A Collection of 00’s Halloween Nostalgia

Katie Sell, Staff Writer

Something about the crisp autumn air and wearing cozy clothes brings me right back to my childhood. You know when a certain smell triggers an old memory you completely forgot you had? Like pencil shavings reminding you of the first days of elementary school, or the morning air bringing you back to that one field trip you went on in 7th grade for science class.

Nothing is more comforting to me than nostalgic trips back to childhood, reminding me of a simpler time when life was good. I will sheepishly admit that I have tiktok, and recently I saw a trend of people compiling old pictures of halloween novelties we all collectively had or experienced as kids.

I want to share those memories with you all and hopefully bring you back to a time when halloween was one of the holidays you were most excited for.

These old halloween buckets back from when Mcdonalds did those weird promotions (you definitely had those collectable shrek glasses, didn’t you…). They were usually Scooby-Doo or Mr. Potato themed, and they even came with stickers to decorate with. You never actually used them for trick-or-treating, though. They were nowhere near big enough to fit all the candy you needed.

I vividly remember eating dinner on these halloween placemats at the dinner table while watching TV. If you were lucky, your parents also decorated it with a very tacky early 00’s tablecloth.

I can almost smell this image. Walking to the bus stop in the morning was never more exciting than when you saw these on the front lawns of your neighborhood. They were also a great gimmick for parents to trick their kids into doing yard work.

For 4th and 5th grade I had a sweet old homeroom teacher, and she would always put stickers on our graded schoolwork. They were always these adorable retro children’s book critters. I remember the comforting feeling of coming in after a chilly recess to the warmth and the smell of old books. We would get a math assignment back with one of these stickers and a “Great Work :)” written in the top corner.

Lastly, we can’t forget about the old halloween specials that you would (or still do) wait for all month. Nothing was better than coming home from school and turning on the TV to one of these classics, while snacking on those pillsbury pumpkin sugar cookies or roasted pumpkin seeds.

Disney Channel’s original Halloweentown (1998), the Spongebob episode Scaredy Pants (2001), Mickey’s House of Villains (2002 – a personal favourite), and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966).

PHOTO SOURCES:

Buckets:

https://nostalgicfun.tumblr.com/post/174568347490/halloween-1999

https://www.throwbacks.com/halloween-mcdonalds/

http://celttim.blogspot.com/2011/10/photo-essay-mcdonalds-halloween-bucket.html

Placemats:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/866306333/1980s-vintage-vinyl-halloween-placemats?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_christmas_Home_and_Living&utm_custom1=_k_CjwKCAjw_sn8BRBrEiwAnUGJDsbbVeVhlEqGCBGZQBjBIAYIrNC3JQqMVOWYSIwT05Hq7fc6jCt0mBoCSBUQAvD_BwE_k_&utm_content=go_1707294370_69268674649_331635229806_pla-303628061699_c__866306333_120419410&utm_custom2=1707294370&gclid=CjwKCAjw_sn8BRBrEiwAnUGJDsbbVeVhlEqGCBGZQBjBIAYIrNC3JQqMVOWYSIwT05Hq7fc6jCt0mBoCSBUQAvD_BwE

Leaf bags: https://www.ebay.com/p/1500234126?iid=372379021232

Stickers:

https://www.brandedinthe80s.com/15932/peel-here-scream-day-16

https://clickamericana.com/holidays-seasons/halloween/spooky-stickers-16-vintage-halloween-sticker-sheets-from-the-seventies-eighties

Movies: