Happy Halloween! The picture above is from like ten years ago when Drew dressed as a hotdog and I was “sexy ketchup.” These days, things are decidedly less … carefree. If you watch my Insta stories, you might have seen a peak at some of the drama we’ve been dealing with at home this week. It has been … an intense few days, to say the least. I’m taking a break from the drama to celebrate Halloween with the kids today, from watching their school’s costume parade to volunteering in Joanie’s classroom with a seasonal craft project and then, of course, getting them both ready for the main event: trick-or-treating. (Jackson is going as Harry Potter, by the way, and Joanie is Peppa Pig. I guess it’s a British theme?) We’re not going to let the rainy forecast — or the fact that our ceiling has collapsed (among other unpleasantries)—-ruin our fun. And so, in lieu of a brand new post today, I bring you some of my favorite Halloween-themed columns from years past:
“He’s Throwing a Halloween Party on My Due Date!” (Plus an update here)
My Friends Bailed on my Halloween Dinner Party
Haunted Houses and Ghost Stories
I Don’t Understand Pumpkin Patches, and Other Confessions a Seasonally-Challenged Mother
Topic of the Day: Favorite Fall Traditions
How are you celebrating Halloween this year (if at all)? If you’re dressing up, what’s your costume?
![\"\"](\"https://d5nxst8fruw4z.cloudfront.net/atrk.gif?account=r/y/j1a0Sn00OI\")
ktfran October 31, 2019, 9:07 am
Happy Halloween everyone!! I’m also not letting this rain/snow mix get me down. I’m leaving work early and heading to the suburbs to go trick or treating with my three year old nephew. My sister texted this morning saying HE IS SO EXCITED! I’ve heard rumors that their neighborhood goes all out for Halloween. After, we’re eating chili, which is a tradition my mom started when we were little.
Everyone stay safe.
Copa October 31, 2019, 9:30 am
I’m also leaving work early to head to Oak Park, where my boyfriend’s brother and SIL live, to trick or treat with the boyfriend’s nieces. Such a bummer about the weather, but Halloween in Oak Park seems fun to me. I had a Carmen San Diego costume ready to go, but the coat will not keep me warm in this weather. So I might try to repurpose some old accessories so I can be warm but still somewhat somewhat festive. Funny to think there was ever a time of my life where I didn’t mind being cold for the sake of my costume!
ktfran October 31, 2019, 9:50 am
I won’t be too far from you! My sis is in Riverside. Have so much fun.
And you’re totally right about what I was willing to put up with a few years ago vs. now. I’m being lame and not dressing up… but I do have boots and coat and hat.
Dear Wendy October 31, 2019, 10:18 am
My sister is passing through town for a few days on her way home from a business trip and she just landed. My kids are SO excited to go trick-or-treating with their auntie; I’m sure your nephew is too!
ktfran October 31, 2019, 11:04 am
Ahh. That’s awesome!!! Have an absolute fantastic time.
scorpio October 31, 2019, 9:18 am
I love Halloween! I am pretty sure I am the only person in my office who dressed up, but I don’t care. I am rocking my Waldo costume and brought in tons of chocolate so people are happy. We at least have a pumpkin carving contest happening shortly.
Allornone October 31, 2019, 11:44 am
I’m lucky to have just started working in an office with a very strong costume culture. Practically everyone is dressed up to some degree, and some costumes are very elaborate. They are even having a costume contest and ice cream party. I’m dressed as Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas, so i doubt I”ll be winning, but it’s awesome to work at a place that gives Halloween the respect it deserves.
anonymousse October 31, 2019, 11:20 am
I volunteered for a school party this morning and we’re going trick or treating later tonight.
I’ve been reading ghost/spooky stories on Jezebel etc at night and that’s definitely getting me into the spirit of Halloween!
TaraMonster October 31, 2019, 3:34 pm
I wait all year for those stories! A few years ago I binged on them late into the night and I eventually was so spooked that I was too afraid to move from the arm chair I’d been reading in. Eventually my husband (then-boyfriend) woke up, saw me sitting there all petrified, and got up and walked me to the bed so the ghosts didn’t get me.
anonymousse October 31, 2019, 5:17 pm
I stayed up too late and read a bunch last night while my husband was out of town for work and I was surprised how spooked I got. I could barely convince myself that I’m an adult and I’m not afraid of the dark.
Lucidity October 31, 2019, 1:31 pm
I love Hallowe’en. I think it’s one of the coolest thing that we as a society all do together.
My MIL is over today watching my baby while I decorate and clean. I tape bats that I cut out of black construction paper to my windows, then cover the windows in orange tissue paper and turn on all my lights. The house looks amazing from the outside and it cost me less than $10 to put the whole thing together (plus I take it down carefully so I can reuse it year after year). I’m getting into the Hallowe’en mood by listening to the podcast Full Body Chills, which has short scary stories, like the ones told around campfires in the woods.
