As students watch marathons of “Halloweentown,” while simultaneously carving “More BOOs please” into pumpkins, there’s no doubt they’re also reminiscing about that White Claw costume they wore to their friend’s Halloween party last year.
Celebrating the season will certainly look a lot different this year with social distancing, but students are still trying to keep the spirit of Halloween alive, celebrating in costume with their “quarantine pod.”
Anna Keltner, University of Minnesota fourth-year student, is planning for two nights of festivities. One night she and her roommates are having a costume party, including pumpkin carving, caramel apples and festive drinks — one of them being Poison Apple Cocktails.
“My roommates and I are really into Halloween. There’s eight of us total in our house, so we’re having a party, costumes required of course,” Keltner said. “We’re being COVID-safe. We’re just doing the eight of us and then our partners.”
She and her boyfriend are dressing up as Betty Boop and Popeye for the party. The next night, Keltner and her boyfriend are headed over to his place for a superhero-themed party with his roommates. The two of them settled on Wolverine and Rogue from X-Men as their couples costume.
Ann Miller, University of Minnesota fourth-year student, plans to wear a vampire costume this year, only to settle in and celebrate Halloween on the couch in her apartment. For Miller, this year’s Halloween itinerary calls for movies and snacks with her roommates.
“It’s going to be a lot smaller than what we did last year, which is, had a big party,” said Miller. There will be pizza as the roommates watch their choice movie of the night, “Silence of the Lambs.” “I think that a few of us might dress up and just hangout in our costumes.”
Payton Faber, University of Minnesota fourth-year student, plans to go out with a few friends to Lake Monster Brewing in St. Paul. She was originally planning to make a taco bar and spend the night inside with her roommates, but has since changed her plans, saying she simply wants to get out of her apartment.
She now plans to play card games on the brewery’s patio and spend the evening with six close friends instead.
“We’re going to go get beer and play cards, like play Bananagrams or something, which is totally opposite to what we’ve done in years past. Normally we would go out and dress up,” Faber said.
The restaurant has socially distanced seating and since she will only be with a few friends, believes it’s a good COVID-19-safe option for Halloween. “It makes me feel better about it — that I’m not going to Blarney’s or the KK [Kollege Klub],” Faber said.
Being a fourth-year student, Faber has already had a couple years of going out to parties and bars with friends to celebrate Halloween. She said she’s okay skipping out on being at the bars this year and would rather prioritize COVID-19 safety.
“We’re also in the middle of a pandemic, so it’s like, how can we have that ‘oh we’re going out and we’re having fun’ spirit but make it the safe version of that?”
