Happy Halloween! It’s the spookiest day of the year, meaning you might be dressing up as the ghost of Brexit, Rebecca Vardy’s account or simply a ghost tonight.
Or you could stay inside your home, eat all the sweets on your own and get on with your day as if nobody has draped their front door in spider webs.
Some of us just cannot get into the ghoulish spirit on October 31 – and that’s absolutely fine. I wholeheartedly support your right to be a Halloween Grinch. I once went to work as Taylor Swift’s cat and frankly I don’t think I’ll ever top that costume, so I won’t try.
Inevitably, one or some of your friends will want to celebrate, though – and all power to them.
But your Halloween-loving pals are likely going to want you to join in, even against your will and better judgment.
So, how do we navigate the most frightening prospect of all this time of year: losing a friend over a ridiculous, pumpkin-scented festivity? Let’s talk it through.
Unless your mate is an actual ghost, you don’t have to go to their Halloween party
Do you have to show up at your friend’s Halloween bash? In a word: nah. You really don’t have to go if you truly don’t want to.
If it were your friend’s birthday, an engagement party, a hen do or a child’s birthday, I’d encourage you to attend – because these events have some sort of emotional connection to the person you call your friend.
It is important to be there on the days that matter, when we can, and an RSVP ‘yes’ is a lovely little gesture of support for someone you love.
Halloween does not fall into this category.
Unless your friend is a literal ghost or for some reason has an extremely sentimental attachment to this spooky day, you can excuse yourself from the festivities if that’s what you’d prefer.
Would a vampire or a ghoul spend a moment of their immortal lives worrying about disappointing their friend by not turning up to their shindig? No, they would not.
Stay home or do as I am going to do this year: go to an Italian restaurant with a lovely friend and gorge on delicious pasta, without once mentioning the fact that it’s Halloween.
Buy a packet of Fangtastics on the way home, if you want to get in on the sweets-eating aspect of the day, which is truly the only thing that matters.
It’s OK not to make any effort with your Halloween outfit (or to skip it altogether)
So you have decided to actually attend your friend’s Halloween party. The next question, naturally, is about whether you have to go in fancy dress.
The answer, again, is pretty much: nah. I don’t condone a dress code that makes people feel uncomfortable.
You’re welcome to go half-hearted with your costume, like wearing a scary hat or drawing a skeleton shape on your face. You could go with a low-key costume, like going as Clark Kent before he transforms into Superman.
The best Halloween hack is to turn up in your completely ordinary clothes and claim you’re dressed as an off-duty celebrity, or whatever. Dress as a sensible human being who doesn’t like Halloween, if you want – they can wear whatever they like.
If your friend is angry with you for not properly getting into the spirit of Halloween, then may I suggest she find a better way to measure your loyalty than by commitment to a fancy dress theme?
Truly, if she’s gauging how good a friend you are by your willingness to suit up, wear false teeth or paint your face in Day of the Dead designs, then she’s going about this whole friendship thing wrong.
Excuse yourself from the dress code and don’t feel bad about it, but if you’re worried you might feel awkward, chuck on a witch’s hat, a cape or something else that’s cheap and easy to find.
Your friends should respect that you don’t like Halloween
If Halloween spooks you out or you just don’t want to get dressed up, simply say so to your friend.
She or he should absolutely respect your objections and/or laziness here.
Personally, I am comically easily frightened, have a phobia of blood and do not like vampires, ghosts, ghouls, skeletons or corpses.
Sure, I’ll check Instagram to see what Neil Patrick Harris, his husband and their children wear this year because they’re the most extra famous family at Halloween and I find it amusing – but otherwise I’m opting out, and so can you.
If your friend doesn’t take you seriously – or worse, makes fun of you – for objecting to Halloween, you have three options. Confront this person for being rude, enjoy someone else’s company or go home and have a nap to recover from having to defend your perfectly normal holiday preferences.
Tell your friends that you have no interest in their parties, their fancy dress codes or their frightening makeup tutorials.
It’s entirely valid to be morally allergic to Halloween, and your friends should respect that. If they don’t, they don’t deserve any of the Haribo sweets.
Make a big enough deal about hating Halloween this year and you’ll get away with missing it every year, if you want to. Enjoy your night in.
MORE: How to help a friend through a serious illness
MORE: How to avoid getting jealous when your friends hang out without you
MORE: There are only four times you can get away with not getting your friend a present
source https://metro.co.uk/2019/10/31/how-to-tell-your-friends-you-dont-want-to-celebrate-halloween-11010808/
0 Comments