What Did Boomers Get in Their Trick-or-Treat Bag?
If you're parents or grandparents are in the baby boomer generation then take the time to ask them what they got in their trick-or-treat bag when they were little. Prepare to have your mind blown when you hear their responses.
As we get closer and closer to Halloween you may start seeing more and more trunk or treat events pop up. Others white until Halloween night to go door to door for candy. For some of us Halloween and the candy given out hasn't really changed a lot over the years but for some who are a bit older it looks a lot different.
I won't give you a long history but wearing a costume and performing tricks for treats began hundreds of years ago. The practice predates packaged candy. In the 1920's there was a huge push to help candy companies so they got behind Halloween and other Holidays to help the need to produce and distribute large amounts of sugar products.
CNN reports that by the 1970's packaged candy became the normal treat to handout due to parents being afraid of their kids being harmed by tainted candy. If this didn't become the norm until about 40 years ago then what did they hand out before that?
I asked my mother and I was shocked by her answers. She said she was handed things like popcorn balls, candy apples, peanuts and individual candy corns. She received all of these things from complete strangers.
Could you imagine how you'd react if you kid brought home a baked good in their bag today?
The Top Halloween Costumes in the Hudson Valley 2023
Gallery Credit: Conor Walsh