Congratulations, Mark, you are the winner of the giveaway! Jessie will email you to arrange to send your prize.
Jessie-In New Hampshire where the darkness is gathring earlier and earlier.
October is just about the perfect time to double-check one’s to-be-read pile to be absolutely sure that there are enough books to last the winter. Our guest today has one you might just want to add to your stack! Take it away, Judy!
Hi! I’m Judi Lynn, and I want to thank The Wickeds for inviting me to their blog today. My latest Jazzi Zanders cozy, THE BODY FROM THE PAST, ends with a Halloween party. Jazzi’s husband, Ansel, loves holiday parties, and since he and Jazzi host Jazzi’s family meal each Sunday, they combine the meal with a celebration. Jazzi’s cousin, Jerod, and his wife have three kids—Gunther, 5; Lizzie, almost 3; and Pete, almost 1. Their friend, Walker, has a son, too, River-7. Jazzi makes “mummy” hotdogs, wrapped in strips of crescent rolls; meatballs with sliced green olives attached that look like eyes, and floats them in marinara sauce; pumpkin soup; and caramel apples and popcorn balls. Ansel loves kids, so he plans lots of Halloween games for them and buys a black cat pinata for them to break open.
Writing the party scenes made me think about Halloween when my sisters and I were growing up. We ran the entire neighborhood, knocking on doors for candy. We were only allowed one night to fill our goody bags. Neighbors went to extra bother for the holiday. One woman made candy apples to hand out every year. Another made homemade caramels. The lady down the street made popcorn balls, and another baked cookies. Homemade treats are taboo these days. Parents would worry what was in them.
When our girls were little, I baked tons of cookies for their Halloween school parties. No more. Now, we buy lots of candy every year and leave our porch light on, but fewer and fewer kids knock on our doors these days.
My husband belongs to our local American Legion, and members donate candy to have a Trunk or Treat. Both of our city’s malls pass out candy for kids going door to door from one shop to the next. Our local elementary school banned devil and witch costumes for the Halloween costume parade. No witches on Halloween? Come on!
I have wonderful memories of waiting until dark to dress in my costume and fly out the door with my big grocery bag, ready to beg for treats. Kids in our city are only allowed two hours for trick-or-treating—5:00 to 7:00. It’s not even dark. And parents walk with their kids to keep them safe. I know the world has changed. I know parents have to be more cautious of their kids’ safety. But it makes me sad.
Trick or treating, when I was young, was so much fun. Our neighborhoods were still innocent. Our neighbors made us feel safe, not wary. I don’t spend much time mourning for the “good, old days.” Life evolves and changes. But I do miss the joys of Halloween.
Readers: What was trick-or-treating like for you when you were growing up? Are you still a fan of All Hallow’s Eve? Judi is giving away a copy of The Body from the Past to one lucky commenter!
To find my blog: https://writingmusings.com/
Judi Lynn is the pseudonym for Judith Post. I love to cook, so recipes sneak into most of my books. I’ve always wanted English gardens like Agatha Christie writes about, but my own are mostly survival of the fittest. I’m no great gardener. I like kids, animals, and most people😊 I belong to a writers’ group, Summit City Scribes, that keeps me honest. No dangling participle gets by them. And I love to read.