Mr. Planter’s Peanut — Emerson Prentice ’29
I handmade a Mr. Planter’s Peanut costume for myself to wear for Halloween in fifth grade. I did it mostly by myself, inspired by a photo my mom found online. The costume consisted of a monocle, a top hat and a structured body suit shaped like a peanut. Constructing the body was incredibly elaborate, calling for pigeon wire, paper maché and spray paint. It was an incredibly over-the-top project to lay out for myself, but it was done in time for the 31st. The amount of effort and unnecessary stress that went into my Planter’s Peanut outfit is exactly why the costume remains so special to me eight years later.
A fish tank — Sharis Hsu ’28
Amid my fifth-grade fish obsession, my mom pitched the idea of being a fish tank for Halloween. I was instantly sold. In the coming weeks, I scoured our mail for a large Amazon box, eventually finding one that rested comfortably on my shoulders and draped down to my waist. To fill the tank, I made fish out of origami, Rainbow Loom and Perler beads. I hung this mismatched collection of fish from the ceiling of my tank so they “swam” as I walked. The big boxy shape of my costume meant I couldn’t sit down in class, but it was my proudest creation for many months after.
Post-it note dinosaur — Kelly Wang ’26
Clad in my go-to grey hoodie with a neon orange zipper, I joined my sixth-grade classmates to fold Post-it notes into dinosaur spikes mere minutes before our elementary school’s Halloween parade. Our teacher smiled endearingly as we ripped through the classroom supply of Post-it notes (and promptly put a new Amazon order in). Soon, pink, purple and blue triangles announced our menacing approach as we tried to prevent the fragile, paper spikes from bending in the autumn wind.
Somehow emotionally attached to a ten-minute project, my classmates and I kept our dinosaur get-ups in place for the remainder of the school day. Maybe what made this costume so great was something other than its realism. The delight and camaraderie felt while making our dinosaur spikes was truly hard to beat.
Sailor in a big green coat — Bella Kim ’29
This Halloween, I joined a group sailor costume, adding a twist from the Geese song “Au Pays du Cocaine,” where frontman Cameron Winter sings, “Like a sailor in a big green coat.” I wore a navy blue top with a white skirt, and Amazon provided a hat and scarf set to complete the sailor character. And of course, I donned a green coat in honor of my favorite rock band. The outfit served as my first Halloweekend costume and my themed look for the Geese concert I attended earlier last week.
Trisha Paytas’ children — Jennifer Levine ’28, Aiden Fel ’28, Amelia Overstreet ’28
In homage to Trisha Paytas, the YouTube star famous for controversy and public feuds, my friends and I dressed up as her children’s infamous namesakes: Malibu Barbie, Elvis and Aquaman. I decked myself out in pink, crowdsourced a long blonde wig and felt comforted that, contrary to my middle-school belief, I would not be prettier if I looked like Barbie. Aiden Fel ’28 wore a cowboy-esque top and serenaded us all night. In his own words, “Elvis never looked so good!” Amelia Overstreet ’28 painted abs onto her white tank top and had the fiercest makeup of the night (not pictured in her swimming pose). To those not chronically online, this costume is nonsensical. But my cousin did the exact same costume across the country with his friends on Friday. Great (and related… and brainrotted) minds think alike, I guess.