Boo, Bah Humbug, and the Ghost of Halloween Past

Halloween in my childhood wasn’t the Pinterest-perfect event it is now. Forget coordinated family costumes and spooky yard inflatables that sync with your Spotify playlist. Back then, my mother had one guiding principle: if you couldn’t put some imagination into your costume, you were basically just begging for sugar.

Which is exactly how she saw Halloween—kids traveling dark roads, knocking on doors, panhandling for candy in pillowcases. She hated it. She didn’t hate fun. She hated the idea of her children roaming the streets like sugar-hungry Dickens characters.

The Sheet with the Holes

So, what did we do? Well, creativity was not our family’s strong suit. If there was an award for Most Mediocre Costume, the white-sheet-ghost with uneven eyeholes would’ve won it every year. And we wore those costumes with pride. Sort of.

On the rare occasion, we spiced things up by dressing as Mom or Dad. (Translation: we raided their closets and looked like tired adults instead of scary ghouls. Which, honestly, may have been scarier.)

Meanwhile, my mom—the original Halloween skeptic—was busy doing what PTA moms do best: redirecting. She organized community Halloween parties in the school gym, bobbing for apples included. Sometimes she even hosted them in our own house. To her, this was better than having us bother the neighbours or, worse, get tangled up with the prank-pulling teenagers who thought shaving cream and eggs were seasonal décor.

She was onto something.

Fast Forward: Now I’m the Mom

That was then. This is now. And if history is any indicator, the ghost of my mother is alive and well in me.

Yes, I cringe at buying overpriced costumes online. Yes, I have attempted a costume swap to avoid both consumer guilt and glitter infestations. And yes, my kids think I am the least fun person in the neighbourhood.

But I give myself props. Every year, without fail, I pile six giggling treat-or-treaters into my car and drive them around the countryside. Seatbelts, safety checks, snack bags. It’s less “Trick-or-Treat” and more “Uber Black: Pumpkin Edition.” My goal? To make sure no one ends up lost in a cornfield or mistaken for a traffic cone.

I have, without question, become my mother.

The Costume Crisis

Here’s my problem: I am still creatively challenged. Pinterest boards give me hives. TikTok DIY tutorials make me question my motor skills. And yet every October, here comes Halloween with its subtle message: Be fun. Be scary. Be original.

Meanwhile, I am patching the same old sheet.

So, I am throwing myself at the mercy of this community. I know some of you LOVE Halloween. You live for the costumes, the candy, the chaos, the cultural mashups that make the holiday what it is. Please, help me break the cycle of ghost sheets and last-minute panic.

Teach me your ways, oh mighty Halloween warriors!

Halloween Across Cultures: More Than Candy

One thing I’ve come to realize is that Halloween, while dominant in North America, has cousins around the globe. And when you zoom out, the holiday isn’t just about costumes and candy—it’s about connection, remembrance, and sometimes mischief.

• Mexico: Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a stunning celebration of ancestors, filled with marigolds, ofrendas (altars), and sugar skulls. It’s less about scaring and more about remembering.

• Ireland & Scotland: Samhain, the Celtic festival, marked the end of harvest and the beginning of winter. Bonfires, costumes, and community rituals carried the weight of survival and gratitude.

• Japan: Obon, a Buddhist festival, also honors ancestors with lanterns and dances, creating a bridge between the living and the dead.

• Philippines: “Pangangaluluwa,” a tradition where children go door-to-door singing for the souls of the departed, feels like trick-or-treating with a spiritual twist.

When I think about my mom’s refusal to glorify candy grabs, I wonder if she was tapping into something deeper: the idea that these holidays are meant to bring people together in meaningful ways—not just fuel sugar highs and dental bills.

The Growth Mindset Twist

Okay, let’s flip the script. Growth mindset tells us that even lifelong “creatively challenged” folks like me can grow, adapt, and learn new skills.

So maybe Halloween doesn’t have to be my personal Groundhog Day of ghost sheets. Maybe I can:

1. Experiment without perfection: A messy DIY mummy costume still counts as creative. Bonus points if the toilet paper unravels mid-walk.

2. Ask for help: Community costume swaps, group brainstorming, or outsourcing to the kids themselves (because kids are often more creative than adults).

3. Celebrate effort, not outcome: If the pumpkin is lopsided, it’s still a pumpkin. If the vampire cape drags on the floor, it’s still a cape.

4. Find joy in the chaos: Because ultimately, Halloween is about memories, not Instagram likes.

Maybe my mom wasn’t wrong to question the whole thing, but maybe I don’t have to choose between PTA parties and ghost sheets. Maybe Halloween can be what we make of it—creativity optional, laughter required.

Community Chat Prompts

Let’s make this interactive! Share your thoughts below:

💬 Member Chat Options:

• What’s the most hilariously bad costume you (or your child) ever wore?

• Do you buy, DIY, or swap costumes? Why?

• How do you celebrate Halloween (or its cultural cousins) in your community?

• If you could create one non-candy Halloween tradition, what would it be?

• Parents: do you dress up too, or is driving the carpool enough?

Closing Thought

Every year, I wrestle with Halloween—part skepticism, part sugar rush, part community joy. And every year, I end up back in the car, six kids in tow, playing chauffeur to ghosts, superheroes, and miniature unicorns.

Maybe my mother was right to resist the door-to-door begging. Maybe I’m right to resist the Pinterest pressure. But somewhere in between—between apples, candy, costumes, and laughter—is the spirit of Halloween.