What’s Halloween like in America?!

[Jenniferturkington]

We are going to be in Boston at Halloween. In theory we could visit Salem 🧙‍♀️

Is it like in the movies- millions of kids out with amazing costumes?! Can you buy ches costumes from supermarkets like here?

Oh, and do the adults dress up too?!

Olenna not sure about the WDW one but the one in DL in Calif is fab!!

OP US customs vary from region to region and neighbourhood to neighbourhood. Some go all out with decorations and great treats, others do the minimum of answering the door and giving a piece of candy. We had some wicked good 'haunted houses' near us where the owners went all out and created spooky walk-through 'scare-fests'.

If someone tells you that Halloween 'isn't celebrated' that usually means they have a religious objection to it and choose not to participate. The basic rule where I grew up and where I live now (both in California) has always been don't go to houses if the porch light (or 'spooky lighting') isn't on, regardless of decorations or lack thereof.

I live in the Bible Belt, where there are actually quite a few people who have religious objections to Halloween. But many of them participate in "Fall Festivals" that might even involve costumes and other traditions associated with Halloween, but without the "spirit world" connotations.

Oh yes, Seneca. DS1 went to a Baptist preschool where the only differences were the name of the celebration and the prohibition of witch, ghost, devil, and any other costumes that might hint at the supernatural. Not even Casper was allowed.

Fort Knox looks brilliant. We are definitely going to try to fit that in.

In Boston we are staying in Fenway. Looking at the map (I don’t know Boston at all) we are reasonably close to Brookline. I will have a look if I can find details of some local events.

Quite often snows where we are.

The weather where I am is completely unpredictable at Hallowe'en. A few years ago we had a terrific storm, with snow blowing sideways at high speed. This didn't put the damper you might expect on trick or treating. I dropped DD4 off at a friend's house so that she and the friend could take friend's little sisters out in their princess costumes with winter coats over them, holding on for dear life to their little buckets of candy. I saw them set out, leaning into the wind. DD4 had a massive earache afterwards.

A cousin of mine flew in from the east coast for a rugby match in the city the next day and had to hold on to lamp posts as he made his way to his hotel from the train station downtown.

I live in a municipality that is heaving with young children. Hallowe'en is huge here. People decorate with wild abandon. Adults and children alike dress up to go out trick or treating, with the youngest accompanied by parents. Some blocks hold block parties on the night with the street closed to traffic. People sit out on front porches sipping a beverage or two and handing out candy or they leave a bowl or bucket of candy for kids to help themselves. Kids in groups sprint from house to house (faster sprinting on colder years).

Any tips for decorating the house? I can’t seem to get it right at all, I don’t know where to start. I spent £100 in wilkos last year on some rubbish paper bunting and little lanterns. It all seems so expensive and rubbish and hard to understand how to make the house look good with it

We actually bought most of our things in Walgreens.

We have plastic (glittery!) tombstones for the yard. We put out several it pumpkins, we have “ghosts” which we hang in the trees (balloons with white sheeting over the top) and wind crime scene tape round the porch rail.

We have that cheap expanding cobweb stuff which we put strategically round the porch and the front door and add sparkly sliders to it.

We also have a couple of scary ghoul heads that light up and hand from the from of the house and the trees.

None of it was very expensive (about $50 I think) but we tend to buy in the sales the day after Halloween for the next year.

Ooooh, this reminds me! It's time to get my own Hallowe'en decs out!!!

Thanks @copperbonnet- maybe I’ll go to the sales and go all out next year!

Try Goodwill, Glintandglide.
They usually have a Halloween section this time of year.

Walgreens, Home Depot, Party City, some grocery stores all have Halloween decorations. You can buy orange fairy lights.

You can also make some nice decorations.
I used to hang little ghosts from the front porch. They were made from rolled up odd socks covered with gauzy fabric, tied under the ball at the 'neck', with the gauzy fabric wafting around below that. I attached black yarn of varying lengths to the top of their heads and thumb tacked them to the porch roof. The yarn was invisible so the ghosts appeared to be floating.
goo.gl/images/PKV4tg

This is pretty easy too - use styrofoam balls, broom handles/chunky dowel rods/rebar and voile or cheesecloth, plus glue/thumb tacks. You can form heads with string.
www.diynetwork.com/made-and-remade/make-it/make-this-hauntingly-sweet-circle-of-ghosts

Home made front door decoration:
goo.gl/images/t4GYcH
goo.gl/images/rmZsmW

inhabitat.com/6-diy-halloween-decorations-made-with-upcycled-materials/
More home made inspiration...
goo.gl/images/RhKahY