Halloween Fun in the City of Angels

Los Angeles California #beachpumpkin
Haunted Mansion Halloween Overlay #nightmarebeforechristmas
Here comes Halloween…

In our house we love any excuse to celebrate, and its even better if dressing up is involved, which is why Halloween is one of my favorite days of the year! Lucky for me Los Angeles is a Halloween loving town, and there is plenty of opportunity! Whether you want to get fully decked out, or just come as you are, there is something for everyone. From trick or treating in neighborhoods dressed up like film sets, and organized parties to haunted theme parks and everything in between it’s easy to get in the spirit! (Yes! Pun intended!)

#halloweenwhitewedding
Local neighborhoods really go all out with their decorations!

5 Ideas for Halloween Fun in the City of Angeles

If you’re looking for something organized consider family friendly Halloween Time at Disneyland or the spooky Halloween Horror Nights at Universal studios. If theme parks aren’t your thing, Hollywood Forever Cemetery puts on a  Dia de los Muertos celebration every year, and if it’s anything like the other events I’ve attended there expect nothing less than excellence.

Disney's California Adventure #disneyhalloween

1. Attend Mickey’s Not so Scary Halloween Party at Disneyland

We’ve been attending Mickey’s Not so Scary Halloween Party off and on since the very first one, and they’re a lot of fun, but even if you don’t attend the party, the parks are decorated beautifully and will definitely get you in the Halloween spirit.

Disneyland Halloween Los Angeles California #disneyhalloweenfireworks
The Halloween Fireworks are spooktacular!
Disneyland
Small World Halloween

Kids are always encouraged to wear costumes while visiting the parks, but don’t worry if you don’t have one yet, as you’ll find an extra big selection of costumes for sale in most of the shops.

Yummy Halloween treats can be found throughout the park from glowing drinks to fancy caramel apples and more!

Disneyland Sugar Skull Apple #sugarskullapple

This year California Adventure is getting in on the Halloween Time fun, and is fully decked out! We were lucky enough to be standing in the right place at the right time when the Headless Horseman rode up!

Disneys California Adventure Halloween Los Angeles California #disneyhalloweentime

2. Scare yourself silly at Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights

I wouldn’t be caught dead at a haunted house or maze, which is why I won’t be giving you a first hand account of Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, but close friends recently went and loved it!

Universal Halloween Horror Nights Los Angeles California #halloweenhorrornights
Bert, you look awfully happy for a guy with a knife to his throat!

 Not only do they completely transform sections of the park, but you’ll be given access to areas of the Studio Back Lot that are normally unavailable during a daytime visit!

3. Visit the The Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Have you had a chance to visit the Hollywood forever cemetery yet? If not, consider making this year’s Dia de los Muertos celebration, which will be its 18th year, your first visit.

#hollywoodforever

We attended a Churches concert at Hollywood Forever last October!

I’m hoping to make it this year, and I’m planning to bring the kids! We’ve attended other events at the cemetery including an outdoor movie screening, and a concert and I’m seriously impressed!

Hollywood Forever Cemetery #hollywoodforever
Watching Ghost World

Even if you can’t make it to an organized event you might consider a visit anyway, as the cemetery is the final resting place of many famous Hollywood and musical icons from Hattie McDaniel to Chris Cornell, and Johnny Ramone.

4. Attend a Costume Party

Don’t feel like throwing a party, or waiting for your friends to do it… there are many organized costume parties all over town. Not sure what to dress up as? Don’t worry many of the parties are themed!
Cheshire Cat Costume Halloween 2017 Los Angeles California #cheshirecatcostume
As I mentioned I love to dress up, and I get pretty into it! This year I was excited to be attending a party, and I had a lot of fun getting my costume together. I decided to go with something a bit more classic, but with a twist. Sort of a cute yet creepy Cheshire Cat from Disney’s Alice in Wonderland!

Halloween Party Polaroids 2017 Los Angeles California #halloweenpolaroidPhotos weren’t allowed at the party we attended, but they did give us these polaroids to bring home!

DIY

I love a challenge and like to do my own make up, however if you’re not up for it, or don’t have the supplies, many of the makeup shops around town will do elaborate Halloween make up for you. Keep in mind that an appointment is required, and it can it can be on the pricier side as a purchase is required. Check out SmashBox on Abbot Kinney or Urban Decay in Century City Mall.

Cheshire Cat Costume 2017 #cheshirecatmakeup
Before
Cheshire Cat Costume Halloween 2017 #cheshirecatmakeup
TaDa!

Cheshire Cat Costume 2017 #cheshirecatnails

I got my apron dress from AJs Cafe on Etsy. She has just about every Disney character you can imagine.

