“Halloween is just another excuse to eat and be together.”
The kids, who are all adults, and I are advancing our Halloween party this year. We usually do it on October 31 but next week will be busy for some of us so we’re having the party this Saturday instead.
It’s the fifth time we’re doing this as a family.
Boredom and isolation gave rise to the first instance, in October 2020. It was the first year of the pandemic, and while the stringent restrictions of the enhanced community quarantine had been lifted, vaccines were not yet available. Everyone still waited for daily updates from the Department of Health, and the numbers dictated when the restrictions would be tightened or loosened anew. People ventured out – longed to venture out – but many remained wary.
Our rule was that the costumes had to be DIY. There would be a prize and I was to be the judge, even though I insisted I would dress up, as well.
I can’t quite make sense of the pictures anymore in that first year, just that the eldest and her partner used plain white sheets over their heads and put on sunglasses over them. The youngest, as an afterthought or in desperation, borrowed my Dali mask even though the show Money Heist was no longer in vogue then. I myself rummaged through my closet and found an old pair of white jeans, and a white lacy blouse that was tattered at the back. I grabbed some dried flowers and smeared white goop on my face and voila!I was a corpse bride. I tried to keep in character, quiet and forlorn, because such a bride was supposed to look profoundly sad. We ordered Pinoy spaghetti and barbecue. I forget now whom I judged winners but I remember thinking if I weren’t a judge I’d have stood a great chance.
There were more of us in 2021, because we had decided weeks before to make the occasion a yearly family event. More significant others and BFFs joined and looks were planned in advance: that year, we had a princess and her two knights complete with swords and armors cut out of cardboard. The dogs Cloud and Kenny wore dragon suits. There was Forrest Gump and Jenny, a couple of yellow chicks who took up way too much space, and I came as a mime – a striped shirt, suspenders, a red cloth tied around my neck, white gloves, a hat, and bright red lipstick. It was much more difficult to keep in character because I had to keep from talking all night. I dropped all pretense when the pizza arrived. It was great with the salted caramel tequila the kids had just discovered.
In 2022,there emerged two winners early on – Bumblebee and Optimus Prime who really transformed from robot to car and back again even though the cardboard transitions were not so smooth. The costumes took days to make and we did not even make an attempt to compete, even though there were Nina in Black Swan, Shaggy and Velma from Scooby Doo, and Cosmo and Wanda from the Fairly Odd Parents. There was someone with a gem above a hat, some reference to an online game. I donned a red coat and a long black wig, imitating the menacing look of that official whose favorite activity was redtagging critics of the Duterte administration.
Last year, we were more into pop. I came as Selena Gomez’ Mabel from Only Murders in the Building, complete with the bloodstained turtleneck, the short skirt and the hoop earrings. One channeled a pregnant Rihanna in her Superbowl performance, with the dogs acting as her backup dancers. There were Mr. Fredricksen and Russell from Up, as well as the singer Pitbull, also known as Mr. Worldwide, his partner coming as Miss Worldwide, in a cardboard cutout of a globe in the front and back.
Today as of this writing I am still stumped as to who I should come as. I have several options, but since we normally keep it a secret from the others until the time we’re dressing up, I’ll keep my mouth shut. A great deal of the fun is coming up with something clever and unique and which will surprise the others. And planning the food, especially now that they have jobs and everybody can pitch in.
Some people frown on such gatherings claiming that these invoke dark elements or at best perpetuate pagan practices. We do not really think about any of that. It’s also fun documenting who we came as, year after year. Taking pictures is always fun. I wonder whether we’d keep up the tradition when the kids strike out on their own, or settle somewhere else for work or family.
For now it’s just about core memories in the making. We just really like coming up with excuses to eat and be together. Devoid of our gimmickry, this is who we really are.
