Halloween is arguably one of the best holidays of the year. This is especially true if you’re a college student. Since Halloween just wrapped up, I thought I’d share what I learned about celebrating Halloween in college.
First of all, it’s not just Halloween, it’s Halloweek(end). Halloween has suddenly turned into a massive, nearly week long celebration. All the clubs and bars have nightly, Halloween themed specials and most have costume constests. Then, at school, there’s a wide assortment of Halloween events – such as movie nights, mini festivals in the courtyard, midnight meditations, kids’ trick-or-treating, free candy at the library, and honestly so much more.
Then, since it isn’t just one day of dressing up, at least one costume per night you’re going out is required. Shocking, right? When my roommate told me that we’d need three costumes for our plans, I nearly lost my mind. Luckily, it isn’t too hard to put together a DIY costume from Pinterest. Personally, I recommend either twinning or pairing with a friend when it comes to costumes (do it for The Gram, right?).
Thirdly, it is exceedingly important to have a plan when you’re going out. This is true every time you go out, but especially so for Halloweekend. There’s more people out, more creeps, and more places to go. Friends should stick together, look out for each other, and never leave someone behind. Every person in your group should be aware of, in general, what the plan is for the night, as well as have a fully charged cell phone prior to going out so people can call or text each other if they get separated.
Additionally, it should come as no surprise that Halloween in college is MESSY. Obviously, frat parties and bars or clubs are filthy 365 days a year, but even the residence halls are particularly dirty with all the (allegedly) fake blood, special effect make-up, spilt drinks, vomit (which is usually just the weekends, BUT since people are going out more than two nights in a row, there’s more than usual), and mud tracked in.
And finally, perhaps the most exciting part of celebrating Halloween as a college student, trick-or-treating is mildly acceptable. Broke college kids and free stuff go hand in hand, and – obviously – Halloween is all about the free candy. As long as you’re wearing an appropriately covering costume, most people won’t even notice. But even if they do, odds of them calling you out on it are slim.
Keeping all this in mind, here’s to next year’s Halloweekend! Only 357 more days to go!
