As a little kid, I loved trick or treating. I mean, who didn’t? You get to dress up as whatever you wanted and then you walk around and get free candy, usually more than one could ever eat, but it was all part of the fun. The houses would be decorated with creepy skeletons and cob webs. Pumpkins would be carved and sitting on all the neighbors front steps as they invited trick or treaters to come ring the bell for candy. I would always go as a Disney princess and my parents would walk around with my sister and me. They would carry flash lights and watch for cars as we would sprint across the streets trying to get as much candy as we could possibly carry. Here’s a few of my favorite childhood memories from Halloween.

1. Getting dressed up in your costume.

The day of Halloween is like Christmas Eve. It’s the longest day ever as you anxiously wait for the sun to set so you can get dressed in your costume. What’s even worse is when Halloween falls on the week day and you have to go to school. Nobody learns anything as you just talk about what you’re dressing up as. Then when you get home, it’s like the sun will never set and your mom is getting frustrated with the number of times you ask “can I get ready yet?”

2. Getting the big candy bars.

There was always That House that would give out the big king sized candy bars that every kid in the neighborhood would go running for. The bigger the candy, the more kids that showed up.

3. Filling your bucket to the top.

That feeling of accomplishment as you carry your bucket home with candy spilling over the top. You run around all night going to as many houses as possible to get as much candy as possible, even if most of it will just get thrown away or eaten by your parents.

4. Trading candy with your siblings.

My sister and I would always get back home from trick or treating and we would dump all our candy out and trade for our favorites. Little did we know that our parents would go through it and throw the majority of it out because we could never eat it all to begin with.

5. Still having candy a year later to throw out.

After a few weeks, you forget the candy is there and it just sits in the pantry collecting dust in the back corner in your Halloween bucket. Then October rolls around next year and you dump out the old rotten candy just to fill it back up again. It’s a never ending cycle.