I have never been all that big on Halloween myself. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving so Halloween has always felt like more of a stepping stone toward Thanksgiving rather than its own holiday. Not to mention, I am a very picky eater; I don’t like chocolate, caramel, peanut butter, nuts of any kind, or anything super sour so this rules out the majority of Halloween candy for me. When I was little, my siblings and I would sort out our pillowcases of candy on the living room floor after an arduous night of trick-or-treating, and after I handed away the candies I didn’t want to eat, I was left with such a small pile, my mom went to the store and bought me more candy. What’s more, I don’t generally put that much thought into my costumes. From age 4 to 10, I was varying princesses, with an exception in third grade when I decided to switch it up and go as a pirate, and I have never really put much effort into Halloween costumes. Truthfully, this is the first Halloween that I have ever put effort into so I would like to share my experience.
Costume
Naturally, the costume is the most crucial part of the night. What I have learned is that there are different categories that people can fit into when choosing a costume. For one, there are people who put zero effort into their costumes. Maybe they weren’t planning on going out and changed their mind last second or maybe they didn’t see the purpose in spending any money on a stupid costume that they would really only wear once. Either way, this person can kill the vibe of the night, constantly complaining about how pointless Halloween is and laughing off anyone who questions why they did not dress up. While I can see where these people are coming from, I think that if you are going to participate even a little bit, you might as well go all in and get fully dressed up. With that said, finding a Halloween costume can be a time-consuming task so do not feel bad if you are unable to put something together! I would say that effort and an optimistic attitude are all you need to have a fun night. Then, there are the basic people who will go as nurses, cops, prisoners, angels, devils, etc. It is not that these people are too lazy to get a better costume, they just lack the creativity to do another costume or they stumbled upon one of these costumes and could not help but buy it. When executed well, these costumes look good and that is this type of person’s main focus. I will laugh a little when I see a nurse’s costume and cringe every time I see a cop or prisoner as a Halloween costume but to each their own. On the other end of the spectrum, there are also people who wear very funny and unique costumes that one might not understand at first glance but will inevitably end up laughing once they figure it out. Though I have never been this person, I have always wanted to be. Costumes like these deserve the utmost respect because there is a lot of thinking in order to execute a punny costume in a way that works. From planning to assembling the pieces and parts, a homemade funny costume will never not impress me. An additional costume category is the couples/group costumes. When everyone has done their parts well, these costumes are very cute, fun, and sure to get many compliments. But if one person is lacking, this can throw off the entire group. Having one person with an off outfit makes the group’s costume harder to guess and thus much less fun. I will
be fitting into this category this year, going as Loki and Thor with my friend Jessie.
The last thing I would like to say about costumes is I did not realize how big of a deal it is to make sure no one has the same costume as you at a Halloween party or event. As I mentioned before, I went as a princess for five years and elementary school was filled with many other princesses but I never minded because I was Princess Lulu and no one else was. But now, I have seen many people claim their costumes on Snapchat stories and declare that no one else steals them. In my opinion, it’s not that big of a deal. There are only so many popular costumes so, while it would be possible for everyone to be in a different costume, I think it is unnecessary stress for people who just want to participate in the holiday and this should not be as big of a deal as some people make it out to be.
Trick-or-Treating?
At what age does it stop being socially acceptable to knock on strangers’ doors in the dead of night and request candy? For me, I would mind never going trick-or-treating again. While it was a good source of exercise, walking around for hours on end, I never really had that much fun which is another reason why I am looking forward to Halloween this year. I get to dress up all fun with my friends but don’t have to stand out in the cold or walk around or really do much of anything. If you are going somewhere for Halloween, I would advise you to be safe; there will be lots of young children outside so all drivers should be extra attentive. Additionally, know where you are going, how you are getting there, and how/when you will be back at the house you will be spending the night. I know that sounds kind of obvious but things can happen pretty quickly and it is very easy to lose track of time and the plan at hand. Additionally, be inclusive! Everyone just wants to have a fun Halloweekend and the “who is doing what with who” game can cause a lot of people stress. It is always better to include others in your activities when at all possible because no one wants to feel forgotten on such a fun night.
Even though Halloween isn’t one of my favorite holidays, it can be fun if you make it fun! 28 DAYS UNTIL THANKSGIVING!!
Hi Lulu, your ‘how to’ for Halloween didn’t help me much since I’m reading it the day after Halloween, but I thought it was interesting! I never thought you’d be a Thanksgiving person. If I’m being honest, I really thought you’d be the kind of person that doesn’t like any of the major holidays and prefers spring break instead but I guess I was wrong. I’m not super big on Halloween either (I know I’ve worn that stupid hat two years in a row but that’s just because I think it’s a funny article of clothing). I agree with your take on costumes, because, again, while I don’t care much for Halloween, I do still think it can be fun. I’m not a die hard costume person–my costumes are usually very lazy and last minute–but I think it’s an integral part of Halloween. Dressing up is fun for me not because I’m doing it with my friends or whatever (though that’s part of it), but because my costume ideas are usually pretty lighthearted. I’m the kind of person that doesn’t like spending a ton of money on a costume so I usually end up making it myself which is my idea of a good weekend before halloweekend activity. Thanks for sharing, maybe I’ll use your two part guide next year.
Hello Lulu,
Although Halloween isn’t my favorite holiday (I prefer Christmas more), I can definitely appreciate the traditions that you express in your writing and can definitely relate. When I was a little kid, I had the fondest memory of my siblings, in poor taste, dressing me up in my older sister Olivia’s old princess outfit and my brother Emerson making me wear a cowboy hat and hostler so that I’d look like a cowboy princess. If you couldn’t tell, my parents did not want to buy me a new outfit and told my siblings to just dress me however. Needless to say, I got much more insults than compliments from the other kids in the neighborhood. I appreciate the combination, though, as it is unique and pushes the boundaries of what we consider a conventional costume to be. Me personally, I stopped trick or treating when I was in fifth grade. That’s a lie, I trick or treated a couple of days ago at some random kid’s house, but it was like 10pm so we didn’t get any candy. I enjoyed reading your blog, Lulu! It was super interesting! Thank you for sharing! Okay, hope you have a great weekend and thanks!
Hi Lulu! I appreciate you writing about Halloween because honestly, I feel like I completely forgot about the holiday this year. I think that’s part of the reason why the November 1st deadline for college applications kinda sucks since it ended up forcing me to forget about celebrating Halloween altogether. I do have to say though that I am also a person who never used to put much thought into planning for my costume. I remember there was this period in my childhood where I probably went as Batman for a solid four years and then a Power Ranger for roughly two and then Wolverine for another three years. After that, though, I had to come up with my own costumes where I just ended up wearing my Park District baseball, basketball, and soccer uniforms for three separate years. After that, I think I grabbed a pair of crutches along with my Bulls jersey and just called myself Derrick Rose. Now, though, as a teenager, I feel like it is a little different just because Halloween has less of an emphasis on getting candy and a bigger focus on wearing funny costumes since now it’s all about fooling around with friends. If I were to pick a costume at my current age, though, I honestly would probably pick something that is slightly self-deprecating in humor just to be funny. I would pick something like a unicorn onesie or one of those giant inflatable t-rex costumes that I’ve always wanted since I was a kid. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to really celebrate Halloween this year at all, but I know that I want to try and put something together with my friends in college in the future. I’m guessing, though, that your Halloween was at least a little bit more fun than mine. Though, I’m wondering whether you ended up dressing up as Loki or as Thor. I don’t know why, but you seem more like a Loki person to me.