happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, all! My mom is taking this week off, so I am filling in for her. In honor of the holiday, I will be relating a Halloween story.


In the seventh grade, my mother helped throw a murder mystery sleepover for Halloween. In true Perri form, the evening was authentic down to the minutest detail. We sent out invitations to each of my friends, planned out a sensational menu, and assembled an excellent supply of spooky decor (but not too scary, of course). My mother has several great Halloween party tricks (and treats of course!) that we utilized for this particular occasion. As we were a rambunctious group, we prepared accordingly by covering the light suede couches with white sheets. It was thematic, but also perfectly practical.


Another classic Halloween trick involves the senses: blindfold your friend and stick their hands in "brains" and "eyes," better known as cold spaghetti and grapes. My mother took it a step further by involving sight. Placing olives in hollowed out martini onions, my mother creates ghoulish "eyes" you could also eat.


While the above are functional and funny suggestions, some tips are purely aesthetic, but also essential. With the purchase of a fog machine and cobwebs, our entry was transformed into a creepy portal into All Hallow's Eve. The table was covered with a Halloween table cloth and adorned with food and festive pumpkins. While large pumpkins have novelty value, small pumpkins, the size of your palm, can be surprising and heartwarming touches of the holiday when set in unexpected places.


Now all of these details may leave you wanting more. Isn't Halloween about being scared out of your mind and passing out after eating too much candy? Well, I will have you know we were picking candy out of the carpet for days. And when it came to being ridiculously scared (and scarred), that is where my father came in. As we slumbered, my father drove an electric toy rat into our bedroom. They could hear the screaming down the street.

eve of all saints, sweetened

topic number nine: pre-Halloween tricks for treats

Halloween, the eve of all saints day, is a holiday celebrated by many. The evening is often measured by festive parties, door-to-door trick or treating, costumes and home decorations which have endured and evolved through years of October 31sts. Many of us often share memories of a special costume worn, a savory candy treat or a great evening party or two. I can still envision and feel the excitement of the night, the crisp smell of the fall air, the sounds from a neighbor's haunted house, candlelit porches and the taste of pumpkin pie.

And then remember...the candy inspection.

Yes, a more recent, seldom publicized Halloween tradition of sorting out the good from the bad. It used to be disguised as trading treasures with parents upon returning home from the night's adventure with a stockpile of sweets. As kids, many of us thought our parents just liked unwrapped candy or candy with an easy open twist wrap. Little did we know that there were some "bad" treat givers out there. Those tricksters! And some of us actually believed our parents when they requested a few of our premium candy captures like Reese's peanut butter cups or Abba Zabba bars to save for "later". Where do you think they went? Regardless, there was definitely enough candy aka sugar for everyone on the inspection team and more.

Then much later in life, with a trick or treating daughter of my own, I began thinking about the excess of premium candy bars and about the ton of traditional candies immediately disposed of due to indiscriminate wrappers. I also could not stop thinking about the one treat I received as a kid that will be forever remembered. It was a single warm donut. No wrapper, no cover and we were allowed to eat it! It came from our neighbor down the street who owned a bakery. I guess this particular item stands out not only because of its extraordinary confectionery appeal, but because it was different. And I like different.

Thus comes my own custom assortment of Halloween treats with the thought of quality over quantity:

Boxes of Cracker Jacks

Individual portion packages of Pepperidge Farm Milano or Nabisco Oreo creme filled cookies

Kellogg's Rice Krispies Treats

Violet Crumble bars

Boxes of Red Vine licorice

and of course,

Reese's peanut butter cups

I hope this will inspire you this coming week to think out of the box, or jack-o-lantern so to speak!

glow sticks

I think it is funny that my mother speaks of this "candy inspection." Most of MY Halloween candy ended up being eaten by my mother, my father, and occasionally our dog, (2 GIANT chocolate bars and she survived). In their defense, I don't really like candy so most of the transfer was voluntary (not for the dog).

Here is my take on my mom's Halloween treats: genius. I've never had the privilege of receiving something as excellent as a donut while trick-or-treating due to certain "poison hazards," but Cracker Jacks are a wonderful alternative. There is a certain moment in the post-October candy coma where such snacks are not only welcomed but actually needed to balance out the sticky, highly concentrated sugar of Bottle Caps and Hershey's and Snickers. Not to say that these products are any less bad for you--but they last a bit longer. In addition, something as voluminous as a six-pack of Oreo's has a lot of pull once the candy trading festivities begin.

There is the argument that the treats are all bad, especially with epidemics of diet-related diseases among the youth these days. Even though I have my weaknesses, in a perfect world, I wouldn't eat anything packaged, processed, or pre-cooked ("fake food"). For those of you who feel similarly, consider this: glow sticks. when you are an 8-year old ghost/doctor/monster/Harry Potter, the only thing better than candy is a magical stick or bracelet to light your way and enhance your dress(this also applies to 19-year-old college students). Glow sticks also make the little ones more visible to the grown ups (and the college friends who "wander" more visible to their "mothers").