Halloween is almost upon us once again, and the number of related items available made me wonder why Halloween isn’t made into even more of an event? Like a funereal festive season. Think about it- you could have jolly old Satan Claws come and fill your stocking with guts, surround your Halloween tombstone with goodies and rotting carcasses, and then you could all sit down to a pleasant Halloween dinner of roast pumpkin and Gutted Bystander. Really though, it could be turned into more than just simple Trick Or Treating and bobbing for apples, even in these financially erratic times.
Halloween is great fun for both kids and adults, and it can serve as a bonding experience for families too. Involving children in Halloween styled games can be a great way to entertain youngsters and educate them on traditional pastimes (even when their origins have become so obscured by popular culture). Getting dressed up and made up as witches and monsters can be fantastic fun for all involved, and properly supervised Trick-Or-Treating is a great thing for making memories.
But halloween shouldn’t be limited to kids parties. With all manner of events on in pubs, clubs, cinemas and more there’s plenty that adults can sink their teeth into (sorry). There’s a great deal of Halloween themed merchandise that make great gifts, such as licensed horror movie related memorabilia and merchandise such as action figures, posters, comics, statues, and of course the movies themselves. You could check out things like the ever-creepy Living Dead Dolls, or movie collectibles created by MacFarlane Toys, NECA and Sideshow Collectibles.
Want a great Halloween evening in? Gather your friends, some suitably kitsch horror movies (Go for the cheese more than the darker stuff- zombie films, cheap B-movies, Chucky, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and its billion sequels, films you can shout at), Halloween snacks (stock up on kids snacks and themed sweets- there’s nobody saying the grown-ups can’t have some fun too), add some suitably spooky/fun music (I recommend ‘Project 1950′ and ‘American Psycho’ by the Misfits, and anything by the Cramps) and voila, you have the makings of a fun Halloween party in your own home. Granted, that sounds like a typical night in at our place, yet there are people out there who are in fact normal. Somewhere. I think. get your place decked out with cobwebs and skulls and make an event out of it.
Looking for an evening’s worth of viewing? A few recommendations for you:
Re-animator, Scanners, The Burning, Class of Nuke ‘Em High (okay, this is a spoof but it still kicks ass), The Evil Dead, Friday the 13th, An American Werewolf in London, Bad Dreams, Hellraiser, Evil Dead 2, Return of the Living Dead 2, Creepshow, Day of the Dead, Trick or Treat, Poltergeist, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, A Nightmare on Elm street,. TITLE. EVER), Dead Zone, The Gate, The Hunger, Killer Klowns From Outer Space, Monster Squad, Society, Sorority babes in the Slime-ball Bowl-O-Rama….. Hell, there’s thousands of them. Go get some fun.
There’s a wealth of ways to go to make your Halloween memorable. Get things underway with a movie night as suggested above, then maybe go along to a themed party or pub night. Preferably dressed up. Check out local listings for relevant events in your area, the more insane the better. If all this sounds like a bit of a no-brainer, that’s because it honestly is. With little effort you can turn an otherwise very commercial day into something you can really enjoy. Don’t think of it as more cost- think of it as a break from normality and a way to have some fun down in these difficult times. Halloween celebrations shouldn’t be all about handing out sweets to bored kids on your doorstep- it should be enjoyed and relished. I mean, how often can you actually run around dressed as a giant alien lizard during the rest of the year? Actually, don’t answer that.
Tags: Halloween, halloween gifts, halloween ideas, halloweenideas, hallowwen on a budget, horror memorabilia, horror merchandise