Trick or Treat

A bag of Halloween candy. That smell. 

My kids went trick or treating, both of them for real this year. And I found myself...well, eating a shit ton of the candy but also just inhaling the scent of it in the bag. 

Smells bring back memories, of course. This one is just a strong but good one. An actual happy set of memories from childhood from that smell of mixed candy in a bag. But specifically Halloween candy. Because Christmas candy has a lot of peppermint and cinnamon going on and Easter smells like chocolate and jelly beans and Valentine’s smells like Red 40. But Halloween candy is the best. At least for me the smell evokes an uncomplicated holiday for children.

We aren’t required to be good or have subtle religious guilt about candy versus Jesus or buying things to show our love to get candy...we just get to play dress up as our favorite or spookiest characters and going around collecting candy from the neighbors. It’s perfect. 

My kid’s candy collection smells a bit different than mine did. Mine included Mary Janes and Bit o’ Nut, and like, freaking Necco wafers, and a lot of Smarties (not the British kind, the chalky American kind)...so there was an aroma of faint Pepto Bismal and fake peanut butter crackle to the bags of the 80s and early 90’s.  People have decided to be more generous about their offerings it seems...in our current neighborhood at least. My kid’s candy smells richer, more chocolate and higher end gummies, although I did see some smarties in there. (Like cockroaches, they persist through the decades). 

It is still a heady mix of sugar and fat smell, plastic wrapper and bleached paper lolly sticks.

It brings me memories of chilly nights tromping around the neighborhood with friends, sweating in my mask, making plans to go to the bigger houses for full size bars, freezing some years in an early snow, gathering at a friend’s house to count, sort, and trade, drinking warm cider, and the smell of singed pumpkin.  Altogether pleasant and homey. 

Halloween candy smell can still put a smile on my face, bring me back to happy times. It can feel even better than eating a ton of Reese’s cups..maybe...though I have to admit, that’s a close one.