Halloween 2021

[Kisota]

A little late on it this year, but any plans, everyone? With the pandemic still not really under wraps, it’s hard to picture going to a public event.

And even though it’s been a long summer and delayed fall here, relatively, it’s supposed to get pretty cold by the end of the month, so even an outdoor event might not be doable unless I decide to dress up like the little brother from A Christmas Story.

While a small gathering with personal friends seems fun, it’s also a little hard for me to arrange since my apartment is really too small for more than one or two guests.

Nevertheless!! I still plan to make some good food sometime. My spouse and I are also trying to make a point of watching some of the horror movies we haven’t seen before - last night we watched the original Halloween.

I’m also thinking it might be fun to get a bag of Halloween candy for movie watching some evening. I pretty much never buy candy.

I’ve sort of been fresh out of costume ideas, but the fact that there’s probably not going to be anywhere to WEAR one has been making me lack motivation.

I’ve been trying to figure out what sort of things I actually still could do. Maybe there’s a corn maze or something nearby that I’m not aware of? I really need to brainstorm, because I don’t really want to let my favorite holiday slip by unacknowledged! So, have you managed to make some plans?

[Savage]

Deer hunting is amazing right around that time, and I can not stand kids. I don't like adult social events much better, and there's Covid, so I'll be grocery shopping in the woods with a bow. Unless the weather is dismal, in which case I'm staying home with my partner and watching spooky movies.

[irritatedandroid]

I had hoped to do something fun for Halloween, but I ended up getting a work gig that evening at a theatre I don't want to say no to, so that went out the window. Was considering setting up to hand out candy, my enjoyment of kids is a lot more flexible when they're a) in cute or funny costumes and b) come up to me for just enough time to get some candy before leaving again.

[Kisota]

Deer hunting is amazing right around that time, and I can not stand kids. I don't like adult social events much better, and there's Covid, so I'll be grocery shopping in the woods with a bow. Unless the weather is dismal, in which case I'm staying home with my partner and watching spooky movies.

I did not even think of kids! Never have them come up to the apartment, and I’m not close with anyone who has them.

I like costume events and can put up with a crowd now and then for the novelty of an event like that. But Covid is definitely a big deterrent. I’m over 6 months post-vax, so even if the risk of severe infection is still low, the risk of ANY infection is greater and I don’t want to have the damn thing at all.

Hunting sounds like a real good way to spend the day, though. And you get to wear orange!

Spooky movies with partner is definitely on my agenda too. Just watched the original Halloween for the first time.

I had hoped to do something fun for Halloween, but I ended up getting a work gig that evening at a theatre I don't want to say no to, so that went out the window. Was considering setting up to hand out candy, my enjoyment of kids is a lot more flexible when they're a) in cute or funny costumes and b) come up to me for just enough time to get some candy before leaving again.

Ah. Work. I had almost forgotten, but good chance I’ll be working on the day of Halloween as well. Field season is going real long this year.

And yeah, my desire to costume and Do Halloween is great enough that I even considered volunteering to do a Trunk or Treat thing just so I could dress up and decorate my car and feel like I’m observing the holiday some way, despite it being a thing for kids. But it also occurred to me that a childless adult showing up and doing all that might also come across as exceptionally creepy in the not-fun way.

[cheetah]

Probably trying to figure out something pumpkin-themed to cook, myself, and seeing if I can find any attractive fall leaves.

No costuming or trick-or-treating for me; I am also the type to avoid children.

[TopBrass]

Nothing planned. Not too much to do around here, unfortunately.

I've always seen Halloween as a kid's holiday. I don't think I've cared about it since I was 10 or 11. It's fun to be social and do stupid bullshit with friends, but as an adult you don't really need some special holiday for that. You can just throw a party whenever you feel like it without waiting for some hallowed eve.

[cheetah]

Yeah, but I think that Halloween helps with coordination and ice-breaking, especially when you don't know everyone already.

[Who-Is-Page]

Work's been really hectic lately with a bunch of hiring/firing/transfers going on, so I don't have any plans for the day-of. (Don't want to risk setting something up to only get called in for a surprise 12 or 14 hour shift!)

My polycule's been doing a bit of a "Halloween the whole month long" thing. We're watching Gravity Falls all together for the first time and re-watching Over The Garden Wall, plus a bunch of scary movies and Let's Plays when we have the time for longer things. We've also been dressing up in costume-y stuff for our weekly farmer's market, which is fun.

It's still regularly 85-95F with a humidity of 80%+ most days over here and Covid's still well in full swing, so we've been avoiding invitations to go partying. It's made October feel a lot less festive this year.

[Kisota]

Yeah, Page, everything’s late here too. It’s actually worked out kind of nice, because it means we’re right about at peak colors NOW. Today is likely to be the last fairly warm day though. It’ll probably be too cold for me to enjoy many outdoor events soon.

I did a re-watch of Over the Garden Wall too! Such a good one. It really captures the mood of the season. I also watched The VVitch, Annihilation, and Midsommar recently.

Any favorite pumpkin recipes, Cheetah? I already made these pumpkin bars. I was going to make more, but every store seems to be ransacked of all canned pumpkin. I’m even struggling to find a fresh pie pumpkin. Anyway, that’s the recipe I always use for these; I do make the changes the top review suggests.

There’s a lot of pumpkin soups and stuff that I like, too. And butternut squash!

I’m glad Halloween has become increasingly popular over the last few years. Sure, you can get together with friends every time, but the combination of autumn setting, decorations, costume events, and the whole shared social awareness of the thing makes the holiday way more fun than just watching a scary movie at a friend’s house. Back when I was in high school, people were not quite as openly passionate about Halloween. There was always some interest at least among some people, but it’s definitely become more of a big deal in a very fun way.

[cheetah]

I once tried making roasted pumpkin. That was pretty good, but my favorite recipe is pumpkin bread with pumpkin seeds on top of it. However, this year I've found some more pumpkin-flavored recipes, including a pumpkin soup and a stew with roasted pumpkin. So I'm going to be broadening my range a little.

My family makes a pretty mean butternut squash stew, and roasted butternut squash, and we have for years. A lot of what I want to try doing with pumpkins is pretty similar to that.