I have a dark little secret. Others will deny this feeling per social norms, but I will admit it without hesitation… I love Halloween! It is my favorite holiday by far!

Christmas: too consumerist.
New Years: too much hype.
Thanksgiving: too much food.

The only one that come close is the 4th of July, for multiple reasons, but for argument’s sake I am sticking with my original statement: Halloween is my favorite holiday!

Why do I love Halloween you ask? Well, to start on a selfish note, Halloween is only a few weeks after my birthday so I fondly associate the two together. And I have wonderful memories of having a birthday-costume party one year at our house in Horse Shoe Acres. I went as horseback rider, complete with my riding pants and riding boots Beyond fond memories of dressing up as a red M&M as a kid and as a clown when I was quite young and then as a flapper girl in my late twenties, I just really love dressing up and wearing costumes.

It is the fun of picking out your costume – it is the challenge to be creative and original. Never mind cost, originality is what wins costume competitions! There is the fun of the hunt for those perfect items! What is a flapper girl without her fringe dress?!?! But not just the plastic, fake ones in the costume shop, but a $10 dress from H&M bought in August is the real treasure. Or finding the perfect snake-skin patterned dress to complete your Medusa costume (shot out to my girl Lizzy Or finding the perfect wig to aid in your Japanese Geisha costume. It is all a challenge and a thrill when put together!

Beyond the preperation, the execution is just as fun – gathering at a friend’s place to prep for the night out while sampling some witch’s punch and eating spider-shaped cookies. And then there are the decorations of the house. Whether you prefer store-bought items or homemade crafts a lá Martha Stewart, it makes you home/apartment into your very own festive celebration!

And then there is the candy and the trick or treaters! I look forward to the day when I can be the woman in th neighborhood that all the kids want to visit! I’ll have to spookiest pad and give out the best treats while wearing the coolest costume! Ok, ok, really this fantasy is many years off for me. But I do have distinctive memories of trick or treating and then going home to sort through all the goodies I received and swapping what I didn’t enjoy for my favorites, like Reeses pieces and Snickers bars.

So as anyone can see my love of runs deep and true. But just to add a cheery on top, Halloween is also important for one more reason… Miguel and I first met on Halloween night in 2009. Mind you, I was dressed as a Japanese Geisha with a wig and white face paint so I can’t say it was love at first sight for him. And on my end all I remember is thinking “who’s the @$$hole who didn’t dress up?!??” Luckily, we were able to move past that, but I do find it serendipitous that I meet my love on the holiday I love the most. Sigh…

So what’s really the point of this pos beyond my Halloween fetish confession? Well it’s about London of course! This is the great thing about living abroad, you get to see how a predominantly American celebration has been exported around the world. This is also the downside of living abroad, no matte how you try, it’s never the same! And so here begins the next part of the post….

Halloween in the UK is different. Fullstop. Why is it? How? In what sense is it just a poor rip off? First let’s start with costumes. People don’t start talking about their costumes in September! Not even once October starts. Actually they don’t start thinking about it till about October 27th! On top of that there is a serious lack of creativity. This may be partially do to the restriction that everything must be dead. So that pretty much leaves you with zombies, vampires, witches, devils and so on. How ever this rule does appear to be broken by 13 to 30 women who appear to just put on some lingerie and throw on some fake ears and call themselves a bunny. In this instance, I will admit that this is not so different than the US. Nevertheless, there is a serious lack of creativity here.

And though seeing little children run from door to door was enjoyable and made me smile, the little ones suffered from the same lack of creativity as their adult counterparts. However, I did hear a rumour that English kids in some areas actually threaten people with tricks and demand cash! This sounds more like extortion than trick or treating to me! Nevertheless, I don’t think in our most Orthodox Jewish neighborhood we have to worry about that.

Still the lack of jack-o-lanterns and witches hanging from the door made me think that maybe I should let go of my childish, Halloween-loving ways and embrace the ways of my adopted home…

That thought lasted a whole minute before I made some very important findings: Halloween is American and I am American. Thus, by thein mathematics I am Halloween! And I have a patriotic duty to celebrate Halloween no matter where I am!

So armed with my new Halloween affirmation, construction paper, a pair of scissors, some pumpkins, a bed sheet, nail polish and my ‘Can Do’ American attitude I transformed our apartment and ourselves into a manifestation of Halloween! See the picture of Miguel and I below for proof!

Happy Halloween!
Carly