Halloween is around the corner. And with a pandemic, high stress election and social distancing restrictions I thought I would spend some time reminiscing about the good old days.
So here are twenty one things you will only understand if you grew up in the 80s.
1.) You wore costumes made from plastic with masks that were COVID friendly and perfectly covered up your face. I remember being Apricot from Strawberry Shortcake fame. Other cool costumes, Beetle Juice, Return Of The Jedi, Heathers and Saved By The Bell Characters.
2.) You were eating vegan candies long before that was cool. Think, Skittles Jolly Ranchers, Red Vines, Twizzlers, Junior Mints (dark chocolate) Oreos and Cracker Jacks. Yum!
3.) Bobbing for apples was an actual thing, and not a disgusting horror movie. Can you even imagine?
4.) Oingo Boingo was on your record player, walkman etc.
5.) Freddy Krueger was as scary as it could get.
6.) Michael Jackson Thriller was cool and it was not controversial to like him. Costumes were not politically correct at all.
7.) You parents would check your candy.. and apples for thumbtacks and razor blades. No joke!
8.) Trick Or Treating At The Mall.. because See number 7.
9.) People actually gave out raisons and homemade popcorn balls. Which your parents would take away.. see number 7 again.
10.) Glow sticks were the IT thing.
11.) Costume contests at school were a must. And everyone dressed up because.. no social media.
12.) You would get excited using your Aquanet hairspray and colored hair dye for your costume that you got to wear at the Hot Dog On A Stick, Orange Julius after school Gig at the Mall.
13.) Drawing spiders on your cheek with your Wet N Wild black eyeliner during Spooky Season.
14.) Halloween prizes in your happy meal.
15.) Gargamel from the Smurfs gets some praise during those morning cartoons and Scooby Doo has their Halloween special.
16.) Trick or treating was all about going to the fancy neighborhoods and hitting up the big houses to get King Size Snicker bars. That was the goal.
17.) Makeshift Haunted houses made from Christmas tree boxes that you would crawl through, with slime and good and dolls heads and tape recordings of screams along the way.
18.) No fancy trick or treating bag here.. back in the 80s we grabbed a pillowcase and that was good enough.
19.) Rationing candy had not quite happed yet, and candy comas were happening in every suburban home.
20.) There was no social media so the cool factor of dressing up at school consisted of comfort first and most girls loved putting on their pajamas and dressing up like babies.
21.) A pumpkin on your doorstep was exactly that. And nothing more– back then we did not have to be PINTERESTING..