Halloween Family Events Taipei 2013

Boo!

It's that time of year, when parents start looking for Halloween events, costumes, and decorations for their families. I've been following things online, and decided to try to put everything in one place.

a. Halloween Costumes:

Behind Taipei Train Station, there are several stores (according to this Taipei Times article, there were 14 last year) that stock Halloween (and then Christmas) costumes and decorations. Costumes start at about TWD300.  Most are the kind you would find at a Walmart or similar store back home.

 This is from the article mentioned above:

The Holiday House (節慶屋) at 95 Changan W Rd (台北市大同區長安西路95號), tel: (02) 2559-4897 is geared more towards women with the requisite flirtatious Little Red Riding Hood and risque female versions of Captain America costumes. Prices are between NT$499 and NT$599 for adult costumes and NT$100 less for children. Unfortunately, the Holiday House seemed like a Christmas store moonlighting as a Halloween shop.
A few steps down the road is Lucky House (吉祥屋) at 109 Changan W Rd (台北市大同區長安西路109號), tel: (02) 2550-0262. At first, the list prices on everything seemed to be a bit higher than the Holiday House, but soon the owner came over and started offering better deals. She turned out to be a spirited bargainer and a costume that contained a hat, wig and sailor’s dress went from being NT$970 to NT$750 with a few clicks on the buttons of her oversized calculator. Eventually, a price of NT$700 was settled on, but not before using the time-honored pretending-to-walk-away tactic of negotiation.
Technically not on Changan West Road but worth mentioning because it’s very visible from the intersection at Changan and Taiyuan is Party World Thematic Warehouse (派對世界) at 63 Taiyuan Rd (台北市太原路63號), tel: (02) 2559-9758. This two-level shop had the widest selection of all with kids’ costumes, fairy wings and tons of pirate paraphernalia. One of their specialties is all shapes and sizes of mylar balloons, which ranged in prices from NT$100 to NT$450 filled with helium. Overall, Party World would be the first place to shop to decorate for a Halloween party.

Here is a link to a map for a store at Tai Yuan Road No. 6 (just north of Taipei Main Station).

Lococo is a very large outlet store, with some fantastic costumes available all year round for good prices. The costumes are in the room off to the side of the main store. Beitou Road Sec. 1, No. 7 (Beitou District). This is just off the MRT line, so not as hard to get to as it sounds.
北投路一段七號

A seasonal costume shop downtown is about two blocks south of Renai Road, near Lane 456.  Thanks to Kelly for sharing this information.   They stock costumes for adults and children.
Address: Building No. 442, Guang Fu South Road, Taipei. 光復南路442號

Shin Mei, a stock-clearance store behind SOGO in Taipei currently has  20% off  Halloween decorations and costumes.
Address: Tung Hua South road, section 1, alley 190, number 53 (behind the white SOGO, Zhongxiao-Fuxing MRT, North-East corner.)

In Keelung (Jilong), you can go to the 3rd floor of Bao-ping Book Store (保評書局), near the big MacDonald's.   Address: Renai District, Ai-Er Road, No. 76. 基隆市仁愛區愛二路76號 - across from the big bus station outside the parking building.  The stationery store next to Hess Bookstore also has a few bits and pieces.  They both stock a few cute candy items, made in Vietnam.

Wellcome (頂好) is going a bit Halloween-crazy, with its pumpkin range, at least.  The tiny ones are TWD39, then they go up and up and UP to TWD1,000. They also have posters up about some events/promotions, but I didn't get a chance to read it properly.


2. Events:

Tianmu's Market Place Development Organisation runs a whole series of events for Halloween, the biggest being the free one at Tianmu Sports Park on October 26th, 1-8pm.  Their event information is all in Chinese (here).

http://www.tianmu.org.tw/modules/news/article.php?storyid=74&uid=0

It says on the poster that 200 stores in Tianmu are taking part in the Trick-or-Treating, between 11am and 12noon. I'm guessing that is on Saturday, but the poster does seem to show that it is on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday...

