"In my experience, humor, luck, and relatability of course matter in successful social media content," blogger Samantha, from 'Walking Outside in Slippers,' told Bored Panda.
"But it really comes down to relationships with other content creators, and taking the time to share the content of other successful content creators and interact with them so they're inclined to share your content and help you gain traction and a loyal following," she said.
"We live in a small, old-town neighborhood, and Halloween has always been fun on our block. Most of the houses put out decorations and hand out candy," Samantha shared.
"Some adults even sit outside on their porches to visit with neighbors. It's been pretty consistent year to year, with a little dip for the pandemic. But I look forward this Halloween to another festive night in the neighborhood," the founder of 'Walking Outside in Slippers' told us what the Halloween spirit (pun not intended) is like in her neighborhood.
"As for candy, we limit our kids to a piece or two a day after dinner most nights. Except they get more on Halloween. The problem with this is, they keep their Halloween haul all year and add to it from birthday pinatas and Easter baskets. They're still munching on their candy from last Halloween! But I'm going to have them dump the old stuff before they trick or treat this year."
Halloween used to be known as the Celtic festival of Samhain in ye olden days. It was celebrated in Britain and Ireland on November 1, and was then moved to October 31 to make space for the Catholic celebration of All Saints’ Day. Because of this, some of Samhain’s traditions spread culturally and formed the foundations of what we now know as Halloween.
Back then, people carved turnips and pumpkins to have demonic faces, so as to ward off the spirit of Stingy Jack, a man who’d tricked the devil and was later on barred from both heaven and hell.
Recently, pumpkin carving expert Alex Wer, known around the globe as The Pumpkin Geek, shared some of his hard-earned wisdom with Bored Panda. What started as a desire to be “the cool neighbor on the block at Halloween” grew into hundreds of celebs carved in pumpkin form, collaborations with major companies like Sony and Paramount, and a lifetime of adoration at Comic-Con.
"I had become a bit 'obsessed' about pumpkin carving and my wife asked me to carve a logo for a company she worked at that was having a Grand Opening in October, about 12 years ago. I decided to try the artificial pumpkins I had seen at Michael's, so her boss could keep it from year to year. I got 35 orders that night and The Pumpkin Geek was born!" the artist shared his roots.
Artist and carver Alex works with polyurethane pumpkins, meaning they last pretty much forever. Each pumpkin design takes 4 to 6 hours to finish, using a handheld drill.
"Start with the Halloween kits you can find at stores. They give you an introduction to more intricate carving. Then, search online for sites and patterns, there are many out there to help you take it to the next level!" he advised anyone hoping to start their own pumpkin carving story.
There are so many other different aspects of Halloween that we absolutely adore. For one, seeing so many people excited about dressing up as their favorite characters from pop culture is a feast for the eyes. And it also gives everyone who’s into cosplaying but might be feeling a tad shy, the encouragement to spread their wings and fly. It’s the playfulness that we so thoroughly enjoy.
Something else that we’re huge fans of is candy. Look, we’re not gonna sugarcoat it (pun definitely intended), we have quite a penchant for sweet stuff. So it’s nice when we can indulge a bit more without all of the usual guilt.
Though it’s fine to indulge in candy every once in a while, you shouldn’t make a daily habit out of it. It’s important to get enough daily movement if you enjoy sugary treats.
There’s a right balance to be had between complete rigidity and no self-control. Recently, fitness coach Anna Armagno Toussaint explained to Bored Panda that if you want to make progress in terms of fitness, you have to “love yourself enough to do better.”
She added that “punishing yourself or starving yourself will not last and it will be so bad for your mental health,” especially if you’re just starting out with exercise.
