Halloween 2014!

I planned my arrival to the USA to be just in time to celebrate Halloween. It's one of my favourite holidays (even though we don't really celebrate it in Australia). I have been in America for Halloween once before and spent it in Salem, which was pretty amazing!!

I hadn't really made any specific plans and wasn't sure what I should do for the night of Halloween, which this year fell on a Friday. I considered heading to P-Town for Spooky Bear but found out about it a little too late which meant driving on my own for a few hours (I think around 4 each way) and then having to pay for expensive accommodation on my own. I also thought about heading to Salem again but I decided that I wanted to experience something closer to home. I wanted to see trick-or-treaters coming to the door, and to feel the excitement and atmosphere on the night so I stayed in Maine. 

Jeff and Michael (some close friends of mine) invited me over to their place, so I headed over and watched them hand out some candy to the local kids. Before I left home we had a couple of kids come to the door, but the area that I'm living in is not really built up, so not a lot of kids walk the streets around here. Driving over to Jeff and Michael's house was pretty awesome - there were kids everywhere, walking the streets in costumes with their parents nearby (most of whom were also in costume). It really felt like what you see on tv! I loved it!

As Halloween was on the Friday night there were quite a few parties being held over the weekend, and I got invited to join Jeff and Michael (along with a couple of their friends, George and Chris) at a Halloween Party in Ogunquit (a town about 30 minutes south of where I'm living). The party was at a Bar called MaineStreet Ogunquit and the event was called Super Heroes and Villains. Naturally a costume was in order and Michael was kind enough to drive me around to look at some options. I narrowed it down to either a Priest or a Viking.

Viking Ben! I just need a sword and shield!

Forgive me for my sins!

In the end I went with the Priest as I thought it would be fun turning it into an evil Priest. Michael helped with the horns and make-up, and I got some fake teeth as well. The costumes and in particular the accessories/make up are just incredible over here. There are entire shops just dedicated to Halloween. It's really hard to appreciate how much people here get into Halloween. 

So we got dressed up and headed to George and Chris' house for some drinks and to add finishing touches to our costumes. 

The end result - Evil Priest!!

George offered to be the designated driver for the night, so we jumped in the car and headed to Ogunquit. The party itself was amazing - again, it felt like I was watching a tv show. Everyone was dressed up in all kinds of crazy costumes and it felt so surreal. There were two difference dance floors and an up-stairs section. We spent the night chatting, people-watching, drinking and dancing. No Kylie, but they played one ABBA song so I danced along in David's honour!! I think it was a great way to be introduced to Halloween properly in America and had such a great night!

Seeing some of the costumes that friends had this year has really inspired me for next year. I am definitely going to put in a lot more effort and try to come up with something original, creative and fabulous!! :)