HalloweeNZ

Several of you have asked if New Zealand celebrates Halloween. Not really. They know it's Halloween, but costume parties and trick-or-treaters are rare. A few Kiwis told me that Halloween has become more popular over the years as a result of American influences, but it's still not a very big deal.

The fortnightly work NOSH (aka: national office social hour, Drinkie Friday) had a Halloween theme. Again, it was so budget and so fun. People took turns wearing a witch hat. Fake spiderwebs hung from the ceiling, and the boardroom windows were covered in something like black saran wrap. (I was shocked to learn it was still daylight when this was taken off the windows at 7pm last call.... kind of like when you exit a movie theatre in the middle of the day.) For food, there was a bowl of fruit snacks and a platter of corn dogs with that gross NZ tomato sauce. They had 2-for-1 drink specials on soon-to-be expired beer.

We continued on to the bars after NOSH, but it was just like any other night out in Welly. The only sign of Halloween was a plastic knife sticking out of a bartender's skull. A few girls were dressed like slutty nurses, slutty cats, or other types of sluts. But, as you know, this isn't exactly a costume for the Kiwi woman.