At the beginning of October, we announced a photo contest and challenged you to send in your photos of childhood Halloween costumes. We received so many amazing entries! They were remarkable not only in their variety, but also in the time period they spanned. We received entries representing every decade from the 1910s to the 1990s!
#Halloween throughout the decades! From the 1910s to 1990s. Which year is your favorite? 🎃 #MyHeritage pic.twitter.com/v6O2QzyM08
— MyHeritage (@MyHeritage) October 31, 2022
We’d like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who entered and shared their photos and stories with us. And now, before we announce the winner, some honorable mentions:
Runners up
The following photo was submitted by Donna Steel:
“This photo was taken in the early 70’s at my grandfather’s house,” says Donna. “We lived one hour away, so all my cousins got together and we trick-or-treated in Woonsocket, Rhode Island that year. I’m the hippie in the middle. The other hippie is my twin sister. My mother made those ponchos. Fond family memories. We made out well with treats that year.”
Such colorful costumes!
This next one came to us from Sherrie Westmoreland:
“This is a photo of my maternal grandparents circa 1970 in Salt Lake City, Utah,” says Sherrie. “They were in their 60’s and dressed up and went trick or treating around the neighborhood! Grandpa is on the left dressed up as a homeless man and Grandma is a mashup of Batman in a gown with a blazer, scarf, and purse!”
So creative! Sherrie’s grandparents sound like a fun pair.
Next up is this photo from Karen Harrison:
“This is my grandson and granddaughter as Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy when they were about 2 years old,” says Karen. “My sister made the wigs. So funny!”
That’s some impressive wig-making!
This photo was sent to us by Kathryn Rowe:
“This photo contains me and my two sisters in I think 1994 or 1995,” says Kathryn. “I’m in the middle. My sister who is 2 years younger than me and I are witches and my youngest sister who is 7 years younger is Simba from the Lion King. I would be 10 or 11 in this photo. My mom always made our costumes, but of course the Simba one is store-bought (as are the hats).”
Kathryn still likes to dress up for Halloween: “This year my mom also made me a pair of ruby slippers with lots of red glitter pasted onto them, so I was the wicked witch of the east. Halloween has always been my favorite and I still dress up as a witch!”
Kathryn’s mom made a frame for this photo with lots of mod podge and candy corn, and Kathryn says it’s still on display at her parents’ house today. Such a cute photo!
These next two come from Diane Hendriks:
This photo features Diane and her sister in Halloween costumes their mom made by hand in 1979. The colors were restored using MyHeritage In Color™. Diane is the mummy, and her sister is Dracula’s wife, in a coffin that their mom crafted out of a huge box, spray-painted, and decorated — complete with a satin pillow.
“My mom loved the holidays, and she handmade our costumes every single year, until we became teenagers,” Diane recalls. “She was always so creative and clever! She is greatly missed!”
She sounds like a lovely woman who left her daughters with very fond memories.
Diane also sent the photo below featuring her father dressed as Donald Duck for Halloween in 1950:
The costume was handmade by Diane’s grandmother!
The next two photos come from Cherylanne Levy from Colorado:
“This is me and my brother back in the 70s,” writes Cherylanne. “Mom (Pamela Leon) would make all of our costumes. We particularly loved this one because the hats were dusted with sugar and we would suck on the rims.”
Cherylanne says she had a neighbor who decorated her small cottage as a witch’s house, and that neighbor particularly loved their costumes that year.
Here’s another amazing costume Cherylanne’s mom made for her and her brother in the late 70s:
Cherylanne and her brother Chris won a prize for this tin soldier costume, and were even featured in the local paper!
And the winner is…
A free 1-year MyHeritage Complete subscription will be awarded to… Karen Best, for this amazing submission:
According to Karen, this picture was taken in 1936 in Topeka, Kansas, and was colorized and enhanced by MyHeritage photo tools. It features Karen’s mother Dora at age 2 along with her siblings and cousin. The photo was taken by Karen’s grandmother, Erma, whose shadow is visible at the bottom of the photo. “This was their front porch,” says Karen. “As with most of their clothes, my grandmother made the costumes for the younger ones by cutting material and wrapping it around their chin to be beards. Their dresses were made from their grandfather’s old shirts as he was a large man and my grandmother could make clothes for her children since they could not afford them.”
Amazing! Congratulations to Karen, and many thanks once again to everyone who entered.
If you haven’t yet tried MyHeritage In Color™ or the Photo Enhancer to colorize and enhance your photos, now is the time!
