When Developers Dress Up
Halloween 2022. The office was transformed, the pumpkins were ready for carving, and everyone had one mission: Come in costume or face eternal shame.
The result? A beautiful chaos of creativity, commitment, and questionable character choices.
The Costume Lineup
Let’s talk about who showed up and how:
The Dark & Mysterious:
- Wednesday Addams arrived with perfect braids and zero emotional expression (method acting: 10/10)
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer - because someone needs to protect the office from bugs… and vampires
The Magical:
- Witches (plural!) - pink-haired, hat-wearing, ready to cast spells or debug code (same energy)
- More witches than we expected, honestly. Apparently, developers love pointy hats.
The Warriors:
- Scottish Fighters complete with kilts, swords, and questionable accents
- Yes, real swords in the office. HR was… concerned. We were thrilled.
- Pink socks with the kilt? Fashion-forward.
The Wildcard:
- Red Riding Hood - but make it slightly tipsy
- The “Home Office Suit” - Someone literally dressed as a person working from home. Pajama pants, hoodie, messy hair, coffee cup. Committed to the bit.
The dedication was real. Some people went full costume shop. Others raided their closets and called it “creative interpretation.” Both approaches were equally valid and hilarious.
Pumpkin Carving: Developer Edition
Before the party officially started, we had a pumpkin carving session. Turns out, carving pumpkins is a lot like debugging:
- It’s messier than you expect
- You need the right tools
- Someone always cuts themselves (metaphorically… mostly)
- The final result never looks like what you planned
- But you’re proud of it anyway
And of course, Codi had to inspect the results. The office cat approved of the pumpkins. Or maybe he was just plotting to knock them off the shelf. With Codi, it’s always hard to tell.
The pumpkins ranged from “genuinely impressive” to “we tried, okay?” But they all made it to the display, and that’s what counts.
The Scary Movie Quiz
Someone organized a scary movie quiz because apparently, we needed a way to prove who’s the real horror movie expert.
Questions ranged from:
- Classic horror trivia (easy points)
- Obscure 80s slasher references (PhD level)
- “What was the name of the dog in this obscure scene?” (who even remembers this?)
The competition was fierce. People were Googling under the table. Others were confidently giving wrong answers. The Scottish fighters kept threatening people with their swords if they didn’t share answers (we think they were joking).
Winners: The team that included someone who “definitely didn’t Google it” but somehow knew the middle name of a side character from a 1987 B-movie.
The Cocktail Incident
And then… The Cocktail.
Someone had the brilliant idea to make a Halloween-themed drink. The recipe?
- Strawberry liqueur (for the blood-red color)
- Vodka (for the… vodka)
- “Vibes” (no measuring involved)
What Could Go Wrong?
Everything. Everything could go wrong.
The problems:
- Nobody measured anything
- The strawberry liqueur was sweeter than expected
- The vodka was stronger than expected
- Someone thought “more is better”
- The combination tasted like regret and bad decisions
The result: A drink so wrong, so poorly balanced, so aggressively sweet-yet-burny that it became legendary.
People took one sip and made faces that should’ve been submitted to the scary movie quiz. Some powered through out of pride. Others quietly poured theirs into the nearest plant (RIP office plant, you didn’t deserve this).
But here’s the thing about terrible cocktails at office parties: They become stories. And stories are what make these events memorable.
To this day, “Remember that strawberry vodka thing?” is still a conversation starter. Would we make it again? Absolutely not. Do we still laugh about it? Absolutely yes.
The Scottish Fighter Show
Can we talk about the commitment of showing up to the office in a full Scottish warrior costume with a real sword?
The attention to detail:
- Authentic kilt ✓
- Real sword (not a plastic one) ✓
- Pink polka dot socks ✓
- The confidence to pull it off ✓
HR’s reaction: “Is that… is that a real sword?” Scottish Fighter: “Aye.” HR: “Can you… not swing it around?” Scottish Fighter: Swings it around
The witch next to him seemed very comfortable with this situation. Either she was used to swords in the office, or her witch powers made her fearless. Probably both.
Why This Mattered
Halloween 2022 wasn’t just about costumes and questionable beverages. It was about:
- Seeing each other differently - Your serious backend developer is now Wednesday Addams. Your project manager is wielding a sword. Reality is flexible.
- Creativity outside of code - Turns out, the same people who architect complex systems can also commit to a ridiculous costume.
- Shared experiences - The terrible cocktail, the pumpkin carving disasters, the quiz debates. These moments stick.
- Codi in a party hat - Just kidding, he wouldn’t wear one. But he was there in spirit.
Lessons Learned
After Halloween 2022, here’s what we know:
- Always check if someone’s sword is real before they walk into the office
- Measure your cocktail ingredients or accept chaos
- Pumpkin carving is harder than it looks but Codi will judge you anyway
- Scary movie knowledge is a valuable team-building skill
- Pink socks with a kilt is a power move
- The “Home Office Suit” costume is both lazy and genius
- Never underestimate how much developers will commit to a theme
The Aftermath
The next day, the office returned to normal. Costumes were packed away. Pumpkins were recycled. The plant that received the cocktail donations showed signs of stress (sorry, plant).
But the photos? The stories? The inside jokes about Scottish fighters and strawberry vodka disasters? Those stayed.
And honestly, that’s what makes a great team event. Not perfection. Not flawless execution. Just people showing up, being weird together, and creating memories that still make us laugh.
Want to join future Halloween parties (and questionable cocktail experiments)? Check our open positions and start planning your costume now.
P.S. - If you have a better strawberry vodka cocktail recipe, we’re open to suggestions. The bar is very, very low.
