Candy or potatoes? NPR readers share their quirky Halloween traditions

Halloween is that sweet time of year when people can dress up and be someone different. It’s also the time of year dentists wait for — young children trick-or-treating. No matter your age, planning the Oct. 31 festivities can be fun for you, your family, your friends or your community.

NPR asked readers to share their unique Halloween traditions, and they did not disappoint. From making trick-or-treating a little different to going all out for the holiday, read about these traditions — and consider adopting them to add to how you celebrate.

Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

Games

Sometimes turning straightforward things into a game is the way to go. Anja Clarke of Irvine, Ca. says her family plays a game for candy. Here are the rules: Kids roll two big dice and add the numbers. There are four bowls of candy, from small to huge. “According to probability, you’ll win a huge candy if you roll a combined two or 12 and a small one if you roll a combined six, seven or eight,” Clarke says.

Holiday Extravaganza

For Jack Reda of Virginia, Halloween is not only his favorite holiday but also his favorite day of the year. His family’s traditions include elements borrowed from other holidays. They make Halloween eggs by decorating hard-boiled eggs with Halloween motifs. They also adorn a spooky tree with Halloween ornaments.

Taking elements from Easter egg hunts, Donna McLeod of Virginia says she had a “Halloween Hunt” for her kids. This involved putting holiday-themed toys and novelties around the backyard at night, giving the children a flashlight and letting them search for the items.

Tye Wawerski exchanges gifts with close friends during a Halloween Feast each year. Gifts have included traditional autumn dishes and Halloween-themed foods, like stuffed acorn squash, butternut squash with squid ink pasta, and ribs with “gory, sticky sauce.” When it comes to Halloween gift giving, there are some rules participants must follow, Wawerski says. “First, no practical gifts. Socks and sweaters are for Christmas or Hanukkah. The exception to this rule is that doomsday prep/survival-themed gifts are ok. Otherwise, a Halloween gift should have a horror/fantasy/sci-fi element.”

Kathy Carey, of Skokie, Ill., says that “Thankshallomas” was born as her children grew older and had families, making holidays frantic. During this time, she decorates for Halloween, makes Thanksgiving dinner and the family exchanges Christmas presents.

More than candy

Candy is great for trick-or-treating, but sometimes different items can make the experience stand out for children. Joan Ogden gives out items like scrunchies, school supplies, books of stickers and little plastic dinosaurs.

Pat Long from York, Pa., says that she likes to give donated books in addition to treats. Long is not alone in this sentiment; Mimi Musso, from Sacramento, Ca., enjoys greeting trick-or-treaters with a big basket of books and letting them pick whatever interests them.

Michelle Schell of Fort Collins, Co. hands out some truly unique treats with her candy: potatoes. “I ask the kids if they want a potato, and almost every kid wants a one! Their faces light up and they laugh as they put that potato in their candy bags. My home is also known as the “potato house.” Watching them giggle at the absurdity of that potato brings joy every year.”

Innovations

Edwin Powell, of Greensboro, N.C., has found a way to make the holiday last past midnight. His family turns their carved pumpkins into pumpkin chip preserves. “We’d illuminate the pumpkin with a small electric light bulb instead of a candle to avoid smoking up the inside. Then, the day after Halloween was an all-hands-on-deck event to cut the pumpkin into tiny, bite-size slivers,” he says. “These slivers would be cooked down with ginger, slices of lemon, and a huge amount of sugar until they reached a marmalade-like consistency. Put up in canning jars, these preserves were good for months, if not years, in a way preserving the sweetness of the holiday.”

Dan Wiltshire of Lees Summit, Mo., took his love for model railroading and made a small layout in his garage to deliver full-size candy bars. The tradition started in 2020, and he says well over 100 kids showed up. In 2023, his Halloween railroad theme was Wonka and 220 children showed up. This year the theme will be Toy Story.

Memories

Just like any other holiday, Halloween can hold special and important memories in our lives with the people we love, making every tradition that much more special.

Zoey Mills of Massachusetts says her tradition involves visiting her grandmother in costume and trick-or-treating in her neighborhood. Her grandmother adored the holiday and kept most of her decorations up year-round. “My grandmother lived and breathed Halloween and it felt closer to Christmas morning visiting her on Halloween than it did feeling like Halloween. This is our first Halloween without her, so my mother and I went all out with the decorations in her memory.”

This story was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.

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