I bought extra candy because the kids who brave the rain probably won’t stay out as long as they usually would, so I want to make sure they get a good haul. Childhood is too short.
Rangerchic October 31, 2019, 2:50 pm
I love scary stories so I’ll have to check out that podcast! Thanks for mentioning it!
Lucidity October 31, 2019, 2:58 pm
It’s by the same women who do the Crime Junkie podcast, if you like true scary stories. They cover serial killers, murders, and mysterious disappearances.
anonymousse October 31, 2019, 5:18 pm
Great decorating tip!
Bittergayman October 31, 2019, 1:52 pm
Halloween can be a real kick in the teeth for any insecure about aging gay man… and here in HELL-AYE you can be that way the very moment you hit 30.
Past 45? Yikes…
Yes, I loathe this holiday even more than birthdays… Both are incredibly depressing. I was really kinda always looking forward to outgrowing this holiday. But it somehow NEVER goes away.
More — As good as I am with design I am truly awful at costumes… Hilariously awful. ?
The good news is I am currently so deeply mired in TV MOVIE PRODUCTION CHAOS… it’s easy to bail this year. Whew..
Rangerchic October 31, 2019, 2:49 pm
I love Halloween! I dressed up as MIB (or rather WIB since I am a women not a man haha) since it is rather easy to pull together.
We’ve been in our neighborhood for 3 years and only had 1 trick-or-treater the entire time so I’m not turning on my porch lights tonight. I’m disappointed we don’t get more. I love to see what the kids are dressing up as! Oh well. My kids are also grown so I can’t take them around. I miss that! Enjoy taking your kids/nieces/nephews out everyone!
TaraMonster October 31, 2019, 3:24 pm
One of my friends throws an annual Halloween banger and the costumes are insanely good. I absolutely love Halloween, but I’ve been a little lame this year with so many big life events going on (we got married! we got cats!). Usually I go all out and make a cool costume (last year a bunch of my friends did a Good Place theme and I was Bad Janet), but this year the sum total of my efforts was clicking “add to cart” on an Amazon puppy-onesie. My husband and I are going as John Wick and his dead puppy.
Other than that, at nightfall I’ll light some candles to keep the ghosts away and put a little shot of whisky out for my dead ancestors, none of which I believe in, but I was brought up by a bunch of superstitious weirdos and it’s a tradition I like to keep to remember all my loved ones. Happy Samhain, everyone. 🙂
Bittergaymark October 31, 2019, 3:35 pm
Being 6’4 also makes it challenging. More, no matter what I wear people always can tell it’s me. Even in a mask. So that is less exciting.
MaterialsGirl November 1, 2019, 9:34 am
my brother is 6’9″.. same thing. always know who it is
Kate October 31, 2019, 5:54 pm
I mentioned I tried this clothing rental company Haverdash, and after a couple weeks now I’m into it! It’s $59 a month for unlimited boxes of 3 items each. You fill your “closet” with items you like in your size, and they pick 3 to send you. You wear, then decide whether to return or keep (the price reflects that it’s used clothing). If you return, you just throw it in a pre-labeled bag and drop in the mail. I’ve worn all my items and returned them. They dry clean the clothes. They have everything from jeans to work clothes to dresses and jumpsuits. A lot of the jeans are “cropped” length so they fit me even though I’m not tall. It’s brands like ModCloth or what you’d find in boutiques. Not designer designer like RTR. Everything has fit me so far and looked cute, except one skirt I ordered in XS because S wasn’t available. Definitely recommend!
Quark November 1, 2019, 5:54 pm
What was the average discount from the original price when you purchased the items?
Kate November 2, 2019, 7:57 am
I think it depends on how many times the item had been worn. So far it’s like 10% to 55% off retail. But nothing looks “worn”. All very clean and new feeling.
Kate November 2, 2019, 7:59 am
This week I’m getting a pretty blouse, a pair of BB Dakota plaid pants, and a sweatshirt that says “Influencer.”
Lucidity October 31, 2019, 7:40 pm
My MIL told me a story today about when her family immigrated to Canada from communist Poland, two weeks before Hallowe’en. My husband, who was 6 years old, came home from school on the 31st and told her that he’d learned that if he went door-to-door in a costume and said “Trick or Treat,” people would give him candy. She didn’t believe that, and told him the kids at school must be playing a trick on him, and he got so upset that he cried. When kids started coming to their door, she was shocked, and had to rush out to buy a last-minute costume!
TaraMonster October 31, 2019, 10:23 pm
I love this story! It’s sad and silly and sweet all at once.
Leon November 2, 2019, 10:59 am
There’s a new HAIM song that goes like: “And the rain keeps coming down along the ceiling”. I totally thought when I heard it that it fits this unfortunate and annoying event. Hope it gets fixed soon.