GROUPON GUIDE

Halloween Costumes: Then and Now

Oct 15, 2014

We asked a bunch of Groupon employees to show us their childhood Halloween photos. The results, as expected, were delightful. From those submissions, we sweet-talked six individuals into recreating their childhood costumes, putting those costumes on, and posing for photos. Was this a good idea? You be the judge.

Name: Jorie Position: Senior writer Costume: Dorothy Gale Jorie’s sad face has an adorable backstory. "My mom and I made these ruby-red slippers for my Dorothy ensemble when I was 5. Unfortunately, it rained while I was trick-or-treating, and the sequins started to come undone and curl. I started crying because I was convinced I was now the Wicked Witch of the East—whose red slippers curl up when the house lands on her in The Wizard of Oz."

Name: Tyler Position: Editor Costume: Kramer from Seinfeld "This costume was worn to an eighth-grade Halloween dance and consisted of a shirt I already owned, some pants from Goodwill, and half of a 20-ounce bottle of hair gel,” Tyler said. “There would be no slow dances for me that night.”

Name: Carmen Position: Video editor Costume: Li’l lamb Carmen was 2 in this unspeakably adorable photo and doesn’t have any memory of originally wearing it. This is her mother’s account of what happened on that long-ago night: "[Carmen] always wanted to knock on the doors [herself]. At one house an unsmiling older man answered the door and at first said he had no candy. But then he took a long look at you standing there with your cute costume and plastic pumpkin, and said, ‘Just a minute,’ and then went inside. He came back about 30 seconds later and put a five-dollar bill in your pumpkin."

Name: Molly Position: Editor Costume: Ghost? “When I was 5 years old, I had a stuffed ghost that I loved. His name was Ghosty, and he was the inspiration for this costume. The fact that it's a Halloween motif is purely coincidental,” Molly said. That explains it!

Name: Christie Position: Editor Costume: Straw child/scarecrow “My mom put straw in my pockets and stuffed it up the sleeves of my arms, and it was so itchy,” Christie said. We skipped the straw in our recreation.

Name: Dani Position: Editor Costume: THE FREAKIN’ TITANIC “I was obsessed with the movie Titanic when it came out in '97. Since I was too young to pull off a convincing Rose DeWitt-Bukater, my parents decided to make me a ship. Like, make me into a ship. We completed the look with fake icicles in my hair, white face makeup, blue lipstick, and a life vest—the perfect amount of morbid,” said Dani regarding the original. We think her face says it all.