In the U.K., Halloween passes without so much as a ‘boo’. I’ve been to a couple of parties and donned a fair few homemade costumes over the years, but nothing on the same scale as they do over here in the U.S.

As I walked home from work, I dodged swarms of mini monsters and princesses, all shaking plastic orange buckets stuffed with candy. The bigger kids were already beginning to venture out too, heading towards the Halloween Parade route along 6th Avenue. Ryan and I decided join them for the proper New York Halloween experience.

As a disclaimer, I’m usually pretty proud of the costumes I make and wear, but this year it got away from me and I had zero ideas or time before the big event. So Ryan and I simply donned some camo and stomped our way to the parade.

While some other people actually went to far less effort than we did, many went to much, much more, and the results were original and hilarious. After struggling to get a good view of the parade from the spectators’ stands, Ryan suggested we join the swarms along the route instead (which improved my mood considerably because I was about to have a bazzy).

The four-hour parade is fantastic for this reason – anyone can march among the floats, dancers and musicians, giving spectators plenty to look at. For us, it meant getting a bit closer to some of those great costumes…

As annoying as the crowds are, this is a Halloween must-see, and really shows the fun and original spirit of New York. Everyone was just having a great time and I’d definitely go again – as long as I got there very, very early.

Happy Halloween!

Here’s more of a description from the late Lou Reed…

P.s. I still owe you a blog from Wednesday. I’m having a few issues with pictures but it’ll be up tonight!