Don’t you ever feel like life moves too fast?
I know I do. I’m just a freshman college student, and even though at this age I shouldn’t really have permission to feel like I’m growing too fast, the thought keeps creeping back to me.
That’s why I’m a sucker for nostalgia. To me, it’s about the little things— childhood shows, silly knick-knacks I used to have, specific memories— and during times when life really is moving too fast, I’ll sometimes take a fun trip down memory lane.
But enough about me. For all of us, it’s spooky season! So, if you’re also craving a blast to the past, let’s revisit Halloween and remember what made it so exciting for us as 2000-2010s kids.
- PilllsBURY PUMPKIN COOKIES
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These iconic pre-cut cookies made its way into every Halloween party (especially classroom parties), and for good reason, because they crumbled in your mouth in the best way possible.
- TRUNK-OR-TREAT
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Was it “Trick-or-Trunk” or “Trunk-or-Treat”? Who knows? Who cares? It was a blast, whatever name it had. People decorated their car trunks with all sorts of light-up decorations, signs, and jack-o-lanterns to give us more candy on top of regular trick-or-treating!
- PUMPKIN CARVING KITS
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Pumpkin carving was a project. And with this kit, it could take you years before you carved out a single wedge. Maybe it was slightly dangerous (dull plastic blades + brute force = not the safest combo)…
…but it was a crucial part of the Halloween experience, so we’ll give it that!
- SPRAY-ON HAIR DYE
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If you got to spray-dye your hair for Halloween (or Crazy Hair Day), you were a cool kid. Most of us were stuck dying our hair with Kool-Aid!
- TRICK-OR-TREAT BUCKETS
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My family reused the same plastic buckets every year, with that old garage smell and light layers of dust clinging to the surface. Their handles would pop out and they eventually ran out of battery (they glowed in the dark), but we still held on to them over the years.
Also, these pumpkin buckets were (and still are) everywhere!
- KRABBY PATTY GUMMIES
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Admit it: If you watched Spongebob as a kid, you always hoped to eat a real-life Krabby Patty. Food in the cartoons just looked so good. And these were the real deal, just in candy form!
- HALLOWEEN SPECIALS
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If you grew up watching TV during the 2000s-2010s, you were probably either a Disney Channel or Nickelodeon kid— maybe even Cartoon Network. Whatever the case, nothing beat coming home after school to watch special Halloween episodes from all your favorite shows.
- PEZ DISPENSERS
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There’s a reason why people still collect Pez dispensers ’til this day; they’re iconic! You’d flip open the top and a candy pellet would be dispensed one at a time. These stocking stuffers made just as good Halloween treats, not to mention that they had the cutest little designs.
- THE COSTUMES
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Strolling through your local department store during Halloween was always entertaining. With such a wide range of costumes— silly, cute, terrifying— you were bound to find something for you. The only downside was that some of these costumes looked like they’d rip just by looking at them.
The best part of all of this were “costume parades,” where we all paraded in lines around the school to show off our new looks to the rest of our classmates. Every kid looked forward to this moment of fame!
- THE CANDY THAT NOBODY (REALLY) ATE
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When it was Halloween season, it was candy corn season. Yet, most of that candy corn just sat around— sure, looking pretty— but not being eaten. It was a controversial candy; people either despised it or loved it.
Either way, even the grinches of Halloween can’t disagree: candy corn remains a Halloween icon!
- “SPOOKY SCARY SKELETONS”
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This song played 24/7 around Halloween season. It was either that, “Monster Mash,” or “The Addams Family Theme.”
- FUN DIP
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This was an oddly specific candy that is probably embedded somewhere deep in your memory. Fun Dip came in two parts: a white candy stick, and a packet of flavored powdered sugar which you’d dip it into. Essentially, it was sugar on sugar— an adult’s nightmare, but a kid’s dream.
- “FIVE LITTLE PUMPKINS”
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Many of us sang this classic early-elementary song for Halloween. Still don’t recognize the title? Maybe these lyrics will ring a bell:
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate
The first one said, “Oh, my it’s getting late”
The second one said, “There are witches in the air”
The third one said, “But we don’t care”
The fourth one said, “Let’s run and run and run”
The fifth one said, “We’re ready for some fun”
Then “Ooh” went the wind and out went the lights
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight - THE PERFECT TRADING CANDY
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As kids, our first true lesson in economics was in trading candy after trick-or-treating. We all wanted the Snickers, Reeces, Kit Kats… and so we began by trading away the most notoriously neutral candy of them all: Smarties. It was hard to find anyone who really loved or hated the candy.
- IT’S tHE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN
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And finally, you end the day with an all-time classic.
This episode takes a special place in many of our hearts. Maybe it’s the unique visuals, the authentic voice acting of real children, or the timeless jazz of Vince Guaraldi. There’s just something about it that’s so resonant of childhood, so simple and raw.
(For more on this, read It’s a Great Pumpkin Analysis, Charlie Brown by Taylor Coonan!)
Happy Halloween, everyone!
