For the six Travolta children, Halloween was a big deal.

Back then, treats were homemade, so Ellen Travolta and her siblings, including actor John Travolta, would return home from a night of trick-or-treating with fresh popcorn balls and chocolate chip cookies.

Later, when buying loads of candy became the norm, Travolta’s parents, unable to spend a lot on Halloween, would tell the children, “When you get (a full bag of candy), circle around back and we’ll put it in our bowl and we’ll regive it.”

Costumes were similarly thrifty before stores stocked dozens of premade options. Ellen Travolta remembers a particular Halloween after her mother, who sold items found in old homes along the East Coast, discovered an antique dress from the turn of the century, complete with a bustle.

Ellen Trav

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