The end of October typically inspires one thing in the minds of college students — Halloween! If you’re spending your first year away from home, the holidays might spark mixed feelings for you, but fear not — getting to celebrate at college is way more exciting than spending it at home.
You don’t have to venture far to take part in festivities
College campuses almost always have something going on for Halloween, whether it be a haunted house, a mixer or anything in between. Plus, check out school-sponsored trips that will transport you to haunted hayrides, corn mazes, and other hot Halloween spots — usually at no cost to students!
Or, if you decide to host your own Halloween party, your friends won’t have to venture far to partake in the festivities — they might even be sharing a room with you! Alternatively, friends who host their own parties will be within walking distance to you, preventing you from having to find transportation to and from where you’re going.
You can enjoy your last few years of trick-or-treating
To be honest, I stand by the notion that you are never too old to go trick-or-treating. However, it is sometimes frowned upon to continue the tradition if you over the age of 20 (how lame) and therefore your college years are the last of the years you have to go without being asked “aren’t you a little to old to be doing this?”
A couple of rules on this though:
1. If you are going, you MUST dress up. I remember rowdy youths coming to our door back when I was in middle school in their t shirts and sweatpants asking for candy and I wanted to deny them the pleasure for their lack of costumes but my mom was afraid we’d get TP’d if we did so and therefore they got off easy. But the message remains the same — don’t be like those youths!
2. Don’t get greedy with your candy grabs. Think of the children! Like, the actual children, not you, no matter how old you really consider yourself.
3. Don’t stay out too late. The kind people handing out candy have to keep getting up every time you ring their doorbells and by the time 9:00 rolls around, most people (alright fine, by people I mean ME) are on their couches and do not appreciate having to leave said locale. Be courteous of other people’s time and properties.
You have many opportunities to put together couple/group costumes
Another benefit of living with your peers — plenty of time to come up with a really creative group costume. For example, my friends and I recreated the movie “Up” and it was adorable:
(l to r) Ellie, Kevin, Dug, Russell, Mr. Fredrickson
It was an awesome way to get creative with my friends and it also helps you to plan on a budget — all of our outfits came from something we borrowed, found in our closets, thrifted or found on clearance. Plus, I totally wear that tank top still. Without my Brownies sash, admittedly, but I wear it regardless.
You can snuggle up with Netflix if you so darn want to
Lastly, if Halloween is totally not your thing…skip it! Throw on your headphones, watch a movie, read a book and tune out all the crazy people running around in weird clothes in the freezing cold. You’ve got a blanket to attend to.
Written by Laura Sestito. Laura is the Editorial and Production Coordinator at NextStepU and graduated from Nazareth College.
