Skip to main content

Happy Halloween and a Merry Haunting: A once humble evening is now a multi-billion dollar indutry


            As far as my three boys are concerned, there are only 2 days in a calendar year that matter: Christmas and Halloween.  And they’re not alone - according to consumer stats, Halloween ranks second in retail spending.  That’s HUGE!!!  From Halloween recipes, to drinks, to décor, to costumes, wedding-themes (huh?), licensed merchandise, how-to-videos, pyrotechnics, outdoor lighting, inflatables and more, Halloween is no longer a one-night trick-and-treat.

Used to be, when I was a kid, Mom took an old worse-for-wear bed-sheet (likely one that you permanently soiled during that nasty stomach flu), cut out jagged eye holes and a mouth, tossed it over your head casually and announced, “you’re a ghost – that’s your costume”.  One pumpkin on the porch was standard décor and kids excitedly tossed their pillows loose from their cartoon-themed pillowcases with the intention of filling them until the seams burst with good ol’ fashioned stick-to-your-silver-fillings candy. 

            My how the times have changed.  It’s estimated that in the U.S. alone, 22 million dollars will be spent on dog costumes…not costumes that make you look like a dog, costumes for your dog!!  I can hear the helpless whimper of pooches across Canada getting pried into ill-fitting Star Wars suits. 

 
               Instead of letting all of this Halloween consumerism turn me into an evil witch, this year, I’m committing.  I’m getting on-board this orange-painted bandwagon and riding it like a deranged diabetic rancher on an all-you-can-eat sugary cattle call (Costume Alert: Deranged Rancher! You’re welcome!).

 I recently went to Michael’s craft store (a mecca for all things awesome and wonderful and inspiring) and filled my cart with all sorts of fun D.I.Y projects as well as some pre-made décor items.  I made a Halloween door wreath, spider web votive candle holders, tattooed pumpkins, spray-painted other gourds white and added golden glitter, stocked up on all sorts of entertaining accessories for the huge party I am having Saturday night (oh yeah, you read it right – party at my place!) 
 

 

             Then I stopped in at Canadian Tire and bought a variety of outdoor projectors to convert this lame-o suburban abode into a spooky haunted manse of mayhem.  I have goose bumps just writing this.  That’s how pumped I am about finally taking Halloween to the next level.

 
            Let’s talk safety – without safety, Halloween could become a real-life nightmare.  In most of Canada it’s now dark outside come 6/6:30pm.  Add to that, reduced visibility with falling leaves, a bit of rain, dark costumed goblins and you’ve got a potentially dangerous mix of kids darting about the streets and nervous drivers hoping to avoid them.

 
Tips for parents/kids:

 Light those kids up: From reflective tape strips to glow bands for wrists or necks, kids need to be seen.  The local dollar store usually sells both so a buck or two per kid is all you need to spend in order to make them stand out.

 Costumes: My son’s mummy morph-suit looks so creepy and cool.  What’s not cool is that he can barely see out of it.  Pretty sure a face-plant on the neighbours driveway is not how he hopes to kick-off the candy collection.  Make sure that the kids can see – even if it means not wearing a mask, or slipping it off between doorbells. I have seen first-hand too many kids crying on the sidewalk with skinned hands and knees. There’s no place for real blood on Halloween.

 Candy: As a kid, we always had to empty our haul onto the counter for parental inspection before we could even consider licking a lollipop.  Same rules still apply.  Immediately toss perishables (sorry sweet old lady who gives out apples), candies with damaged or compromised wrapping and anything else that gives you a not-so-confident feeling.

 Allergies: It’s very likely that there’s a neighbourhood child who has a severe nut allergy and for whom Halloween is not so fun because Mom and Dad have to toss or give away most/all of their candy.  There’s a fantastic teal pumpkin campaign out this year, encouraging you to place a teal pumpkin on your step, notifying kids with allergies that you offer nut-free treats at your door (much of the candy sold for Halloween purposes has the nut-free symbol on it – check the box/wrapper). Teal paint is available at any dollar store or craft store if you’d like to participate.

 Drivers: The easiest tip is to avoid driving, if possible, during peak trick-or-treat hours (7-8:30).  If you are out and about, common sense dictates that you should be extra vigilant and patient behind the wheel…remember how much you loved Halloween as a kid?

 Shutting it down: If you’re like me, then reams of costume-less 16-year olds rapping at the door at 9:45 demanding candy in a chorus of awkward pubescent voices is not high on your list of “fun”.  Generally, lights extinguished on pumpkins and external house lights turned off, means “no candy here”.  If late-night junk-seeking revellers ring the bell, a polite “sorry, we’re all out” is much better than a rude door slam…especially if you do not wish to awaken to an egg-smeared house.

 Catch the segment on CTV’s Canada AM for craft ideas, how-to’s and lots more fun, Friday, October 30th at 8:40am.

 Follow me @KasieSavage

Comments

  1. Halloween has always been an exhilarating day for me. Every year I host grand Halloween party. Last year, I hosted the party at an outdoor venue. It was one of best venues in Bay area. Everyone enjoyed a lot and spent some great moments together.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mom's Day: Our one day off and we still end up working

One of my absolute favourite Mother's Day cards can be found on the internet - it shows a woman applying to "Motherhood Inc." and she's reading through the employment contract - "One vacation day a year?!  That's all I get?!" she proclaims.  "We call it Mother's Day but technically you still have to work" says the interviewer.  So true. Every card a Mom gets on Mother's Day preaches the same utopic nonsense - advising Moms to "relax", "kick back", "pamper yourself"...  These cards are typically all written by men.  Have you ever noticed that men have no problem treating themselves to a full day with legs up, beverage in hand and mind empty of thoughts?  They don't even need it to be Father's Day!  It can just be any ol' Wednesday....sadly sometimes, the occasional deadbeat Dad will try and pull this stunt on Mother's Day - not cool.  Men are intrinsically wired to "unwind and chil

The Hottest Hire: Moms!

How staying at home to raise my kids lead to  more  work opportunities and the confidence to take them on. It's one of the biggest issues facing new Moms - the question of whether to put off a career in order to stay home raising our babies full-time, or whether to go back to work and focus on advancing our careers while we can. Historically, there's always been this perception that leaving the workforce during our prime earning years will severely hamstring our earning potential and career options later on. It's one of the most intensely difficult decisions women make - and is based on an outdated premise that one cannot start a robust, exciting, fulfilling and high-earning career at any stage in our lives. I remember feeling the intense scrutiny and judgment of working Moms when I opted to be a stay-at-home parent in those early years of my kids lives (I have three boys). There was an underlying assumption that I had chosen cookie baking, daytime television watch

Lipstick and hockey sticks: A girly Mom's guide to faking your way through kids hockey season

It's not easy being a skirt in a home chalk-full of rancid jocks.  But I've managed to get by.  You see, as the lone double X in a chromosomal pool of 4 XYs (5 if I include the dog), my interests in home decor, Fall fashions, beach-wave hair and pedis get buried somewhere underneath a pile of mismatched tube-socks, baseball gloves, goalie pads and Under Armour everything.  Don't get me wrong, I love being active.  I'm a daily exerciser, I enjoy 9-holes of golf and just finished up another summer season on a ladies ball-hockey team - and I literally still have no idea what the rules are (icing to me means confectioners sugar, butter and milk). I do my best at faking my way through "sporty" - just as Brittany Spears fakes her way through "talented" and "singing".  Pretending to love sports gives me a valid excuse to get out of the house for an hour each week to pursue an activity that my kids might actually care to inquire about.  "