Halloween in the 1960s and 1970s: Homemade Treats and Drugstore Costumes

During the 1960s and 1970s, Halloween was celebrated within neighborhoods, characterized by homemade decorations, school parades featuring costumes, and children trick-or-treating at night with pillowcases for candy collection. Costumes, often sourced from local drugstores, typically included designs by Ben Cooper or Collegeville, consisting of a flimsy plastic mask, a delicate rubber band, and a vinyl smock adorned with the character’s name or image. Though uncomfortable, these costumes reflected the pop culture of the time, evolving from Batman and Casper to Star Wars and KISS. Kids gathered treats in brown paper bags and pillowcases, receiving candy bars, Pixy Stix, Necco Wafers, homemade popcorn balls, caramel apples, cookies, or sometimes a disappointing box of raisins. Homes showcased cardboard cutouts, honeycomb pumpkins, glowing plastic figures, and candlelit jack-o'-lanterns. School festivities included costume parades and apple bobbing. This smaller-scale celebration is fondly recalled through memories of awkward masks, heavy candy bags, and familiar streets transformed for one night. The source of this nostalgia is shared by vintag.es and designyoutrust.com.