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Celebrating the Holidays. My memories are flooded with so many different celebrations while growing up. Sweet holiday memories. My Sister Lyssie and I had some rough years at home when we were young. You see, our Dad was an alcoholic and left us when I was 9 and Lyssie was 4. Dark days. Sad days. Mama suddenly found herself a single Mama of two girls. Without a high school diploma let alone any kind of work experience. At the ripe old age of 25, she was forced out into the workplace after spending the last 9 years as a stay-at-home Mama. Divorce was rare in our town. We were the only girls from a broken home in our circle of friends. My Mama pulled herself up by the bootstraps and did what she needed to do to take care of the three of us. She was strong and very brave. So as you can imagine, I treasured the good times. Those good times were cultivated by our Mama during the holidays. She went all out. She made sure that her girls felt special. It was these celebrations that I found myself escaping to. As an adult now looking back on those events I know it wasn't easy for Mama. But I have a feeling it was her way of escaping too.

Now that I am a Mama, I have carried on her traditions during the holidays. And something I hope my children carry on when they have their own families one day.

I love Fall through Winter. Every holiday in between. And since Halloween comes first, I will share some photos and memories.

Mama really got into Halloween. She decorated our home from head to toe. The front yard became a cemetery complete with tombstones and skeletons. Inside our home there were spider webs and all kinds of spooky decor. She held an annual Halloween party at our house with all the neighborhood kids. We always played the same game. With the lights out, she passed around bowls of items while telling a scary story. As we put our fingers in a bowl of spaghetti - she said it was brains. Jello was intestines. Olives were eyeballs. Candy Corn were teeth. You get the ugly picture. Afterward all us kids went out trick-or-treating. Sometimes by ourselves. Back then it was safe to do things like that. Halloween was an innocent celebration. Our parents never worried if our candy was tainted. We had so much fun coming home with our bags full of candy. Dumping them on the living room floor to check out all our loot. Of course I made my candy into piles according to "type" or brand. We got to choose two pieces to eat that night. The rest were stored up high in the kitchen cupboard to enjoy daily for weeks.

My hubby and his Sister Lolly have different memories of their Halloween celebrations growing up.

They got to go trick-or-treating, however when they got home with their bags of candy, they got to choose a couple to eat and the rest was traded in for hard cold cash. You see, they grew up in a very health conscience home. Sugar was a no-no. As you can see in the photo, hubby's look on his face says it all. "Man, I know I'm gonna have to give up all my candy tonight!"

My children have enjoyed Halloween through the years too.

It's a little bit different with this generation though. Because us parents do worry about tainted candy. And our children do not get to wander the streets of the neighborhood trick-or-treating. We go with them and we inspect the candy before they can eat it. We still come home and dump the candy out on the living room floor and separate it all into piles. And we have fun together as a family. I don't hold an annual party like Mama did. However, I do make tomato soup and grilled cheese sand"witch"es for dinner. And I do decorate my hutch with pumpkins and other Halloween-y things.

What do the Holidays mean to you? Do you have fond memories as a child? Do you have photos and stories? Do you have special traditions that you enjoy with your family now? Halloween? Thanksgiving? Christmas? Other winter celebrations? Maybe you have some fun ideas, decorations, or recipes. If so, we'd love to have you share them with us! Let's meet back here on October 16th for a party! I'll have virtual cider to sip on and music ready to get us into the spirit of the holidays. And, of course I'll have a fun giveaway too.

Please leave me a comment if you would like to join me for the party. I will send out reminders as it gets closer. Oh, and feel free to grab the Celebrating Holidays button for your sidebar! Let's spread the word!