Halloween this year lands on a Saturday, which gives added pressure to the holiday, because it’s on a weekend, in the prime of your life!
It was on a Friday last year and I definitely treated it like it was my last Halloween ever, believing I’d only be young and in the clubs once. It also feels like everyone else is miraculously less skint than you. People who still haven’t paid you back for the Uber are ordering elaborate bits of costume material and fancy decorations, as well as a weeks food shop's worth of money on club tickets.
Speaking of the clubs, it’s the same thing as the freshers’ wristband; you are not getting eighteen quid’s worth of club. You will get the same five white girl tracks and the Monster Mash whether you go VIP or Tropicana at half one.
And if you decide not to go out, a house party is a fun idea. But if your friends are anything like average students with rotating romantic partners, criss-crossing friendship groups, or a freshers’ flat that hasn’t quite been figured out yet, then you don’t know where to go.
However it’s not too late! One of your friends or housemates is bound to know someone who’ll let you cram into the back corner of their kitchen. Or one of your closer friends might know someone having a smaller party, and you can make deeper connections in a more tight-knit group (also, less people for the booze to go around). If you’ve got the opposite problem of a week full of invites then it’s okay to go to a few. You’ve got all of reading week to recover.
Wherever you end up, whatever you wear, you’ll be left with a good memory.
If you’re looking for something a bit more chilled, then there are plenty of Halloween movies on at the cinema. Tyneside is hosting Halloween-themed all-nighters on the 24th and 31st of October, as well as showing Frankenhooker on the 28th. The Star and Shadow has a disturbing line up of Incubus, The VVitch and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
For some daytime spooks, Bongo’s Bingo are also hosting a Halloween event in the daytime of the 31st, starting at £7 a ticket.
As for costumes, it isn’t necessary to have more than one. Costumes are another area where people panic that they need to be niche and clever and creative, but there is nothing more chic than recycling your own wardrobe. If you’re in a sports society, and there's a social your prepared for, why not re-use the costume for Halloween. Plus no-one has gone wrong with animal ears and clothes they already own.
Wherever you end up, whatever you wear, you’ll be left with a good memory.