Jessie: In NH, beetling away on cozy knitting projects.
I have been thinking about Halloween a lot more than usual lately since the first of
my Beryl and Edwina books releases that day. And book launches make me think about parties. Naturally, I started thinking about Halloween parties. So, Wickeds, tell us about a memorable Halloween Party. One you attended, one you hosted, one that you thought required a costume yet no one else wore one.
Edith: I LOVE Halloween and costumes. I used to throw a big costume party every year. I sewed a darling flannel tiger costume (complete with tail, of course) for my first-born when he was a toddler. A few years ago a friend invited me to a party that had a high school prom theme. So of course I had to pick up a prom dress at the local thrift store, dust off my black wig and my glasses from eighth grade, dig out the white gloves from the costume box, and head to school! Do you think I should have won the Homecoming Queen’s crown? Two friends came as the teacher-chaperones, except they had switched genders. The whole evening was so much fun.
Liz: I went to college in Salem, Mass., and the entire month of October was one big Halloween party! On any given day, people were wandering around town in costumes, visiting local witch Laurie Cabot’s store and getting tarot readings. Halloween night itself was insane…the entire downtown area was a costume party and non-stop parade. For a Halloween junkie like me, it was like being in heaven!
Sherry: I always loved dressing up. One year at college I found two fifties dresses at a thrift shop and my friend and I went as Laverne and Shirley. The party isn’t that memorable, but when we were walking home someone started throwing eggs at us. We ran screaming down the street in our heels. Fortunately, they had terrible aim and didn’t hit us.
Jessie: We live next door to the local library and for many years I served as a volunteer there. One year I helped out with the Halloween party by making the food. For some reason I decided to create cream puff monsters. I seem to remember making sixty of them each with candy eyes and licorice legs. I couldn’t bring myself to make cream puffs for months afterwards! But the kids had a great time!
Readers: Share your Halloween memory – good or bad!
I love Halloween now more than I did as a child. My son was born in Halloween in 2010, even though I really was hoping for him to be born in November (because October is such a busy month for us, my bday is the 11th that iI also share with my twin nephews, my husband’s is the 18th and our wedding anniversary is the 16th so having a Halloween baby just added to our madness) – When Austin was born we decided to make his birthday special because we didn’t want him to feel left out because its on Halloween. His first birthday he and his older sister dressed up as Lilo and Stitch. But my favorite so far was when he was 2yrs old. We all dressed up as a family. We were Disney’s The Incredibles. We went to a trunk-or-treat hosted by the city.. there were hundreds of people there.. (I almost chickened out and didn’t do it because I was afraid of being “embarrassed”… it was far from that. We had the Best time ever!!!!) People we didn’t know were taking pictures of us and coming up to us to say hi. It was by far my favorite Halloween! Hopefully next year we can pull off the next Disney movie we want to show our love for .. “Inside Out”. 🙂
That’s sweet to do Halloween as a family!
What a lovely story, Lily-Ann! The Incredibles is my husband’s favorite movie.Your sweet story makes me wish we had thought to dress up like them when our kids were small!
My high school friend, Liz O’Brien, was the Wicked Witch and I was Dorothy the year we were walking to a party and got egged. Those boys had great aim! And while I picked shells out of my braids, Liz had to contend with getting runny yolk out of hair she’d sprayed black— that now had run all over her witches’ dress, leaving her with blonde streaks showing through and a wet, wilted witches’ hat!
Oh, dear!
I didn’t realize other boys in other places did that too!
Born on Halloween eve–in Salem! How could I not love Halloween? There’s always a party and no one forgets my birthday! But your question made me think about Halloween memories. And know what? The parties and costumes and games I think of most fondly are the long ago childhood ones with spooky games my mother thought up, the crazy props Daddy, homemade birthday cake, kids from the neighborhood and school friends. Good times!
My birthday is November 2, Carol, and I often had costumed birthday parties as a child!
You sound like you should be a character in a novel yourself, Carol! What fun!
that’s “the props Daddy made”
I haven’t been a big fan of Halloween for many, many years. I think the necessity of having to make multiple costumes for each child (because what was good for school wasn’t good for dance, wasn’t good for taekwondo, wasn’t good for…).
My company does a huge party for Halloween every year. Tuesday is usually my day in the office, so I’m thinking of either staying home next Tuesay or getting a T-shirt and writing “404 – Costume Not Found” on it and wearning that (I work in a software company so they’ll get the joke).
It sounds like you have thought of a great solution to costume burnout!
We used to have parties at the office. One year my team was doing Wizard of Oz. I got to work behind an erected curtain as the Wizard. I didn’t need a costume, just the curtain!
Perfect, Doris!
That sounds like fun, Doris!
I’m so uncreative when it comes to making up a costume. So I tend to show up at parties either disguised as an accountant or as a responsible adult.
Do you bring accessories like a calculator?
Nope, no accessories. I really do just come as I am.