11 hilarious Halloween traditions you’ll remember if you grew up in Northern Ireland
We miss some of these 🤣
Last updated 12th Oct 2021
While the Halloween of today is far removed from the Pagan festival of Samhain, many traditions remain.
There were no electronic Iron Man masks or glittering Else costumes lying around the house. You had to get creative!
Halloween still looks very different to the 'DIY' inspired activities we got up to back in the day. Well, just a few years ago.
Take a trip down memory lane with us, as we remember the best Halloween memories and traditions as a kid 👇
DIY Costumes
It's quite the talent to transfer such a boring everyday item like a bin bag, into a masterpiece. But with a little patience and a lot of sticky tape, you're sorted!
✅Batman
✅A scary witch
✅Harry Potter
✅A Ghost (made with a white bag instead)
Monkey Nuts
Anyone else remember the fear as you knock on a door trick-or-treating, and the nice lady across the street produces a bowl filled with Monkey Nuts. NO THANKS!
Apple bobbing
Who on earth created this bizarre game? A basin filled with ice cold water on the floor, with a handful of apples floating helplessly. Most people's temper took over, and the game usually finished in a brawl!
Rubber witches’ nails
In theory everyone wanted them, but in reality they were a nuisance that hindered opening any type of sweetie wrapper. They also poked holes in the bin bag costumes and tasted gross 🤮 Don't try to deny it…we all chewed them!
Running past graveyards
Can't help being extra cautious on Halloween! There was always that one friend that stood a little too long at the front gate and swore they seen a hand coming up through the graves.
Fishing for coins in the apple tarts
This was one of the most exciting games you could play with the family, 20ps and 50ps would be wrapped up in tin foil and baked inside a fresh apple tart. Many grandparents still do this today…thank goodness!
Turnip lanterns
Pumpkins were a rarity in Northern Ireland back in the day, so a turnip was our local alternative. Not quite as spooky or at all like a pumpkin, but if it meant you could carve out a 'design' and make a mess we loved it.
The aftermath of using fake blood
Talk about a blood bath, no matter how hard you tried, something or someone got stained with the cheap stuff. Days after Halloween were spent scrubbing under your nails, around your neck or even worse the face! It always looked cool at the time, but was it really worth it?
At home fireworks displays
No matter the weather, you'd be standing in the back garden with a sparkler in one hand, your sweetie loot in the other and your family all gazing up at the neighbours' fireworks. Those days are long gone now!
Plastic face masks
They were practically impossible to see out of, smelt of chemicals and cheap paint, and made you seriously sweaty underneath. Not to mention they were painful to pull off. But they were all the rage back then, kids nowadays don't know how lucky they are with they are.
Toffee Apples
You'd be plastered in the sweet sticky goodness, but they were totally worth breaking a tooth over. Sweeties have gotten more extravagant, some even healthier, but nothing beats a classic toffee apple from Aunt Sandra's.
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