HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2026
Halloween is tomorrow, on a Saturday this year! Yay! For the purposes of partying, trick-or-treating, and even just driving around to see decorated houses, that always makes it easier for everyone. And way more special; we have the entire day to get ready for the nighttime festivities, or to use the daylight hours to take the kiddies around without waiting for school to be over. (Now if only everyone’s weather will cooperate.)
Karen Salkin’s fabulous 2026 mix-and-match Halloween nails. Photo by Mr. X.
That brings me to what I may do tomorrow. No one in my friend (or even acquaintance) groups has Halloween parties anymore, (does anyone outside of Heidi Klum?,) so I’m hoping that Mr. X will be at least fun enough to go with me to see a bunch of Halloween houses this year. He might be amenable to do that this time because, since the actual date is falling on Saturday, there won’t be the usual weeknight traffic; it will be only the cars from other decoration appreciators. And I’ve been rocking my Halloween nails since October 21, so I need to take them out for one final spin this season.
As I was scanning some of my previous Halloween columns through the years, it hit me that I often used the term that little kids do, telling you guys what I was “going as.” Kids always ask each other, “What are you going as?” But the big question, especially as we grow-up is: going where??? We can have as many get-up ideas as we like, but if no one is having a Halloween party, where do we think we’re dressing-up to go??? Our living rooms?
Karen Salkin, as El Niño, in-between Lisa on the left and Andrea on the right, after a Halloween Bash back in the day.
But, if I do go “as” something this year, it will be—ready for it—El Niño!!! I originally didn’t want to tell you about it because I don’t want anyone to copy me, but I’m proud of the one time I did it in the past. It was when I was running dance clubs back in the day, and we were having a “Halloween Bash,” as I titled it, even though my young pals had never heard that second word before. (But now many of the clubs use it, not knowing who was the founder of the feast, so to speak.) All of the girls wore even tinier costumes than their usual tramp outfits, but yours truly showed up in a closed rain slicker with leaves in my messed-up-on-purpose hair, and I carried a…spray bottle of water! And I kept spraying people all night, just like El Niño! Everyone loved it because it was so different and original. Unless they were a recipient of my water spray, of course.
No matter what you wear this weekend, or what you do to celebrate, I wish you all a fun, and especially safe, Happy Halloween!
And please remember to turn your clocks back early Sunday morning, (or right after you party tomorrow night.) It’s happening at the correct time this year, just when we all need the extra sleep! So let’s party away, my fellow Halloween celebrants! And then get that extra hour of recovery time.
