The Sassy Mama Lowdown on a Spooky Halloween

Halloween is a monstrously magical time for Hong Kong city kids—as long as you know what to do and where to go. Everyone goes out of their way to make sure kids have fun so here’s the Sassy Mama lowdown on how to have a spooky Halloween in HK, including the best places to get costumes, great places to trick-or-treat and other ghoulish goodness.





TRICK OR TREAT
While most apartment blocks get into the Halloween spirit, Parkview with 17 towers and a highly organised attitude to moving lots of children from building to building (treats are handed out at the base of each tower avoiding the kids in lift going from floor to floor scenario) – wins our vote for planned Halloween fun. Missing the Halloween festivities of the USA? No one does American style Halloween better than Red Hill in Tai Tam and Headland Road in Discovery Bay. Decorated houses galore and an abundance of treats. 

COSTUMES

Head for Pottinger Street (Lyndhurst Terrace junction) for the biggest selection of Halloween costumes, from Harry Potter and vampires to ghosts and goblins. Masks, wigs, fake blood and crazy teeth, they have it all here including costumes for toddlers. Southside Mums recommend Stanley Market, while the Matteo Party Shop in Causeway Bay has costumes and part supplies. Based in Kowloon? Check out Choi Chi at the ladies market in Mongkok and Toys R Us which stocks a large selection of costumes for kids especially in it’s Harbour City location.




Looking to rent a spooky getup? The Academy for Performing Arts costume department has a wonderful selection of outfits for hire as does House of Siren Productions,and Matteo Party Shop.


TREATS

All the supermarkets in Hong Kong have Halloween candy for sale, with Olivers in Princes Building and ThreeSixty offering a good selection of fun size chocolates and Halloween accessories but we love Sim’s Sweet Shop for retro English sweeties. Flying saucers anyone? Email [email protected] or pick up a selection from Bookazine. Need to buy in bulk? Check out the selection at A & M Groceries, Basement floor, B006-009 Shun Tak Centre (Macau Ferry Terminal), Sheung Wan which usually has huge amounts of candy for sale pre-Halloween.

DECORATIONS
While HK has yet to have the pumpkin patches that pop up in American cities, you can pick them up from Marketplace in Repulse Bay, ThreeSixty in Central and GREAT in Pacifc Place. HobbyHorse in Princes Building and Matteo Party Shop have everything part from plates and napkins to table coverings, goody bags and cups.

STAYING IN
Fed up of doing the Monster Mash? These spooky songs will get everyone in the party spirit.

“The Ghost That Walks”, Karen Elson
“Spooky”, Dusty Springfield
“Somebody’s Watching Me”, Rockwell
“Black Magic Woman”, Fleetwood Mac
“Thriller”, Michael Jackson
“Ghostbusters”, Ray Parker Jnr
“Bark At The Moon”, Ozzy Osbourne
“Cold Moon Rising”, Creedence Clearwater Revival
“Eyes on Fire”, from the Twilight soundtrack

Planning to stay home? If you are parents of pre-teens, it can be hard to find something to watch with the whole family that’s in the Halloween spirit but won’t cause the little ones to have nightmares. Here’s our Yummy selection of family Halloween movies:

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, if you are feeling nostalgic the Peanuts special became an annual classic on its first airing 43 years ago. Order it from Amazon or watch shorter clips on You Tube.

E.T. Put this on, eat Reece’s Pieces and laugh at Elliot and Mike dressing E.T. up as a ghost so they could take him out for Halloween… A classic that is as good as it was back in 1982.

The Addams Family – If a cool Halloween movie is more your style, this has jokes aimed at all ages, has a fantastically spookily bizarre family and Halloween itself plays a big part in the film.

Hocus Pocus – Set around Halloween, 3 kids set out to break the spell of the Sanderson Sisters. Perfect for the whole family and with Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker starring, these are witches worth watching.

Beetlejuice – Definitely one for older teens, as the language gets a little salty but let’s face it no one does edgy better than Winona Ryder in her heyday.