Bay of Plenty Halloween trick-or-treater guide 2023: tattoos, candy and cauldrons

American-born Tauranga woman Melissa Cox with her son Aidan on Halloween.

Bay of Plenty trick-or-treaters are set for a spooky night of Halloween celebrations including flash tattoos, homemade graveyards, snow storms, cauldrons and life-sized vampire skeletons on Tuesday. Michaela Pointon reports.

Flash pumpkin tattoos

Tauranga tattoo artist Caitlin Grimm’s flash design sheet includes “pumpkins, skulls and spooky animals”.

Grimm said a tattoo on Halloween night was “more fun” to “remember the party” and friends attached the memory.

She had “plenty” of Halloween-themed tattoos herself including “two bat cats”.

“I love dressing up and having fun. Whether you’re an adult or a child, it’s a good excuse to not be so serious,” Grimm said.

Address: Art and Body Creative Studio 10am-6pm, Voodoo Lounge 7pm-late.

Tauranga tattoo artist Caitlin Grimm will be tattooing Halloween flesh on Tuesday.

Americans do Halloween candies better

“The candy’s pretty great, we have Amazon candy and Hershey’s [back home],” American-born Tauranga resident Melissa Cox said.

Cox is hosting an Americans in New Zealand Halloween-style private celebration this year.

She wanted to give her son the “benefit of knowing both cultures” and “saw a lot of Americans were homesick”.

Cox said dressing up as your favourite television character, superhero or princess was popular in the USA, compared to Kiwis who often opt for “scary costumes like the dead”.

Her advice for Halloween etiquette was to “put your front porch light on with a sign, orange and black balloons”.

“Trick or treating is growing [in New Zealand],” she said.

“Decorate and have fun with it.”

American-born Tauranga woman Melissa Cox with her son Aidan on Halloween.

A Snow Queen with her cauldron

Rotorua resident Gemma Duggan is hosting a free trick-or-treating experience on her front lawn this Tuesday.

“Walk through a graveyard filled with [fake] body parts, [fake] blood and all the gruesome stuff,” Duggan said.

Trick-or-treaters will meet Duggan in a snowstorm dressed as a mythical Snow Queen.

“The Snow Queen will be there with her cauldron and coffin full of lollies,” she said.

Duggan said some of the event’s props were sponsored by Linton Park Community Centre in Rotorua.

She said the evening would provide “trick or treaters with a safe environment”.

“The kids put effort into getting dressed up ... and the community gets to enjoy each other’s company, which is massive.”

Address: 3 Hillcrest Avenue, Rotorua

Rotorua woman Gemma Duggan (middle) is hosting a Halloween event for trick-or-treaters this year.

TIPS AND TRICKS

We all know the basic Halloween tips - make sure your child’s costume fits and is non-flammable, don’t wear a mask, wear makeup instead and put reflective tape on your child’s costume so they can be seen if it’s dark. But there are several things most parents probably don’t think of.

• Costumes should be loose enough around the body so warm clothing can be worn beneath it, without it being too loose that it snags on items.
• Children should wear well-fitting, flat shoes, not high heels.
• Wigs and beards should fit properly and should not cover ears, nose, or mouth
• When buying makeup, make sure it is labelled non-toxic. Also, note some children break out in a rash when using some brands of makeup.
• Someone in the group should carry a torch. Not all areas are well-lit and a torch will help light the way and illuminate any potholes, cracked footpaths, etc.
• Remind children not to eat their lollies or any other treats until they return home and everything has been checked.
• Remind your child to walk on the footpath.
• Children should not enter the homes of strangers, but stay at the entrance outside. All children should be accompanied by a parent or adult caregiver.

Events on this weekend:

Beyond the (grave) Rave? - Tuesday, 5.30-8.30pm. A hand-building pottery workshop at The Arts Village Rotorua to make your own ghost mug. Buy tickets online.

The Day Out Markets - Halloween Markets Sunday, 9am to 1pm Tauranga Bethlehem Town Centre.

Michaela Pointon is an NZME reporter based in the Bay of Plenty and was formerly a feature writer.