Cause to me everyday is Halloween...

This is it, folks... The All Hallow's Meme.

And please be honest in your answers.  We're all friends; we won't report each other to their respective authorities.

I'll list all the questions first, and follow up with my own answers below the list.  That way, you can copy and paste the questions to your own blogs or in my comments without having to clear out my answers and, thus, waste a bunch of time.

1. Do you prefer "trick" or "treat"?  Please explain.
2. What year did you quit trick or treating?  How old were you then?
3. What was your favorite costume?  Did you make or buy it?  How much did you spend on it (money or time)?
4. What are/were your five most favorite things to receive when trick or treating?
5. What are/were your five least favorite things to receive when trick or treating?
6. Have you ever been chased by cops or unruly mobs of costumed children on Halloween?
7. What's the worst thing you've ever done on Halloween?
8. What is your biggest Halloween disappointment?

And, now, my answers...

1. Definitely "treat."  As much fun as tricks may be, they never have the longevity of treats.  Just ask my brother who packratted Halloween candy for as long as a decade or even more (the only reason it was finally thrown away was because he left for college and my parents trashed it - probably danced a little jig afterwards).  Also, once I got in high school, tricking required no specially designated day.  Treating still did.
2. 1996 (21).  I actually quit back in 1992 when I was 17.  But, one year in college, some friends and I decided to go around the campus and surrounding neighborhood for kicks before getting trashed at a frat party.
3. I had two and my mom made both.  One was me as Perseus from Clash of the Titans; a costume that was remade for my college Halloween escapades as well.  Came complete with toga, cape, winged sandals (yes, he had Pegasus in the movie; but a papier maiche horse was a bit too much work), Greek warrior helmet, sword, shield, and Halloween candy bucket made up to look like Medusa's severed head.  Sorry, at six years old, I wasn't nearly as studly as Harry Hamlin back in his heyday.  The second was Emperor Palpatine from Return of the Jedi.  My mom sewed up a big old, black, hooded cloak and then painted my face in grey with black lines to look like his Imperial mangledness.  You'd have to ask her how much was spent.  I really should ask her if she has pictures.
4. Tootsie Rolls, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers, Atomic Fireballs, and caramel apples.
5. Change (I always wound up with just pennies), Double Bubble, candy that was opened and split up (cheap bastards... and my mom always threw out the opened stuff), coupons, and anything non-candy.
6. Unruly mobs of costumed fellow classmates, yes.  Egging and other food-based ambushes are not recommended for those with social aspirations.
7. I've done so many bad things, I can't quite remember if they happened to fall on Halloween or not.  But I'm sure there were a few instances of egging, whip creaming, and TPing.
8. Aside from being deemed by society to be too old to trick or treat, I hate the fact that Katie and I spent four years in our apartment and never had a single trick or treater come to our door.  We even bought candy.  Truly sad.  I hope that changes this year in our new place.

Hey, cut me some slack, it's the first meme I've ever written so I'm sure it's not terribly original.  Nor should it be terribly terrible, though.  I just hope you have some fun with it and laugh about the memories.

Do feel free to share.

Comments

[SJ]

You knew I'd be on this like a bobcat on a bunny.

This is excellent, Kevin, and I can't wait to post my answers on CL. I will, of course, have to come up with two more questions.

I'll expect an equally memory-jogging meme for Christmas. Please do try to make that one the proper TEN questions.

Oh, and 17?!?!?! You were one of the kids people bitched about after they shut the door: "Did you see those kids? They looked like linebackers, and they're still trick-or-treating!!!"

[Kevin]

Yeah... so? It was candy, and it was free. And my friends and I had a penchant for creating great costumes and bloodying ourselves up using fake blood and liquid latex. We were pretty good at it, too.

Oh, and I was a defensive lineman, thank you very much. ;-)

Sorry, didn't realize memes had to be ten items long. I'll do better. I promise.

[Dave2]

Oh now that's just great. Thanks a lot Kevin!
http://www.blogography.com/archives/2005/10/hallowmeme.html

[Jenny]

Phew - this is one long comment!

1. Treat, of course. CANDY CANDY CANDY!
2. I don't exactly remember, but I'd guess that I was 12.
3. Mummy. My mom bought a box full of Ace bandages at a rummage sale, and I bandaged myself up and wore tattered clothes. Barely cost anything, but took a heck of a long time to wrap myself up!
4. Snickers, Pixie Stix, Milky Way, Smarties, Double Bubble
5. Those black and orange peanut buttery tasting cheap candies, Bottle Caps, black licorice, pennies, McDonald's gift certificates for $.50
6. Once chased by cops after toilet papering a neighbor's house.
7. TP-ing said neighbor's house. No wait, one year we hung a noose around a ventriloquist dummy's neck, strung him to a tree, and dropped him down on unsuspecting trick-or-treaters.
8. One of my neighbors (80-yr old Italian woman) didn't believe that it was me when I stopped by her house, so she tore apart my mummy costume to see my face underneath. I had to run home to fix it.

[Kevin]

Ah, you've just gotta love viral blogging. I think memes are more readily accepted when you don't place the expectation on people to do them. Don't tag. Just post and see where it goes.