The United States reigns with costume parties around Halloween. Children, adults and teens that are over the age of going door to door dress up instead and attend parties. Movies are rife with instances of costume parties in the United States.

Mardi Gras time, in Louisiana and other parts of the United States also draws many costume parties. Books and movie releases abound that carry a Halloween costume party theme, and science fiction and fantasy events all favor Halloween themes. Even Oscar parties that were focused on Lord of the Rings were in essence costume parties, and Episode I of the Star Wars trilogy were celebrated by a costume party. Harry Potter theme parties are also costume parties.

In the United Kingdom, ‘Boxing Day’, with a man dressed as ‘Wolverine’, the ‘X-Men’ anti-hero heralded the 2006 festivities, as ‘Boxing Day in Wigan’ is still popular with its fancy dress amongst revelers.

The Royal Family favors fancy dress parties, and these are popular all year round in England. Prince William of the British Royal Family celebrated his twenty-first birthday by having an ‘Out of Africa’ theme closely related to the movie of same name. On the other hand, Princess Beatrice for her eighteenth birthday chose an 1888 theme party, while in January of 2005, Prince Harry made headlines by wearing an Afrika Corps uniform with a Nazi armband to a costume party. Ms. Bridget Jones, on the other hand, favored a classical ‘tarts and vicars’ style theme for her latest party.

The largest outcry came against Prince Harry however, and he was splashed across tabloids in his costume, especially in the Sunday tabloid, ‘News of the World.’

The roots of the holiday are as such: Shortened in name from All-Hallow-Even, taking place on the evening of or before ‘All Hallows’ Day’, or ‘All Saints Day’, this prior Pagan holiday was a day of festivities in Northern Europe. Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV were responsible for allocating the Christian Feast of ‘All Saints Day’ from the dates of May 13 to November 1. The move was initiated in order to supplant the original Pagan feast with a Christian Feast Day. Because of the measuring of sunset to sunset, according to the Florentine Calendar, the days of ‘All Hallows’ and ‘All Saints’ were now the same day.

The Irish tradition of ‘All Hallows’ Eve’ is still respected and followed, and the terminology remains the same. Festivals that occur are referred to as ‘Samhain’ or ‘Oiche Shamhna’, to the Irish, ‘Samhuin’ to the Scottish/Gaelic, ‘Calan Gaeaf’ to the Welsh, ‘Allantide’ to the Cornish and ‘Hop-tu-Naa’ to the Manx. Some parts of Ireland also refer to Halloween as ‘pooky night’, using the mischievous spirit, ‘puca’ as a basis for the folklore.

Magic is considered most potent during Halloween, and it’s considered a liminal time of the year. Irish tales of the ‘Sidhe’ abound as well as tall tales throughout other cultures, and ‘witch lore’, tails of witches and hobgoblins abound throughout the world.

Trick or Treat’ night is a term used for Halloween, celebrated worldwide on October 31. Children traditionally dress in costume and go door to door in search of treats, and if denied the treats, according to legend, become little ‘beasts’ and then can use ‘tricks’ to get even with those that refuse to treat them.

Other traditions exist such as costume parties, hayrides, the visiting of haunted houses such as the celebrated house in Anoka, Minnesota, which is also known as the Halloween Capital of the World. In Anoka, the entire city is decorated, and individuals many times decorate their homes and properties. Parades are also held to further celebrate the holiday. These activities started in Anoka in 1920, to prevent the ‘trickery’, a.k.a. vandalism that occurs sometimes during Halloween.

Children that get the chance to enjoy such festivities and dress up repeatedly in glorious costume and who get to go door to door in supervised activities enjoy Halloween much more and of course, do not engage in the ‘trickery’ as often.

Another vibrant display of Halloween partying is the world-renowned New York Village Halloween Parade, which draws tens of thousands per year. Held in Greenwich Village and the roots of this parade are also far reaching. Halloween, began its mythology under the name of ‘samhain.’ It was a Pagan festival among the Celtic peoples of Ireland and Great Britain. Irish and Scottish immigrants then transported versions of the tradition to North America in the 19th Century. Halloween now is totally accepted by Americans.

The holiday of Halloween is most common in United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Peru. Parts of Western Europe started celebrating Halloween recently. Increasing popularity of this holiday is evident in Australia and New Zealand.

As you can see, Halloween is historically rich yet filled with fun, games, and ingenuity. It doesn’t need to be expensive to enjoy yet there are myriad ways to enjoy it.

Remember, make your own costumes, visit places that are thrifty in price if purchasing, use your imagination when finding activities, do up your own parties and you’ll be good to go for each Halloween. Your children will build memories, you will build a repertoire for future activities and everyone will view you as the ‘Halloween Maven.’

There are some ‘old standbys’ and some novel ideas:

GHOST: Grab a white sheet, cut out the eyes, and adjust the length. Make a treat bag out of the remnants.

CLOWN: Use hand-me-downs that are large and colorful, tack on pompons, buttons, bows, etc., Add a colorful wig and face paint.

SCARECROW: Beaten up old flannel shirt, jeans, and loose belt. Straw and other messy items completes the look.

OLD MAN/OLD WOMAN: Powder hair, use outdated clothing, torn socks and stockings.

HIPPY: Loud 1960s items from the attic!

1950′s GIRL/BOY: Look up 1950s gear, add saddle shoes or penny loafers and you’re good to go!

SPIDER: Use cheap black hose for legs that are stuffed, and sew or staple to black garments.

MUMMY: Cut up old white sheets, wrap over and over, leaving space for eyes, nose and mouth. Secure with safety pins.

These are just a few examples. You can do more with whatever you find at home or in a thrift store!

Pirating adventures are in demand after the movie, ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean.’ Let your child become a pirate by designing a costume similar to that in the movie. Theme a Halloween party around the movie, and then issue invitations similar to those of the 19th Century.

A sample invitation:

Attend a Halloween Pirate Party at 1122 Lansdale Road
Bring your best Pirate Costume and Attitude
Sunday, October 20th, Rain or Shine

Items Needed: Treasure Map
Name of Missing Pirates
A Knowledge of Traps and Foul Play

Once the kids have arrived, turn your home or yard into a shipwreck scene and let them find the missing pirated and treasure. Mark the trails to pirates and treasure with props, and put up decorations and danger signs. Skeletons and other Halloween markings can be used as indicators of a ‘find.’

It’s also good to use run on tattoos or face painting as a reward for found treasures or pirates as well as prizes and other goodies. Playing a Halloween movie at the end of the party completes the picture.

Sample Halloween Map:

The Secret Hiding Place of Billy Bones’ Treasure

Beware of Traps……….

Begin by following the areas marked with skeletons, to the end of the trail that is marked by a skull. Proceed to the mark of the Devil’s Head, and then dig where the X marks the spot in the earth. Unearth the treasure and return it to the table that has a witch atop it.

Using imagination can make a great Halloween theme party for your child and their friends!