Halloween on a Monday?: The best plans for students on Halloween night
The morning of Oct 31 dawns on you accompanied by a crisp breeze, the falling autumn leaves and the personally terrifying desperation as you realize that despite your heightened social life, you have nothing planned for the most lit night of the year. Excluding the approaching Christmas season, obviously.
Especially amidst midterms and fall break, some students have trouble finding a reason to celebrate the Halloween holiday.
Spencer Cosgrove, a sophomore majoring in international business said, “I used to do something with my family, but I will probably just end up watching Netflix.”
Other students would even go as far to say that they have no memories of even celebrating the national holiday.
“When it comes to Halloween, there is no ‘usually’ for me. I never went trick or treating so now I just celebrate holidays like this by myself,” said Arial Velardi, a junior in English creative writing.
Regardless of whether or not you can relate to the trauma of nonexistent plans, this list of tricks and treats is bound to keep you spooked and ready to party for this year’s Halloween.
- Pumpkin Potluck
Everybody loves some free food so what better way to celebrate the season of pumpkin spice than with a dinner/dessert bar dedicated to the glorified flavor. Have your friends and family fill the table with pumpkin pies, pumpkin spice rolls, vanilla-glazed pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, salted pumpkin seeds and more. Bon Appetit!
- Twix and Sweets
No college student is ever too old for the timely tradition of trick or treating, especially when you live right next door to everyone you attend school with. Spread the word throughout your apartment complex, dormitories, and neighborhood street at the bottom of Old Main for everyone to leave a bowl of goodies outside their doors the night of Halloween. The temptation of free candy up for grabs is sure to lure everyone out of their homes and turn the night into one big candy social.
- Competitive Costuming
If you were looking for your chance to validate the infamous Halloween costume theory from “Mean Girls” that Halloween is the one night a year that it’s socially acceptable for girls to reveal a little more and wear a little less … now you have it! Whether or not you and your posse choose to follow through with that theory, throwing or attending a costume party is still a great way to get into the Halloween spirit. Put a competitive spin on the party by offering sweet rewards for the best-dressed couple, most frightening outfit or most creative costume.
- Tricks, no treats
You cannot celebrate Halloween without a little mischief and mayhem. Seize this holiday as your opportunity to secretly get back at that annoying roommate, crazy ex or even your friends, within legal limits of course.
Brady Garvin, a sophomore at Utah State University recounts what has become a yearly tradition for him and his friends.
The group, usually consisting of 4-6 friends, dresses up solely as bananas and gorillas. As the night shadows roll in and the neighborhood families start to make their rounds, the life-size bananas strategically lay in the path of an oncoming group of trick-or-treaters. Meanwhile, the gorillas hide in bushes nearby with a getaway car just around the corner waiting for the signal. Just as the trick-or-treaters are stepping over the banana corpses, the gorillas pop out, sweep up the bananas from off the ground, throw them into the popped trunk of the getaway car that just so happens to always have impeccable timing, and speedily drive away all the while making the most obnoxious animal noises.
“It’s the funniest thing ever because it totally freaks people out. If I wasn’t doing that on Halloween I don’t know what else I would be doing,” Garvin said.
- Attend university and community events
As students of USU and members of the Logan community, there is a level of inclination that we all possess to take advantage of the many events and venues that the county has to offer, especially those fit for the Halloween season.
Emi Facer, the Activities Committee director for USU, is an avid supporter for all of the activities on and around campus.
“Participating in all of the awesome fall activities would be my favorite way to celebrate Halloween,” he said.
Corn mazes, the North Logan Pumpkin Walk, the Historic Logan Ghost Tour in downtown Logan and of course, the biggest dance party in all of Utah, the HOWL: Watch Your Back, are all events that you can take advantage of to spice up your Halloween night.
- “Do-It-Yourself” Hauntings
As poor college students, sometimes we are forced to have fun on a budget. If haunted houses and corn mazes get too expensive for your taste, use your roommates and a couple cheap party favors from Hobby Lobby to transform your apartment into a haunted house that all your neighbors and fellow students can walk through. With a couple of tipped over chairs, spiderwebs, dim lights, and roommates all dressed up like the walking dead, you will have the spookiest house on the block. Not to mention the looks on all your friends’ faces will be priceless.
- Clown Huntin’
Put a Halloween twist on the classic game of Cops N’ Robbers by getting a group of friends together and identifying 2-3 people as the clowns of the group. After allowing them a couple minutes to run to anywhere on campus, the rest of the group sets off on, probably, the only clown hunt they will get in their lives. Wearing clown masks and costumes are highly discouraged, however an all-black outfit is not a bad substitution.
- Candy Binge
If simply buying bags of candy and having it go to waste is too mediocre for your taste, dig through old family recipes and those shared on Google, and make some homemade candy for your roommates and neighbors. Not only will it keep your house smelling sweet, but it is a great excuse to invite people over so that you all are not bored out of your skulls Monday night.
- S’mores, spooks, and smoke
Embrace the warm-ish weather while it lasts by throwing together a bonfire for all your friends to gather around and share the scariest stories from childhood. S’mores, extra blankets and a flashlight are recommended to make this Halloween fire a night to remember.
- Netflix n’ Scare
After all the lit parties and sweet candies, the best way to end the night is with a scary movie next to your lover and friends, munching on some caramel popcorn. Recent releases perfect for the occasion include “Don’t Breathe,” “Lights Out,” or “The Purge: Election Year.” For a more traditional take, pop in “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Hocus Pocus,” or “Corpse Bride.”
—isabel.forinash@aggiemail.usu.edu
@imforinash