All around me, children shriek in childlike fear, mechanical voices chant curses, chainsaws whirl and guns sound, Addams Family remixes and the Monster Mash replay over the loudspeaker. While this sounds like the plot of a horror movie, it’s actually my life for six hours a day, three days a week. And yes, I love my job.
This year, I was one of the 35,000 people nationwide employed by Party City for the Halloween season. Some stores have Christmas, some have the Fourth of July- we have Halloween. Everyday, hundreds of customers come in and head straight to the costume wall. Being a sales associate during the busy season, I’ve learned more about Halloween in one month than I have in 17 years of living.
First, the most popular costumes this year are Harley Quinn and Donald Trump. Calling it.
Second, Halloween is absolutely the best holiday ever. What other holiday brings so much happiness? Sure, there are always the rude customers complaining about the long line at costume pick up and the crying babies who get scared of the fog by the front door, but for the most part, everyone is happy when it’s time to pick up their costume. Seeing the joy on a little boys face when you bring out his Batman costume from the back or watching the smile grow on a young girl when you show her the Harry Potter section makes up for all the bad during the holiday. And it’s not just the young kids who get excited, adults too. Last week I was stopped by a middle-aged women the second she walked in, who insisted that I be her “tour-guide” through the costume process. Turns out she just moved here from China and this is her first American Halloween. We spent the next hour picking out the perfect costume for her office party and by the end of the day, she had a costume and I actually had fun at work.
The third thing I’ve learned is that I don’t know what I’m going to be yet for Halloween and I work at a Halloween store. Which tells you something about my life.
Anyways, being a Halloween Specialist this season has given me valuable customer service skills that I couldn’t have gained anywhere else. Also, without this job, I would never be able to say that I’ve single-handedly gathered the necessary materials for multiple robot costumes, a zombie bride, two unicorns, Hillary Clinton a Donald Trump-kin, and a cupcake costume. And where would I be without that?
