Halloween Questions

I found these questions posted on Blogthings.com for people to answer in their blogs, and thought I'd give it a go. So, here it is!

Do you think Halloween costumes for kids and teenagers are too provocative these days?
A few of them are. Things like the "slutty nurse" or the "cleavage vampire" yeah, they're a bit out there. For the most part though, little kids seem to not dress like that. Around here, I haven't seen many belly showing, over exposed costumes on kids during trick-or-treating, but then most of the time it's really just too cold here in October to show much skin. Maybe out where it's warmer, there are more provacative costumes, but here you'll die of hypothermia.

How old were you when you stopped trick-or-treating? Do you miss it?
I was about 14 when I stopped trick-or-treating, really, and I still went out in costume to take my sister around the neighborhood. To me, you're never too old to dress up in funny costumes and run around asking for candy, it's a personal choice when you want to stop or not. I still go out with my friends, both of whom dress up with me, and we take my little sister out as sort of an excuse to go trick-or-treating. We don't ask for candy anymore, though sometimes they'll give it to us anyway which is nice (NEVER refuse free candy) but for the most part we mainly just wander around the neighborhood all night in funny costumes all night and make fun of the people who were too chicken to do it.

Do you think Halloween is too commercial these days? Do you miss classic halloween costumes or traditions from your childhood?
There's always the fear of a holdiay becoming too "commercial" which I think is completely ridiculous since it only becomes commercial if you let it. The basic tradition of dressing up in a costume, going from door to door and asking for candy is still there, and always will be unless every in the world unanimously says, "This is stupid why are we doing this?" and stops all at the same time. Yes, people are wearing more store bought costumes as opposed to making their own, and decorations from Wal Mart are getting more and more elaborate, but I think it's all a part of the natural evolution of our culture. Things change, things have always changed, Halloween and holiday traditions in general have been changing since the concept of holidays were invented, and if store bought costumes and elaborate Wal Mart "insta-decorations" are a part of this, than so be it. Embrace it, don't complain about it, and make the changes your own. Speaking as someone who has worn both handmade and storebought costumes, and had great satisfaction with both, I really don't think "commercialism" is anything really worth worrying about.

What's the first Halloween costume that you remember wearing?
I have vauge memories of being Princess Starina in either pre-school or kindergarden. I think it may have been my last year of pre-school, since I remember showing up in my costume for the big "Halloween Parade" we were going to do around the neighborhood my pre-school was in, only to be told that I was late and that they had already done it. I was very disapointed, if I'm remembering right, but I think they offered to do something else special a little later, since I was already in costume...I don't know. But that's the first costume I remember, my Princess Starina costume my mom made from this shiny magenta fabric and an old doily spray painted silver. I think we may have painted some stars on it too. It was your typical fairy princess outfit, you know, the kind every little girl wears for Halloween at least once. I think I may have worn it again though, since I think I was Princess Starina during kindergarden too, though that might be the year I was Sailor Moon...gah, this is difficult...

What's the scariest movie you've ever seen?
Probably The Ring which I've actually seen twice, both times because a friend was watching it. The first time I was spending the night at the house of a friend I don't really see much (she lives far away) and there was actually a well in the backyard. I walked around my house for a week turning on televisions and not answering the phone. I babysitted at this huge house about a week later, middle of the night, kids were asleep, alone in this big dark mansion-like house, and I got a call from this person who, in a raspy voice, said "Seven Days to live" after I said Hello. I screamed bloddy murder and dropped the phone. It turned out to be my friend (obviously) who I was about ready to kill till the kid I was babysitting came downstairs and asked what I was doing. Then I had to clean up my language. The second time I watched it, it went a lot smoother. I knew what was coming, and what to expect so it wasn't quite as frightening. I was a sleepover that night with a bunch of friends and we found an unlabled tape after the movie under the TV. One of my friends and I wanted to watch it to see what it was, but everyone else ran upstairs in terror and told us not to send the copy we would have to make to them. Turned out to be a talk show tape or something. Very anticlimactic.