Why Halloween is So Important in Our House

The 31st of October means different things to different people, in different parts of the world. "Halloween," "Samhain," "Dia de Muertos." In our house, despite the tendency towards masks and costumes, Halloween is a chance for us to be ourselves.

My family is made of some, let's say, unique personalities, we're nerdy and kooky and weird. So Halloween is a chance to celebrate the strange, to embrace the oddities. Carving artistically challenged pumpkins, dressing up in fun, quirky costumes (I maintain that 'the Devil's Advocate' was a brilliant idea, everyone else is just lame), doing the Time Warp every year without fail, these Halloween traditions bring us closer together as a family. Not to mention the pride we take in our Halloween decoration game.

This year, even with stresses and worries going on in the real world, we're making sure to take the time for some Halloween fun. It's one of the things that separates Halloween from other holidays, it focuses on fun over anything else.

If there's one thing I know it's this: there's nothing more fun than fake skeletons and ghosts hanging from the ceiling, or spider's webs that stick to everything but the wall, or eating too many sweets and making yourself feel sick. These are just the facts people.

Halloween 2018

As I write this, it is currently the evening of the October 30 and we're listening to a Halloween themed playlist on Spotify while putting up Halloween decorations.

We got a bit of a late start on it this year, mostly because we just could not find the boxes of decorations (at least one box is still missing, inexplicably). My youngest brother was disappointed to have missed his school's Halloween disco, so to make up for it he's making everyone dress up and he demands decorations. My artistic talent is limited, but I'm the designated 'creative one' in my family (especially since my brother moved out, he was my only competition for this coveted role). I'm doing my best, but it's a lot of pressure.

Last year my focus was on the food, this year (because our oven is broken) I'm going to focus on spooky music and general ambience to create the 'Halloween vibe.' Here's hoping it's met with little-brother-approval, because if not I might get disowned.

Wish me luck.