Tag Archives: trick or treating

Best of Halloween: Bell Family Style

The women behind Bell Family Company are taking a stroll down memory lane and sharing their favorite Halloween memories this week. From country to city style trick-or-treating, and DIY costumers – there’s bound to be a story that will take you back to your favorite Halloween.

Lindsay Bell, Founder & Owner

My favorite Halloween memory was last year’s trick-or-treat in our new neighborhood. It was just like what you’d hope for after watching your millionth Halloween movie. The local police mark off the street so that no traffic can get through – making it safe for all to walk – and then crazy town is born (in a good way)! Thousands of trick-or-treaters roam the area, and parents are decked out in costume along with their kids. Almost every house on the road participates, with some homes going all out with decorations, spooky music, open bar on the porch for Mom & Dad, and the list goes on. I can’t wait for this year!

Lindsay’s two little boys in their Halloween best.

Meredith Hamler, Sitter Services Manager

My best memory of Halloween is that every year up until I was about 13-years-old, my grandma and I would go to the fabric store and pick out a pattern of the fabric I wanted, and then we would make my costume together.

Meredith and her Grandmother’s homemade costume making.

Lauren Kruk, Nanny Services Manager

I always loved dressing up for Halloween! My hair has been very blonde my whole life, and for one Halloween, my mom had me dress as an Indian and sprayed my hair black. No one knew who I was at first! It was fun, but messy! We had a great neighborhood with a ton of kids, so trick-or-treating was always an adventure walking around the block.

Lauren (feat. her hairdresser mom) in her Indian costume.

Christine Bell, Recruitment & Retention

There is one vivid memory of Halloween as a mom of 5, piling the kids in the car in full dress, trying not to smash anyone’s costume or get it caught in the door. Trick-or-treating in the country meant driving in the dark from driveway to driveway, stopping long enough to open the doors and let the witches, scarecrows, cheerleaders or whatever other costume I could creatively throw together, out to run across someone’s yard to collect their treats.

We had Halloween’s of all kinds in northeast Ohio – rain, snow, heat – it was always a grab bag. Perks of a country Halloween: households with insight gave out large candy bars and individual bags of candy to these very special Halloween ghouls.

Chris’s 5 kiddos on Halloween night, 1992.

Courtney Garvey, Sitter Services Coordinator

One of my favorite Halloween memories is my first Halloween with my kids. It was so fun dressing them up; we were the Three Little Pigs and my husband was the Big Bad Wolf! I love everything about Halloween in general and now so do my daughters, so it makes the whole experience that much better!

Courtney and her twin daughters dressed as the
Three Little Pigs.

Taylor Bell, Marketing & Social Media

Trick-or-treating always involved teaming up with my best friend to wander the development that a lot of my classmates lived in. The best years were the years we thought of a good group costume: my favorite being when we went as Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs. Shoutout to my friend’s grandmother who worked tirelessly to knit our costumes!

After trick-or-treating we’d always pour our candy buckets out on the living room floor and trade pieces back and forth until it was time to go home.

Taylor and her friend’s dressed as Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs in middle school.

Halloween Hoopla!

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. I remember as a kid trick-or-treating, filling up a pillow case with candy, and then meeting up with my cousins and trading candy. My costumes were pretty typical: cheerleader, Miss America, a witch…As I got older, Halloween faded into the background and I celebrated it less and less.

This year it’s back with a vengeance! My son has developed a whole new awareness of the themes around him. He’s become particularly fond of Halloween. He is obsessed with pumpkins, spooky ghosts, and bats. His interest in the holiday has made me really embrace everything orange and black! Our house looks like an advertisement with pumpkins placed on every surface, gel ghosts clinging to every window, and book after book featuring Halloween littering the shelves. When your kid is really into something, you tend to go overboard!

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Henry’s new love of Halloween has led us to planning our first trick-or-treating experience as a family. Originally I thought we wouldn’t participate because Henry is so little, but we’ve gathered a group of friends, and we plan to make our first trek door to door on Halloween. We’ve even come up with a themed “Peter Pan” costume ensemble for the little kids. Henry is Peter Pan, of course!

maureenhall1

We recently moved to a new neighborhood that has more single family homes and based on the Halloween decor, looks like a good place to trick-or-treat! To be honest, I’m still not 100% sure the point of taking a bunch of toddlers around to get candy, but it’s more about the experience and seeing their reactions to all the lawn decorations. And let’s be honest, I’m sure the adults won’t mind sneaking a few treats from the candy buckets!

Holidays certainly are more fun when your kids are interested. If this is any indication of what Christmas will be like, I better prepare myself!