Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Maybe it's because as a kid, I couldn't wait to dress up in a costume and pretend to be someone else. You see, I was painfully shy as a child. In fact, I was so shy that when I first started kindergarten, they placed me with a tutor. When the teacher tried to ask me a question, I'd immediately fix my eyes on my shoes. I was terrified to talk. However, I lasted one day with the tutor. After she read me a book and gave me a cookie, I wouldn't shut up.
Since I am a child of the 1970s and 1980s, Halloween was somewhat different back then, especially the costumes. I remember my first Halloween. I think I was 6 or 7. While most girls my age were either a princess or a witch, I decided to be a cowgirl. That was the "tomboy" in me. But after seeing all the neat costumes that kids were wearing at school, I knew that next year, I wanted one of those store-bought costumes. You could always tell who they were supposed to be, no embarrassing questions.
Since the Ben Franklin Store in Fosston didn't carry a wide selection of costumes, my mom agreed that we would go to Grand Forks to shop at Kmart. Once I was at Kmart, I had a tough time deciding between Cinderella and Wonder Woman. But in the end, Wonder Woman won out! Her bullet deflectors were very cool!
When I got home, I carefully opened up the rectangular box with the cellophane window, showcasing the Wonder Woman mask. Inside were the mask and a flimsy nylon suit with ties in the back. I donned my costume, mask and tennis shoes. I was ready to beg for candy in my new store-bought costume, as well as fight any crime along the way!
But my joy of being Wonder Woman was short-lived. One of the drawbacks of living in northwestern Minnesota was the weather. Mother Nature typically would spoil our Halloweens with nasty-cold weather. I remember the year I was Wonder Woman, it snowed all day. That evening, my mother insisted I wear my snowsuit over my costume. I tried to convince her I could put on my long underwear underneath my costume. But, unfortunately, there was no changing my mom's mind. To make matters worse, I even had to wear my Minnesota Vikings stocking cap, mittens and my big, clunky snowmobile boots. As I waddled out the door, I looked like a cross between a pudgy, purple and blue Smurf and the Michelin Tire Man. I knew that as soon as my neighbors opened the door, they would be perplexed at what the heck my costume was supposed to be. The embarrassing questions would commence.
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But my biggest challenge was being about to see and breathe through my ill-fitting mask. The eyeholes were small banana-shaped slits, two tiny-teeny holes for the nostrils and no openings for the mouth. I remember breathing into my mask feeling like I was going to hyperventilate from inhaling my own carbon dioxide! Not to mention the condensation that was building up in my mask! It was gross.
But the pain and agony was worth it. Our neighbors were very generous. Probably because they didn't get a lot of trick-or-treaters out in the country. I remember my plastic pumpkin getting heavier with each stop. They'd hand out full-size Snickers and Salted Nut Rolls, boxes of Milk Duds, homemade popcorn balls and caramel apples, 50-cent pieces, and cans of Mountain Dew. I even got cinnamon Tic Tacs from our bachelor farm neighbor!
As I got older, the lure of store-bought costumes wore thin and I ended up raiding my grandparent's closet for costume ideas, which was much more fun and creative. I wasn't all that good at making my costumes, but I sure had a great time with it.
As I plan for my own two daughters' Halloween costumes, I've discovered that today's fashions are much more kid-friendly, warm and, most importantly, safe. Thank goodness!
I hope you leave a light on for all the little ghosts and goblins that knock on your door this year. They're making memories that will last a lifetime.
