Howloween Blog Hop

October 26, 2012 by Elin Gregory

So Halloween – love it or hate it, at this time of year it’s impossible to ignore it. Suddenly the internet is awash with images of pumpkins and people in costume and excuses for parties and frivolity. 🙂

Like this blog hop, where, by following this link:

http://thebloghopspot.com/event-page/

… you get access to masses of author’s blogs, each one offering a giveaway and celebrating the holiday.

My own giveaway is a $10 gift card – just comment with your favourite Halloween costume, and don’t forget to add your email addy. I’ll pick a winner on 30th.

This fascination with Halloween seems a bit strange to me. I come from an area of the UK where Halloween has always been a quiet and private affair. There were parties sometimes, usually children’s fancy dress parties, with bobbing for apples and cake and jelly, or adult fancy dress parties with copious amounts of beer, but it wasn’t the huge holiday that is celebrated in the US.

I suppose that this maybe because the holiday came about in different ways. In the US trick or treating stems from the strong late 19th century tradition of ‘guising’, when children would go from house to house in elaborate costume begging for a penny, or food. In England if there ever had been such a tradition it was transferred to early November and Guy Fawkes Night, where children would make a n effigy, dress it and drag it round the streets asking people for “a penny for the Guy” in a macabre re-enactment of how Guy Fawkes, failed terrorist and/or political martyr, was treated before execution. In a poor society one can’t afford two major festivals in a week so Halloween lessened in importance.

Now that burning people in effigy is considered politically incorrect and household firework displays are too expensive, Halloween is becoming more popular again and very much along American lines. It doesn’t work as well – it’s very difficult to skip from house to house dressed as a fairy when it’ s sleeting and most of the neighbours are baffled by what’s going on – so tends to end up as a party in someone’s house. Sometimes they bob for apples, but I think it’s far funnier to get them to bob for white marshmallows in a bowl of flour, as long as you don’t mind the mess.

Good luck with the blog hop and if you comment don’t forget your email addy 🙂

Posted in Uncategorized | 41 Comments

41 Responses

on October 26, 2012 at 8:41 am | Reply jessielansdel

‘White marshmallows in a bowl of flower’. 😃 I’m going to a Hallowe’en party tomorrow so I’ll suggest that. 😉 Interesting post, Elin. I always feel very sorry for the poor old Guy.

gooseone@hotmail.co.uk
on October 26, 2012 at 11:10 am | Reply tmadamski

When I was 21, I went dressed as Pebble Rubble. Bone in my (naturally red) hair and all. Please include me in the contest. tmadamski(at)msn(dot)com
on October 26, 2012 at 1:49 pm | Reply KimberlyFDR

My favorite Halloween costume (that I’ve worn) was a vampire, but I’ve seen elaborate costumes at parties and such that make me long to be able to spend the time perfecting them.

kimberlyFDR@yahoo.com
on October 26, 2012 at 3:16 pm | Reply Andra

Hmm… I’d prefer wearing a fairytale princess costume.Maybe Snow White. Cheesy, right? 😛

andracld@yahoo.com
on October 26, 2012 at 5:21 pm | Reply H.L.

I went as Uhura from Star Trek one year. *g*

Happy Halloween! Thanks for doing this!

hlholston@zoho.com
on October 26, 2012 at 6:59 pm | Reply Rush

My favorite costume was one I did back in ’89 where I painted my face like a sort of feral cat and dressed all in black then went to a pub to celebrate Halloween. Had Tons of fun that night!
taina1959@yahoo.com
on October 26, 2012 at 7:09 pm | Reply Rae M.

Well when I was younger I absolutely loved the costume that I had as a cowgirl. And it was complete with lasso, boots and hat. So basically I thought I was awesome!

Thanks!
rae.gwendy(at)gmail.com
on October 26, 2012 at 8:43 pm | Reply lori warwick

I loved my fairy costume, it had big wings in different swirling shades of purple.
loriwarwick220@yahoo.com
on October 26, 2012 at 11:04 pm | Reply laurie g

i went as the phantom of the opera one year

parisfan_ca@yahoo.com
on October 26, 2012 at 11:45 pm | Reply URB

This is actually quite embarrassing. When I was around 12, my ‘tween friends and I went trick or treating without parental supervision, which we thought was cool. I decided to dress up as a “secretary” (?) Tons of makeup, skirt, teased up hair, sweater, pearls. I was just old enough to look really inappropriately slutty. In retrospect, it was a shining moment!

brendurbanist AT gmail DOT com
on October 27, 2012 at 3:32 am | Reply arella3173

My favorite Halloween costume was when I was Pocahontas in…. I think it was middle school… no… Elementary… LOL… in any case, I just remember LOVING the feel of the fabric and well… loving it because my mom made it for me. 😀

Thanks for the contest and for being a part of this blog hop!

Judi
arella3173_loveless@yahoo(dot)com
on October 27, 2012 at 4:03 am | Reply Michelle (MiMi)

I like all the elaborate stuff but usually run out of time and go for simple…please count me in. Thank you, chellebee66(at)gmail(dot)com
on October 27, 2012 at 5:24 am | Reply Nancy S

My favorite costumes were my gransons’ the year they were tornadoes. We live in OK, tornado alley, so my daughter made them costumes out of tomato cages covered with muslin and tufts of cotton. Sprayed with a bit of grey paint and little animals and houses attached; they were beyond cute. The local weatherman pulled them from the parade to interview for the news.
on October 27, 2012 at 5:34 am | Reply Jbst

I went as a mechanic.

strive4bst(At) yahoo(Dot) com
on October 27, 2012 at 6:13 am | Reply Misha K.

