As a die-hard Halloweenie, you know “it’s never too early” to start planning for the Big Day; but when should you actually start? Dependent upon he complexity of your Halloween plans, the answer could range from a mere month to developing a year-round hobby of it. Most of us fall somewhere in-between even though Halloween tends to sneak up on even the best prepared. One day you look at the calendar and have 9.5 months left, then suddenly you’re rushing around the night before to put together a costume. With so many variables to think about- costumes, decorations, food, treats, haunts, new horror movies, etc.- it can be easy to forget some crucial elements until the last minute. We’ve put together a guide that will help you easily begin planning a killer costume now so you can spend October having fun.
Decide on Your Costume: Make this all-important decision now so you can concentrate your efforts. If you’re having trouble deciding on just 1 costume, try to narrow it down to characters with similar traits. For instance, most super heroes are muscular and wear bodysuits, Jedi wear robes and carry light sabers. This will still allow you to focus, while having some leeway until you are ready to decide.
Money: Yep, C.R.E.A.M. The most obvious place to start whether you’re planning something huge like a Collector’s Edition Darth Vader costume, an elaborate homemade costume or just your standard $100 “ultimate” costume. Squirrel away a few bucks a month and your wallet will barely feel a thing come October.
Hair: Wigs are the standby for costuming, but nothing beats authentic hair for realism. Hair grows at an average rate of .5″ per month, so with 9 months prep time you can add about 4.5″ to your current length (although factor in small trims every 6 weeks to keep it looking healthy). Facial and body hair grows at very different rates for everyone, but most men can whip up some Wolverine chops in a month or less. Alternately, if your hair is already too long and you want to cut it, just plan for a haircut a week or so before Halloween. Some hairstyles, like mohawks, will require both growing and a haircut.
Body: New Years resolutions to hit the gym are easily broken, but dedication to a costume may be the incentive you need to make it happen. Whether your Xena costume requires bigger muscles or you need to drop a few pounds to be a more convincing Jack Skellington, take your time and do it safely. Starting as soon as possible will allow you to make small changes in your diet and lifestyle that will be easier to stick with. For a less permanent solution, investigate your prosthetic and padding options.
New Skills: Napoleon was right; it’s all about the skills! Would you be convinced by a Neo or Agent Smith that didn’t perform at least a little martial arts? Every good costume has at least one ability associated with it, and you’re going to seem much more convincing if you can actually perform them. It may be something as small as learning a couple magic tricks or even becoming a decent swordsman to become Captain Jack Sparrow, but it will sell your costume.
Obtaining Difficult to Find Items: It’s called “limited edition” for a reason. If you wait until October to find that 1995 Boba Fett Don Post helmet that you need, you’ll probably only end up with a crappy substitute. Make a list of every item you think you will need, and any items that can’t be obtained at the store every year around Halloween should be planned for now. This especially includes vintage items and custom made pieces. For many costumes and accessories you can usually find quality fan-made replicas on eBay: Star Wars, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Matrix, every anime and Manga character imaginable, and even a lot of TV shows are represented. Start watching for your rare items now, and you’ll have time to locate the perfect ones for your costume.
Accents, Dialogue & Presence: Humans are sight-oriented creatures and our first impressions of a costume will definitely come from the outfit and accessories itself. After that first glance, though, it is the intangible aspects that will make your character come alive. We’ve all seen badass costumes acting out of character, and although it may be funny, that’s probably not why you’re spending months preparing a costume.
When dressing as a character from film or TV who has an accent, getting that accent down will make a huge difference. Copy what you hear, and Google your desired accent to learn a few pointers. Perhaps even more important, though, is presence. This can be an elusive concept, but the first step is to try method acting. This will effect your facial expressions, your timing, body language, choice of words, and how you react to situations. Become your character, and your costume will knock everyone’s socks off.
What are you planning for this year? If you’ve got a tip for long term Halloween costume prep that we didn’t mention, please let us know in the comments.
Well boils and ghouls, you made it through the holidays. It’s the beginning of the year, and a whopping 9.5 months until Halloween. It might seem like you’ve got plenty of time to prepare, but there are actually 2 time-sensitive online offerings that you need to check out before January 15th.
First, Fright Catalog is offering 20% off your total order, using coupon code FC20. It’s the off season, and a lot of products are not currently in stock, but now is still a good time to stock up. We just purchased the Solar Corpse Light, which we were enamoured with last Halloween, and are anxiously awaiting its arrival. Like you’ll be reading in an upcoming article, its never too early to start planning for next Halloween, and sales like this are excellent places to start.
Next up is Dark Candles, who is the “originator of gothic and horror themed candles for… people with dark and eccentric tastes”. Hey, that’s you! They have a limited edition set of holiday themed scents, aptly called Dark Holidays. The black “Midnight Mass” candle sounds like quite a mood setter, and there is also a matching body care line in the same rich scent. After January 15th these candles disappear… Via [Ghost Droppings]
Things have been deader around here than a horde of zombies, and that’s no coincidence. Inbetween Black Friday/Buy Nothing Day and Christmas Eve, the undead frequently converge at malls and Zombie Walks to shop or make a statement about shopping, respectively. Even us Halloweenies tend to get sucked into the whirlwind that America’s largest holiday and biggest shopping season create. But the winter holidays are almost over and we at 365 Halloween are back, and wading through the Christmas corpses just for you…
While filled with erroneous information that is sure to get your brain gobbled, the Top Ten Gift Ideas for Zombies is still a funny read with a little Romero style social commentary thrown in for good measure.
