Celebrating Halloween As a Minimalist
I grew up in a family that honors Halloween. My Aunt was the Queen of haunted school in Castle Shannon (a borough in Pittsburgh). My grandmother loved candlelight and getting her fortune read. My grandfather was a horror movie fan.
So, it was almost a foregone conclusion that I would fall in love. I adore fall, Gothic subculture and metal shows. I tend to celebrate Halloween for two months and religiously read authors like Stephen King and Neil Gaiman.
When I fell in love with minimalism, I knew that a few traditions would change. In this case, focusing more on the events and spirit over the commercial aspect.
A few hints that I’ve picked up over the past couple of years:
Choose a few events that are meaningful and participate fully
This year, I’ll be attending a witch theme event in a small town known as Volant with my Aunt. It’s her first Witches Night Out and an event that I regularly enjoy. I’m also going to a Half-Covered Halloween metal show. It’s far less than I used to attend. However, each of them have meaning for me: spending time with my family in one case and watching friends perform in the other.
What are the things that make Halloween special for you? Is it dressing up to hand out candy, horror movie marathons, or even just going to a local costume party? Choose a few things that you know that you will enjoy. Saying no to the rest is actually not as bad as it sounds.
Going into every Halloween with a wish list
The stores are spilling over this season with costumes, candy and assorted other trinkets. It’s estimated that in the United States, the average person spends 80$ or more per season.
It’s good to know what you want to pick up and go in with a list. I always look for a few pairs of gloves (Walmart) and a new shade of lipstick. I might get steered off course a few times, but I do my best to stick to that list.
Halloween is known to be one of the most expensive nights of the year (behind New Year’s Eve, but not by much). Think of how sustainable and relatively inexpensive it would be to have a list before going through the thick of the shopping season.
I take October 31st easy
October 31st is a day to celebrate if you honestly love Halloween. Do something seasonally appropriate during the day that you know you’ll enjoy. A wrap up of the season or maybe a favorite tradition.
For me, that’s always taking photos of the sunset, handing out candy, and taking a two hour nap. About three hours after trick or treating is the kickoff point for NaNoWriMo and it’s time to head out to the local kick off party. Since writing and Halloween have an equal part of my festivities love, I break the day up.
Basically: choose a few meaningful activities, have a wish list and do something that suits you on Halloween night.
The first year that I did this was actually really hard. Instead of buying everything I was able to afford, I was staying out of the stores. It takes some effort to be a minimalist around Halloween. However, both can be combined with only a little bit of effort.
Happy October everyone, thanks for reading.