At the park, they will have food and drink stands, music, storytelling, and games.

Between 2 and 3pm, Shing Gong Mitsukoshi's Tianmu Store will be giving away 3,000 pumpkins and other gifts.


The Brass Monkey is running another Kid's Halloween Party this year, on October 27th.

銅猴子邀請您全家與我們一起瘋萬聖!!
Fun and games for the whole family!
日期 Date : Sunday 10/27星期天
入場時間 : 11:00AM - 4:00pm
Adults 大人 NT$550*
Children 小孩 (<1 br="" free="" nt="" old="" yr="">Under 2 yrs old NT$450
我們會有另您意想不到的好玩把戲讓您和您的孩子一起同樂
當天打扮最佳的孩子會有機會把大獎帶回家唷!!
 Be sure to dress up, as we have great prizes for the best costumes!
Full buffet lunch for adults and children
大人兒童可享自助式早、午餐
*BOOK BEFORE OCTOBER 19 AND GET 10% OFF!!!!!!
*10月15號之前預訂，可享9折優惠
訂位請 email puffy@brassmonkeytaipei.com
For reservations please email puffy@brassmonkeytaipei.com
或打電話訂位 Please call Puffy on 0918 620 088

I've heard from friends that The Brass Monkey runs pretty good parties for families, with lots of fun gifts, prizes, and games.

The Brass Monkey is at 166 Fuxing North Road, Taipei, Taiwan, 台北市復興北路166號.

It's right by Nanjing East Road MRT stop, so if you think you might have a drink, why not just take the MRT and/or taxi?  Parking is available nearby, but it is not cheap on weekends.

Kidchen Club (a cooking and activity space in Shilin run by a lovely couple) will hold two Halloween-related sessions coming up to Halloween.  Cost is NTD2,400 for the two sessions.  Their food is awesome!

Address: No. 68-10, Tian Mu N. Rd., Shihlin District, Taipei City, Taipei 111, Taiwan, Taipei, Taiwan


Taipei City Playgroup also holds an annual Halloween party for children.  It is for members of the playgroup, and very much an event where families get involved in the planning and running of the afternoon.  Families bring treats to share and for the trick-or-treating.  Older children make games for others to play during the afternoon. If you are a family in Taipei and would like to join an English-language playgroup, the best way to join is to contact me with your email address so I can add you to the group.  You can also read about upcoming events on Taiwanease.com

The American Club will have a members-only event for children on October 27th.  If you have an active family that enjoys lots of sports and social activities and are craving an English environment, take a look at the American Club membership as an option.

Radio Redux will give three performances of Dracula over the weekend of October 26th and 27th. Click here for more details.  It is being advertised as suitable for adults and children over 12.

McDonald's seem to have two activities. The first is, add NTD30 to your Happy Meal and you get a DIY pack.  The second is, there is Halloween bus going to the stores listed on the poster (in Chinese at the bottom)

Taipei Zoo's Zoolloween is up and running. The main event is on October 26th , 4pm-8pm.  I need to gripe. Why is it EXTREMELY difficult to dig up anything really useful about events in Taiwan?  Even the Taiwan Government's English website fails to mention ANY of the event details... Here's a poster and a link, anyway.  I read that the baby panda is the feature of Zoolloween.

Xue Xue Kids in Neihu is having a Halloween weekend on October 26th and 27th. All this info is currently in Chinese. I'll try to find time to translate. Xue Xue Kids is a very cool space in Neihu.  Check out their website to find out more.

Alumni from  Columbia, Cornell, MIT, NYU, Wash U and Yale currently in Taiwan can attend the 2013 Taipei Intercollegiate Halloween Spooktacular.  See details here.

Sanchong Govt. will host a Halloween party over two afternoons (Oct 25 and 26). Information (Chinese) here.


That's what I have so far.  Halloween has become quite popular with the younger set in Taipei.  Many kindergartens and schools will have events where children dress up and learn the "Trick-or-Treat" rhyme. After all, who doesn't like an excuse to play pretend and eat lots of candy?