Halloween as a kid.

Archeron

I remember back in the good old days when Halloween was a special occasion at which to be happy and get lots of sweets, we would all dress up in costumes that would invariably be made out of binbags, and each would have a 10p mask. Normally the obilgatory witch would be carrying a mop or some sort of plastic brush as wooden brooms didnt seem to be easy to come by. Gangs of 10+ kids would knock on a door and roar "GIVE TO THE HALLOWEEN PARTY" and expect a big sack of sweets to come flying out. No comment as to what happened when no sweets were forthcoming.......

Normally, the kiddie festivities would come to an end about 7pm when the drunk idiots with cans would come out of the bushes in order to start throwing gas bottles onto the bonfires and molten plastic onto each others faces. Of course the bonfires were normally about 200 feet high, 200 feet across and visible from space. (I always wondered what Dublin looks like from a plane landing at the airport on that night). Then finally, at about 8pm, the last stragglers would knock, usually 15+ year olds chancing their arm on the off chance that someone might have some pick and mix left over, and then everyone would sit down to eat a big chunk of barney brack, crack a tooth on the ring, throw monkey nuts at each other and wonder why anybody on earth would buy wine apples.

As I became a grumpy old man, I grew to dislike Halloween due to the bangers causing my dogs heartache, the dangerous fires so close to homes and the drunken gangs of roving muppets. (Hmm, things havent actually changed at all, I just got grumpy :rolleyes:)

So what was halloween like for you when you were but a nipper?

(by the way, does anyone know why they wrap the ring in that weird waxy paper? The texture of it always made me retch).

dlofnep

I remember going around trick or treating when I was 5 or 6, I went to a door with the old "a'tin for halloween?" They replied "Sorry, we don't do halloween here" and slammed the door on my face.

Oh the beautiful memories.

ciaran76

We used to say "help the halloween party" instead of trick or treat. It wa sthe 80's and you would rarely get a sweet. It was always apples/oranges/wine apples and a mixed selection of nuts.

There was always the bag snatchers that night too. The teenages who were just too old for going door to door and too young to get alcohol.

As a child I loved halloween as we used to collect wood and stuff for about 1-2 months before hand. Have running battles with other estates over wood. Then you would leave building the fire till as late as possible to avoid the wood/tyres from been stolen by the other crowds.

gidget

Discovering that the fairies had payed a visit and left some money in my dinner!!!

Playing holloween games such as bobbing for apples or hanging them from the ceiling and trying to bite them with your hands behind your back. I was acutually shocked when on Sunday, i was having a chat with my cousins who are 9 and 6 to discover that they had never heard of these games.

Mrs. MacGyver

We used to trick or treat and then sit by a big bon fire in the 'back field' in the terrace. We used to play bob for apples and cups and saucers. Things were placed bowls and my mother used to move the bowls around - you picked one and got the treat underneath. Did anyone here ever do this?
We used to tell ghost stories at home when we came in from trick or treating.


When we were trick or treating we said the following rhyme- -which i remember 20 years later!

Pumpkin, Pumpkin shining bright
It is halloween tonight
We are glad that you are merry
Pumpkins are so very scary
Pumpkin pumpkin shining bright it is halloween tonight

galactus

I always got soaked bobbing for apples with 5p pin them.

Talking of applese, do they do Toffy Apples any more? Used to love them.

It BeeMee

Trick or Treat? I always thought that was an American thing?

For us it was "Penny or the Pooka" (sp?)
And you had to EARN your sweets by singing a song, doing a dance or something that required more talent than "give me something or you'll be sorry" .....

And pumpkins. When did they come part of Halloween in Ireland? What happened to scooping out a turnip and making a head out of that?

Ruu_Old

I lived in the country so we didn't go to many houses but a few of them normally knew we were coming and would just throw a bag of mini sized twix bars out the window. The whole family used to go to our neighbours who had a bonfire and we used to eat all that stuff that wasn't good for us and play a few games.