WWII: What to do when trick or treating is cancelled!

By the time October 31, 1942 rolled around, the country was going full speed ahead producing wartime materials; sugar was rationed, the blackout was in effect and many communities decided to simply cancel Halloween trick or treating.  For some kids, Halloween meant too much free time to get into trouble with so many parents not home because of working and juvenile delinquency was already on the rise.  For other kids, it meant the usual pranks, like soaping windows, just weren't much fun to play on already exhausted adults.  For all kids, treats were in short supply and no one had anything to give away.

To counter this and not disappoint kids, parents, schools and communities decided to have Halloween parties, in order to have

HOW DO YOU HAVE A HALLOWEEN PARTY IN WWII?
MAYBE LIKE THIS

First, invitations would be send out:

Next, find some Halloween decorations and party suggestions from your favorite magazine or comic book:

Used with permission of Jeff Pepper at 2719 Hyperion

Then, buy or make some decorations:

Carve the Pumpkin:

Choose a costume:

At the party, serve some food:

Then, play some games like Apple Snap or Bobbing for Apples:

Stunt and Fortune Telling games were also popular:

Or make your own Fortune Teller (you can find instructions for making this great Halloween Fortune Teller thanks to Shannon's instructions at The Diary of a Nouveau Soccer Mom)

Most of all, have some fun

AND A VERY HAPPY AND SAFE HALLOWEEN!