You decorate the kids, yourself, even the house for the holiday. Why not decorate your car, too, this McHenry Halloween?

Halloween is descending upon McHenry again. It’s time for scary movies, haunted houses and, of course, Trick-or-Treating. It’s time for spooky costumes, whether for the kids or for mom and dad when they go to that adult Halloween party.

McHenry residents turn out in large numbers to celebrate that annual arrival of All-Hallows-Eve. A substantial proportion of the homes will be decorated for the occasion. 

Decorations for homes include orange and black lights, graveyards out front, ghosts hung from the twisted branches of trees and, of course, inflatable witches, goblins, skeletons, and spooky monsters. 

For Halloween of 2023, these were the 10 most popular costumes listed by rank:

1. Barbie
2. Princess
3. Spider-Man
4. Witch
5. Fairy
6. Wednesday Addams
7. Dinosaur
8. Cowboy
9. Ninja
10. Bunny

Some of these are perennial favorites of children as they head out for Trick-or-Treating. Witch and Cowboy costumes were, no doubt, seen in McHenry in the 1930s and before. Spider-Man and Wednesday Addams costumes have had a long run of popularity. Even Dinosaurs and Ninjas have had extended appeal. Barbie, of course, as a costume, is a more recent phenomenon. 

One site on the Internet lists Barbie and Ken as the No. 1 Halloween costume ideas for this year, too. Star Wars and Harry Potter characters are also on the list. Then you have Transformers, Beetlejuice and Loki. The Little Mermaid and Taylor Swift make the list, as well. And Pirates, Zombies and Vampires are always popular.

Once you’ve got the house decorated and costumes chosen, what else can you do to get in the Halloween spirit? How about decorating the car?

The first priority when decorating the car is not to do anything that would obscure your vision or otherwise create safety concerns. The second priority is not to do anything that would damage the car’s finish. For instance, if you tape something to the car, will the tape leave a mark?

There are products, such as Auto Markers, you can use to draw designs on the car and windows (once again, don’t do anything that will obscure your vision). There’s always the hand hanging out of the trunk.

You can turn the headlights and grill of the car into the face of a terrifying monster, but not too terrifying if little ones are about. 

Whatever you do to decorate your house, and maybe your car, whatever costumes you choose, remember one thing. This is a fun time of year but it’s also critical that you have your eyes open and are hyperattentive when driving on Halloween in McHenry. We don’t want anyone to get hurt.