My favorite was going as Princess Jasmine 🙂 So much fun and always comfy!
MostlyMisha AT gmail DOT com
on October 27, 2012 at 10:14 am | Reply Jenny

My favorite is a classic: the witch. It’s great because you can do the whole hideous witch or the sexy witch. Lots of options.

Jyl22075 at gmail dot com
on October 27, 2012 at 5:25 pm | Reply Dovile

My favoriteis vampire.

Happy Halloween!

spamscape [at] gmail [dot] com
on October 27, 2012 at 5:29 pm | Reply M.C.

I’m an anime fan so I want to use Halloween as an excuse for cosplay (heh heh).

I hope my email address is shown to you.
on October 27, 2012 at 7:15 pm | Reply Kristina Haecker

I made my own peacock costume. I found a beautiful blue dress from a thrift store, got a bunch of peacock feathers and made arm cuffs with jewels and attached the feathers, then I did really intricate makeup.

kristinaleigh1@hotmail.com
on October 27, 2012 at 7:49 pm | Reply Veronika

Once I was dressed up as a ladybug when I was a kid and I still remember how much I liked it 😀
Thank you for the giveaway!
on October 27, 2012 at 11:45 pm | Reply Juliana

Thanks so much for participating in the Howloween Blog Hop!
OceanAkers @ aol.com
on October 28, 2012 at 12:52 am | Reply Christina Schmidt

I love zombie pin up girls
on October 28, 2012 at 2:03 am | Reply Jessica Klang

my favourite halloween custome… I guess this year is being PSY… =)
Thank you for the giveaway
jessica_klang(at)hotmail(dot)com
on October 28, 2012 at 2:30 am | Reply Trix

I liked the Christmas tree outfit I wore once.

vitajex(at)aol(dot)com
on October 28, 2012 at 9:22 am | Reply Evie T.

A japanese kimono 🙂
Thanks for the giveaway!
by.evie at yahoo dot com dot br
on October 28, 2012 at 9:35 am | Reply Six Sunday – missed it again. « elin gregory

[…] « Howloween Blog Hop […]
on October 28, 2012 at 3:48 pm | Reply yganoe

I always loved being the witch.
Yvette
yratpatrol@aol.com
on October 28, 2012 at 4:02 pm | Reply Sherry S.

I’ve never dressed up but last year my niece went as the Mad Hatter and she was super cute.
sstrode at scrtc dot com
on October 28, 2012 at 8:52 pm | Reply sarahballance

My best comment was when I was about 12 and my BFF and I dressed up as a Twix bar. We made it from a big cardboard box, which we shared, and fell down about 20 times. I was about a foot taller than her, too, and though the eye holes were cut accordingly we couldn’t get in sync for anything. Also, we each only had one arm. EPIC!
Thanks for the giveaway! sarah at sarahballance dot com
on October 28, 2012 at 10:00 pm | Reply Raziya

My favorite costume when I was little was Wonder Woman. I wore it the every weekend in October and then my Mom put it up after Halloween. I think she was fed up with my antics :-).

raziya.harriat@gmail.com
on October 29, 2012 at 12:22 am | Reply Beth

I think my favorite costume was my Power Rangers costume. (So sue me I am a child on the ’90s.) My mom handmade it and even made the helmet my customized candy bag because I hated to wear anything on my head. And if you are wondering I was Trini, the first yellow ranger. Awesome.

Thanks for the giveaway!
JPadawan11@gmail.com
on October 29, 2012 at 12:38 am | Reply Rush

Favorite costume I ever did was a Werecat. I saw a picture in a magazine and sat down and transformed myself. It was stupendous and had a hell of a night out! Thanks for allowing us to Hop with You!

taina1959@yahoo.com
on October 29, 2012 at 1:25 am | Reply Dawna Newman

My favorite costume was when I was younger and that was Cinderella.

vampiremistress2010(at)gmail(dot)com
on October 29, 2012 at 2:19 am | Reply Joy F (@harvester5905)

Handmade princess costume my mother made me when I was 12
on October 29, 2012 at 4:32 am | Reply Iris P.

Not sure which one of my costumes was my favorite, but my neighbors always have really cool matching costumes. One year they were characters from the cat and the hat… the Cat, thing 1 and thing 2. Another year they all dressed up like Minions from Despicable Me. Can’t wait to see what they come up with this year.
purple975@msn.com
on October 29, 2012 at 3:30 pm | Reply Linda

I dressed up as a vampress, it was the year my friend from Australia was visiting us. I loved going with him on his first Halloween. He dressed up as the character from Scream.

This year I am going to dress up as a cat.

yinyang1062 at yahoo dot com

thanks
on October 29, 2012 at 5:39 pm | Reply SheriV

My favorite costume was dressing up as Abby from NCIS.

smurfettev AT gmail DOT com
on October 29, 2012 at 7:29 pm | Reply Syllva

My favorite costume is a beautiful kimono that was given to my mom for her wedding. Thanks for joining the hop!

theblackabyss99@yahoo.com
on October 30, 2012 at 3:32 am | Reply Liz M.

When I was about 9, I went as the Statue of Liberty–it was pretty random, in retrospect, but everyone thought it was cool.
on October 30, 2012 at 6:12 am | Reply Shadow

Happy Halloween!! Thank you so much for the awesome hop and giveaway! 🙂 My favorite costume was dressing as a goth. Well, i cant really say it was my favorite but my cousins, siblings and i all dressed the same and went as a group. We had so much fun. Its my favorite Halloween. It holds a special place in my heart.
shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com
on October 30, 2012 at 10:23 am | Reply chickie434

My fave costume was when I dressed up as Cleopatra. I felt like a beautiful, sexy queen who had a much better ending than the original.

tiger-chick-1(at)hotmail(dot)com