wonderful) of the home-made costumes we came up with over the years. Halloween is a fun time for kids.

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    1. Hi Donna and thanks for the fine welcome! I like to keep Halloween fun and not scary. (No zombie's please!) I'm visiting in San Diego today, and really enjoy the huge (4 foot) spiders and webs people have on their homes in the neighborhood. Also, the dog costumes are really something! (I doubt a cat would allow a dress-up for long LOL)

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  2. Hey, Kathryn! Welcome to SRR! I remember taking my son trick or treating. A 6 foot tall Batman answered the door and he ran screaming back to me! LOL!

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    1. Hi Melinda,
      I hope that experience didn't scar him for life! I thought to dress up slightly one year. I wore a headband with bouncy glittery red hearts and painted circles of red on my cheeks and red lips. I ended up scaring two little glrls myself! Haven't done that again! Thanks for commenting.

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  3. Hi, Kathryn! Your mom sounds a lot like mine - and I hated the plastic masks, too! Happy Halloween!

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    1. Thanks for commenting Shanna. I hope you enjoy your day and evening too.

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  4. I remember at 3 or 4 years old trick-or-treating with my little brother and big sister. My brother and I must have been cold, and we ended up zipped into my dad's coat, each of us getting one sleeve. I thought that coat was huge at the time. FUnny how perspective changes as we grow.

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    1. That is such a sweet memory, Aileen! And what a great father to watch out for you so closely!

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  5. Going out with a bunch of kids trick or treating when I was young--before you have to worry about the candy being tainted. We had so much fun.

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    1. Hi Margaret! Yep. That was the best. I remember racing to the next house to try to beat my oldernbrother to the door first and yell Trick Or Treat! But he always seemed to get more candy than me by the end of the evening. Don't know how.

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  6. I remember when my kids were little, I dyed two pillow cases orange, cut out arm and leg holes and stuck them in them. We then stuffed newspaper around them. They looked really cute, were warm, but not happy with the way they couldn't walk decently. My daughter was two and a half at the time and she's scowling in all the pictures.

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    1. Hi Tina! Nice to have you comment here! I bet your kids looked adorable! I just love the home-made costumes. They are so creative! I could get lost on Pinterest checking them all out.

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  7. Lovely memories, Kathryn. I live in the UK and it's only in the last few years that Halloween has been popular here. When I was young it was not even mentioned. When my kids were young it was just starting to catch on. We have bonfire night here on November 5th with fireworks. That was our main autumn fun when I was a child.

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    1. Hello Helen. I lived in the UK when I was very young for about three years. I remember Guy Fawkes Day--is that what you are referring to with the bonfire? Of course, I was so young, in my mind, it was Fox Day--but I remember it involved bonfires. Thanks for commenting all the way from the UK!

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  8. Yes, I have fond memories of hay rides and bonfires and weenie roasts too!

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