Costumes from Halloweens Past

5. Attend Aero Theater’s All night Horrorthon

Aero Theater Santa Monica California #thingstodoinla

Maybe you prefer a less conspicuous celebration? Consider attending a Horror Movie Marathon. This is the home of Hollywood after all. The Aero Theater on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica is just one of many theaters showing Halloween movies all month long. They’ll also be hosting their 12th annual all night Horrorthon on Saturday, October 28th!

Looking for even more ideas? A quick internet search should do the trick!

Interested in other fun Halloween ideas from hilarystyle? Check out these ghosts of Halloweens past:


 Happy Halloween!
The Halloween Edition!

A word of advice If you think LA traffic is bad on a “regular day” Halloween is the worst! Leave early, and once you get where you’re going, stay there. Unless you and your fabulous costume love sitting in the car for hours…


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Family friendly Things to do in Los Angeles on Halloween #halloweenfun

The Halloween Edition!

The annual visit to the pumpkin patch… is it obligation or fun? For our family it’s some of both, but definitely leaning more towards the fun side!

#halloween@theritz

Like many families the tradition of visiting the pumpkin patch started when our oldest was just a baby and the boys have gone each and every year since. I did miss one year, I don’t remember why, but it must have been important, and I was heartbroken. So, even though finding time to go the pumpkin patch can feel like a chore, getting the kids to pose nicely for my annual photo is beyond frustrating, and living in California means our pumpkins will rot long before the big day, we go… and we like it!

The Obligatory Photo

Beyond the collection of perfectly shaped pumpkins my other main agenda item when visiting the pumpkin patch is getting that obligatory adorable photo of the kids. I don’t want to complain, but living in California means that the ideal pumpkin patch I remember from my childhood, just doesn’t exist. You know, the one with lots of giant pumpkins growing on curly green vines as far as the eye can see. Don’t forget the squishy mud you had to wade through to get to them. Who knows, maybe that’s not even real? It could be we bought our pumpkins at the local QFC? Mom?

Anyway, here in sunny California we have dusty dirt fields with a bit of hay strewn about and the occasional pumpkin here and there. At this point its late in the month, and pickings are getting pretty slim and so are the photo ops, we’ll just have to make it work… and we do!

I’ve dressed the boys in Halloween-ish type shirts and arranged a few pumpkins strategically, hoping to make a nice scene, but Elliot is easily distracted and keeps running off and darn that California sun, but Simon just can’t keep his eyes open no matter what direction I point him. I yell at them for a while and take about 100 bad photos before I give up and hope I got at least one decent shot. There are always the Halloween night photos? This is fun, right?!

We’re Having Fun Now!

There are many pumpkin patches in the Bay Area, but we usually head to Half Moon Bay, a favorite destination all year round. The weather was beautiful, so after we completed our pumpkin mission we ate outside at our favorite seafood restaurant, Barbara’s Fish Trap, and then took a lovely walk on the beach. Gotta love that California sun! We decided to end our day with a treat… Roasting marshmallows at the Half Moon Bay Ritz. The views were amazing and there were bagpipes playing! Okay, we are definitely having fun now!

Creating Our Pumpkin Masterpieces!

#hellokittypumpkinI’ve always enjoyed carving pumpkins and I generally choose something in the pop culture genre, Simon tends to go for something a bit more spooky and Elliot designs his own on the fly. Neither Simon, nor Elliot used patterns of any kind this year and both tried their hand at doing some sculpting! I had decided upon Hello Kitty and a hilarystyle.me pumpkin. Though I didn’t do any sculpting I did use acrylic paint to enhance Hello Kitty’s face and bow and I carved hilarystyle.me freehand.

If you decide to use paint, make sure to clean and dry the pumpkin before applying the paint and wait for each coat of paint to dry before applying the next one. If you live in a rainy place its best to keep your pumpkin undercover.

Roasting the pumpkin seeds was a Halloween tradition in my house and one I’ve enjoyed continuing with my own kids. For added flavor we like to leave a bit of the “pumpkin goo” on the seeds. I love the smell of them roasting!

#roastedpumpkinseeds

Heat the oven to 375 degrees and spread the seeds out in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Salt liberally before putting them into the oven for about 10 minutes. You’ll want to use a spatula to toss them around before putting them back into the oven for another 5 or so minutes. Don’t forget to salt them again! Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn!

Our Costumes!

I’ve always loved dressing up for Halloween even before I could use the kids as an excuse! Now, that I have two, the sky’s the limit! In recent years I’ve been everything from Bat Girl to a pirate and a day of the dead skeleton to the Black Swan. This year I’m going as a Harajuku Girl! We have a number of Halloween events planned, so I’ll be getting a lot of use out of my costume this year! Fun!