The Zombie Claus invasion happened last year in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but the pictures and story behind it will give you that warm-fuzzy “it’s almost like there’s a zombie next to me right now” feeling.
12/29 Edit: There’s just something about zombies and Santa that get the old creative juices (and occasionally embalming fluid) flowing. David Bryant’s short story Zombies of the North Pole illustrates what happens when labor problems are “solved” with reanimation. Even Santa can’t make that work.
From the makers of Avian Flu, here comes Zombie Chickens! (not to be confused with Troma’s Poultrygeist.)
Holiday get-togethers can be stressful enough without having to worry about defending the party from zombies, so get some practice head shots in while you can (Tip: you can actually aim for any body part in this game and take out multiple zombies with one shot. Estimated playing time… about 60 seconds.)
We now return you to your regularly scheduled Winter time holiday melee.
If you would have asked me prior to Halloween if I was pleased about the delay in broadcasting the Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror XVII, I would have stabbed you with the retractable knife from Sean’s costume. But today, 6 days after Halloween, I’m thankful for any spooky morsels of media that keep the holiday spirit alive.
If you’ve got teh Internets (which you apparently do), you might have watched this episode sooner, as it was leaked over a week early. For the rest of us in the US it debuted last night, November 5th. The 17th installment of the Treehouse of Horror definitely has a different feel to it, and people are divided in their opinions. Many reviews summarily dismiss the episode, calling it “ham fisted” and “hit or miss”, but these opinions come almost exclusively from those who were “unsettled” by the Iraq War commentary at the end. But let’s not be myopic. On one hand I agree that, without the Simpson’s-standard comic twist at the end, lines like “You said we’d be greeted as liberators” are almost as sobering as they are funny. However, just because 2 of the 22 minutes in this episode reference the Iraq debacle doesn’t negate the rest of the humor. Light hearted or notorious, part of the beauty of the Simpson’s is their ability to weave current events into their storylines!
It’s hard to rate XVII next to previous episodes because each one has its own feel, and because Simpsons standards have always been excellent. The Oregonian aptly said “…the standard set by the 16 previous Treehouse episodes is so high, that a show that features lines as clever as that is still, by comparison, substandard.” Yes, it has some dud jokes and recycled ideas, but those are overshadowed by the overall clever and topical writing. OK, and the cannibalism, destruction, and rolling around naked in the mud. Those always help. Treehouse of Horror XVII is a soon-to-be classic, and in my opinion, one of the best Halloween episodes yet. If only we could get a decent DVD released…
As you woke up this morning, rubbing sleep from your eyes and candy corn from around your mouth, what was your first thought? For many of us, it was something along the lines of “Halloween couldn’t be any further away”. That may be true, but take heart, Halloweenies: that’s why 365 Halloween exists! The neighbors may not reward you with candy if you try trick-or-treating in February, and they might actually complain if you leave your spooky decorations up all year, but at 365Halloween.com, we’ll feed your habit all year long. The Big Day itself may be over for 2006, but the spirit of Halloween is always alive (except in France).
Not only can we celebrate Dia De Los Muertos on November 1st and 2nd, but we can relive our memories by sharing photos, stories, and other goodies online. For starters, some amazing artists have participated in an online collaborative gallery themed “Black and Orange“. There are tons of beautiful Halloween works of art, and the winners will be announced
If you don’t have your own website you can still share your Halloween memories with the world. Websites like Yahoo! Groups and Flickr offer free services that allow you to upload pictures and post comments. More feature-rich paid options are available through Smugmug. If you only have a handful of photos you can try a free image host.
Didn’t take any good Hallowen pictures this year? Then head over to Flickr groups, where everyone else did!
PS- Happy World Vegan Day, too!
The Big Day is finally here! All your preparation and excitement are paying off today. All year it feels far away, and then BAM you’re watching the sun begin to set on Halloween night. Everyone has their own rituals for this day to make it memorable and fun. On a weekday like this year we finish our day at work or school, get home around sunset or dusk and; put on a costume, throw or attend a party, trick-or-treat, visit an outdoor event, watch scary movies, prepare and eat a themed meal, pass out candy, pass out drunk, cause trouble, go to a club, attend a “harvest festival” or other church event, chase the paranormal, tempt monsters of the night, or do nothing and all and go to bed early. Or a hundred other alternatives, depending on your location and tastes.
What are you doing today and tonight? What are your Halloween traditions? How’s the season been for you in general? Please answer our polls and leave some comments below.
PS- Come back tomorrow for a Halloween decompression. We’ll make you feel all better.
Picture credits to Rob Alder and Harpersbizarre for their zombie and candy photos, respectively. Thank you!
