Let's Dress Up and Go - Kowalski Heat Treating

One of my favorite times of the year is Halloween. I love the decorations, the abundance of pumpkin spice (creamer, cereal, marshmallows, even Goldfish), carving pumpkins, and of course the costumes. The original Iron Man Costume was fun to make! Over the years, I’ve really enjoyed it when the girls would get dressed up – and now that Jackie and I are grandparents, we get to see the great costumes of the grandkids, along with all the youngsters in the neighborhood. I couldn’t find any popular costume rankings for 2026, but I’m guessing with all the success of the movies this past summer, we’ll see lots of spidermen, princesses, and monsters from The Odyssey. For my financial friends, the numbers are remarkable, as Americans are expected to spend over $13 billion dollars on Halloween, including over $4 billion on costumes alone. Yikes! To get you in the spooky spirit, and also remind you to stock up on candy, here’s some fun info and projections I think you’ll enjoy. And for those of you going to “adult” parties, some fun ideas for your couples’ costumes. Enjoy! Boo!

Halloween, also known as All Hallows’ Eve, or All Saints’ Eve, and known in Spanish as “La Noche de Brujas,“ is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day. It is at the beginning of the observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the Christian liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed. In popular culture, Halloween has become a celebration of fun costumes, candy for kids, trick-or-treating, and horror, and is associated with the macabre and the supernatural.

Halloween’s roots reach back more than 2,000 years to Samhain, the Celtic celebration marking the transition into winter. According to the traditional beliefs surrounding the festival, the boundary between the living and supernatural world was especially thin, and disguising oneself could help avoid unwanted attention from spirits. In other words, the original Halloween costume wasn’t about winning a costume contest. It was about not getting noticed by ghosts.

Later, the tradition of “guising” developed in Scotland and Ireland, with people disguising themselves and going door-to-door for food or treats. Halloween traditions eventually traveled to America with Irish and Scottish immigrants in the 19th century.

“Trick or treat” as we know it didn’t really become an American Halloween institution until the 20th century, and it exploded after World War II. The combination of suburban neighborhoods, inexpensive individually wrapped candy, and the end of wartime sugar rationing helped create the modern tradition.

Halloween costumes have come a long way from throwing a sheet over your head and calling yourself a ghost (one of my simple favorites). Today, choosing a Halloween costume can involve movies, television, nostalgia, social media, clever wordplay, and sometimes a costume that requires its own instruction manual.

According to those who track costumes, the classics never really disappear. Last year the favorites included Spider-Man (2.3 million), Princess (1.9 million), Witch (1.7 million), Ghost (1.6 million), and other favorite superheroes (1.5 million). For adults, the list is even more traditional, including Witches (5.6 million), Vampires ( 2.7 million), Pirates (1.6 million), Cats (1.6 million), and of course Batman (1.6 million).

Some are predicting the newest Halloween trend may be going backward when it comes to adult costumes. Classics include Bonnie & Clyde, Romeo & Juliet, Dracula & vampire, Frankenstein & Bride of Frankenstein, Dorothy & Scarecrow, Popeye & Olive Oyl, Mickey & Minnie, and even Sonny & Cher (for my older readers!)

When it comes to adult costumes, many get really clever, finding themes and ideas that fit together naturally, such as Peanut butter & jelly, Salt & pepper, Farmer & scarecrow, Referee & football player. Two of my favorites I read about were TV painter Bob Ross & a happy little tree and Paul Bunyan and a tree.

For those of you who want to save money and make things simple, ideas include Cowboy + cowgirl, Detective + suspect, Hippie + rock star, and even Milk and cookies.

If you are looking for amazing and unusual costumes, check out this “100 Ideas” video; some are outrageous and fun!

And you can’t come to a costume party without some Halloween food. Chefs say the best Halloween party food doesn’t necessarily have to be gourmet. Think “easy to make, easy to eat, but creepy nevertheless. Here’s a link to 50 great recipes. I got hungry just reading these – some favorites:

Eyeball Meatballs – Make ordinary meatballs. Add: mozzarella or sliced cheese, green olive “iris”, small piece of black olive for the pupil. Suddenly you’ve got a tray of eyeballs staring at your guests.

Mummy Dogs – Wrap strips of refrigerated crescent dough around hot dogs, leaving a small opening for the “face.” Bake. Add mustard eyes. Done.

Jack-O’-Lantern Stuffed Peppers – Use orange peppers. Cut little pumpkin faces into them. Stuff with taco meat, rice, cheese. Bake.

Dracula’s Dip – Make a standard seven-layer dip or taco dip. Then decorate the top with black olive spiders, tortilla-chip tombstones, and green onion “grass.” Serve with tortilla chips.

Graveyard Dessert – Chocolate pudding + crushed chocolate cookies = dirt. Cookie tombstones, gummy worms, candy pumpkins. And you have a dessert that looks like a cemetery.

And one last thought: Did you know? In 2025, Americans were expected to spend about $860 million on pet costumes with pumpkins, hot dogs, bumblebees, ghosts, and superheroes among the favorites. (Now that’s crazy!!)