Halloween is coming up. Some are excited, some are dreadful, some are indifferent. The viewpoints of Halloween vary, and not just among people of one age, but of all ages.
Babies in Pumpkins
Babies
Babies don’t really know what’s going on when it’s Halloween, so it’s my fair guess that babies don’t really care what’s going on. Babies are just kind of along for the ride. They’re happy doing whatever. You can put them in whatever funny baby costume you can think of, like a puppy, or Yoda, or a sunflower. You can even put babies in a pumpkin and they’ll still be pretty chill. Most of the time.
Toddlers in Costumes are Funny
Preschool
When kids are in preschool, they begin to realize that Halloween is just a day to load up on free candy. Halloween is the best day of the year. They’re focused on just getting buckets and bucketsful. It doesn’t matter what kind as long as it tastes good. They jump up and down for weeks wanting all the Halloween candy and simply can’t wait to run up to the neighbors’ houses in excitement, then freeze at the last minute, hide behind their parents, and mumble thank you as the neighbors dump handfuls of candy into their bags because they’re “just too cute.” Of course you’re excited for costumes too at that age, but mainly your parents are still all too happy to put little kids in any cute costume they want.
Elementary School
Candy is still the main priority, but now kids are starting to put a little more thought into the costume. Having a kick-butt Halloween costume is very important and determines your “coolness” for the season. Most elementary schools I know of have costume parades around the block, so everyone who is anyone sees your costume and is definitely taking mental notes. Wearing your costume to school is a big deal. It has to be creative, it has to be fun, it has to be relevant, and it
has to be executed absolutely perfectly. If no one says, “Whoa, your costume is SO cool! I wish I was that!,” then did you really do Halloween?
Middle School
Middle School is the era of awkward, and Halloween is no exception. Everyone is stuck in transition mode. Are you kids? Are you teenagers? Are you too cool for school, or too school for cool? Who really knows? So come Halloween time, should you dress up or not? Is everyone going to think I’m a dork if I show up in my ‘50s-girl poodle skirt? Are people going to think that I’m a
loser if I don’t do anything at all for Halloween? Are people just going to judge me if I wear my jack-o-lantern shirt? Halloween is definitely a self-conscious time when it comes to displaying your costume at school. But when it comes to acquiring candy, everyone secretly (or not-so-secretly) loves dressing up and trick-or-treating, whether or not they have younger siblings as an excuse.
The stress of school and thinking about college and the impending future makes everyone wish they were a kid again and could just be happy and playful. Halloween is the perfect opportunity to embrace that nostalgia. If Halloween falls on a school day, everyone gets decked out as their favorite character or punny idea, saving the “sexy”-type costumes for parties with friends. Some people are even in the mindset of, “I don’t care if I’m 17 and am an only child. I’m going trick-or-treating anyway,” with a last-minute ghost costume and pillowcase of candy in hand. Others are perfectly content sitting on the front stoop with a bowl of candy to hand out while drinking a cup of hot chocolate.
College
Halloweekend. Halloween is not a day. It is not a night. It is a party. Despite the name, it doesn’t last for merely a weekend either. It is a week-or-two-long event in October. You plan and coordinate countless group costumes to wear to different parties on campus, to the campus’ 'Rocky Horror Picture Show,' and to whatever other festivities you can possible think of. People figure out how to make any costume “sexy,” ironically or not, and aren’t ashamed of dressing up like a complete dork either. Halloweekend usually falls at the end of midterm season too, so dressing up, making a fool of yourself, and gorging on candy seems like a pretty good way to de-stress.
Actual Adults
I actually don’t really know what real adults think about Halloween. I haven’t experienced that yet, I’ll have to wait a few years. If I were in the mindset of a real adult, I would probably have fun with Halloween, take advantage of the chances to hold onto my childhood. Though it would be kind of annoying to have to buy a bunch of candy and decide what to give out. You don’t want to be that house. Or if I was a parent I would have fun putting my baby in stupid costumes and pumpkins.
