Spooky or Wasteful? Tradition Called, It Wants Its Pumpkins Back

I love a good Halloween plate but what I loved about it was my mom putting out the same four or five Halloween plates every year and getting to use them. It felt so nostalgic even when I was a kid. I don’t remember her ever buying new Halloween decor, it was the same stuff each year, it was and is a tradition. Does no one care about making holiday traditions anymore? Did I miss the memo that holiday traditions only apply at Christmas time? And, when did we all decide to just buy everything instead of making it ourselves? Ever heard of DIY?

Help me understand something. Why is it that Halloween spending reached an all-time high of $12 billion in 2023? Did you or your family not buy decorations the year before? Do you or your children consume an unhealthy amount of candy? Can your costumes not be repeated? Halloween comes around like clockwork every year, so why are we spending more when you can reuse the same decorations? Pumpkins are still pumpkins, skeletons haven’t changed, and gravestones, spider webs, witches, and skulls look the same as ever. Honestly, the list goes on! It’s so wasteful and tacky and I’m not sure what mystical force has made people start haunting their neighborhoods sooner and sooner year after year. 

Let’s talk about costumes for a second. Since when did Halloween turn into a fashion show for toddlers and pets? Yes, I know it’s cute. 76% percent of adult pet owners said they planned to put their pets in costumes, with 30% saying they intended to have their pets dress up more than once for the holiday. Are we really dressing up the dog in a $50 lobster outfit every year now? What happened to throwing together a costume from stuff you already have at home?

And don’t even get me started on college parties across the country. “Slutty nurses” slamming tequila shots? Yeah, that’s realistic. Remember when you were little and dressed up as your heroes? Your favorite characters? Halloween seems to have become an excuse for people to throw on the most revealing outfit they can find, drink til they drop, and call it a party. You can celebrate Halloween without falling into tired, objectifying clichés.

I remember the days when half the fun of Halloween was getting creative with what you had, not scrolling through endless costume options online. And what the heck is the appeal to matching family costumes! Again, cute, yes, but also a hefty price tag for something you’ll wear for a few hours and never again (do you not remember how fast toddlers grow out of their clothes?!). It’s like we’ve forgotten that Halloween is supposed to be spooky fun, not a competition for who can drop the most money on temporary stuff. We’re spending so much on costumes, decorations, and candy that it’s losing the charm. Maybe we should slow down, re-use what we’ve got, and remember that the real magic of Halloween isn’t in how much we spend, but in how much fun we can have without emptying our wallets.