The Tricks & Treats of Halloween
Even if you love trick-or-treating and getting free candy, Halloween isn't always the holiday everyone looks forward to. Case in point: if you're just looking to spend a quiet night in without kids knocking on your door every 10 seconds... good luck. So, which side are you on? Are you on Team Halloween or Team "Can We Skip This Already?" Here are 10 things we hate about Halloween and 10 things we all love.
1. Buying Overpriced Candy
By far, one of the worst things about Halloween is how overpriced bags of candies, chips, and treats are. These giant pouches might go on sale as soon as the holiday is over, but that's only helpful if you're not buying them for trick-or-treaters and for yourself instead.
2. Being Expected to Give Out Candy
Unless you live in an apartment where strangers can't access your building without a key, you're pretty much expected to hand out candy—even if your house isn't decked out with festive spirit. That means you feel pressured to buy those giant candy bags for trick-or-treaters, even when you just want to spend a quiet night in.
3. Coming Up with a Costume
Coming up with a costume for Halloween is one of the more stressful aspects of the holiday. Sure, you can always recycle your ideas from previous years, but you also don't want to seem boring and repetitive, so sometimes the only choice is to brainstorm something new.
4. Strangers Knocking on Your Door
Another reason why you feel like you're pressured to have candy ready? Strangers knocking on your front door all night long. If you don't have any treats for them, they'll be disappointed, and it'll be awkward having to mention that to every kid who stops by.
5. Pumpkin Rot
Carving interesting designs and faces on pumpkins might be fun, but having to deal with the aftermath? Not so much. The mess gets exponentially worse, too, when you have more than one Jack-o'-lantern, so you're stuck cleaning everything up after Halloween night is over.
6. Putting Up Decorations
Sure, putting up decorations can be fun, especially when you have an elaborate display planned and tons of creative ideas to showcase. But it can also be extremely tedious and require far more time than you're able to give, considering all the other responsibilities you have.
7. Cleaning Up Decorations
Along with cleaning pumpkin rot, another thing we hate about Halloween is taking off all the decorations we put up. After the hours of hard work, once the night ends, it's time for all of it to come off... it feels like a waste of your effort and time.
8. Being Constantly Scared
If you're a horror junkie, walking around on Halloween and the weeks leading up to it is brutal. You're constantly met with creepy decorations or terrifying costumes, and you might even get dragged into watching a scary movie against your will. To you, October is the worst time of the year.
9. Trunk or Treat
If you are into trick-or-treating but your community discourages it and offers trunk-or-treating as an alternative, then it just ruins the festive spirit. Trunk or treat, for those who are unfamiliar with the term, is when participants of trick-or-treating park their car in a designated lot, decorate their trunk, and hand out candy from there. It's touted as a safer way to enjoy the holiday, but it can take away the whole experience of going around the neighborhood and knocking on doors.
Jan Hardy, Director, St. John Lutheran Church & Early Learning Center on Wikimedia
10. November 1
Once Halloween is over? It's November 1 already. Even if you don't like Halloween, it's even worse knowing that after the holiday ends, the month is over, and it's already time for the last two months of the year.
But there are plenty of things we do love about Halloween, right? From dressing up to trick-or-treating, here are 10 things about Halloween we—or at least some of us—appreciate and enjoy.
1. Trick-or-Treating
The number one thing we love about Halloween? Trick-or-treating, of course! Kids get to enjoy this the most, because who doesn't love getting free candy? Adults, too, get to participate in other ways, like collecting candy at work or stealing a piece from their kids (shh).
2. Dressing Up
Halloween is the one night when you can dress up as (almost) anything you want, and no one will bat an eye. That means there are plenty of ways to get creative and craft up interesting costumes! Plus, you can even coordinate with friends and family so your costumes all match.
3. Scary Movies
If you are a horror junkie, you must love Halloween. What's better than getting to marathon creepy shows and movies all night long? From rewatching the classics (Scream, anyone?) to trying out new films, Halloween night is the perfect time to be spooked.
4. Halloween-Flavored Drinks & Treats
Pumpkin-spice latte, anyone? Aside from all the fall-flavored drinks and treats you're bound to come across in October, the Halloween-themed goodies are the ones to be excited about. Ghost-shaped cookies, spider cupcakes, tombstone brownies... the list never ends!
5. Seeing Decorations Around the Neighborhood
When Halloween rolls around, you get to see all the decorations around the neighborhood, which makes it feel a lot like a prelude to Christmas (except the theme is spooky). From skeletons to fog lights, it can make for a scary walk, but the time and effort your neighbors put into their houses will still leave you in awe.
6. Haunted Houses
Love haunted houses? Then of course you love Halloween! From scary costumes and realistic-looking props, touring through these creepy mansions can give you a thrill: one that will raise goosebumps and make you glance behind your shoulder all night.
7. Fall Fairs
When October hits, the fall fairs you'll find around your state and region are abundant, and most will be Halloween-themed once the holiday rolls closer. That means you'll find lots of fun activities to keep you spooked and entertained!
8. Telling Scary Stories
What's better than watching horror movies? Telling scary stories, of course. The best way to do it is outdoors around a campfire or indoors with the lights turned off. Then, everyone around the circle shares their spookiest tale as the night falls ever darker...
9. Halloween Parties & Events
Another thing Halloween is great for? All the parties and events that happen around the community. This means you get to show off your cool costumes and homemade Halloween-themed treats, while "Monster Mash" plays in the background.
10. Carving Pumpkins
Of course, we couldn't forget about pumpkin carving. Sure, there's the rot and mess you'll have to deal with afterward, but carving Jack-o'-lanterns is a big part of the tradition, and you can't celebrate Halloween without these grinning orange heads on your front porch!
