What to put on a Halloween wishlist

Halloween is the one occasion where a wishlist earns its keep faster than at Christmas. The person who loves it has strong opinions about which skeleton, which wig and which chocolate, and the person buying for them has none. A list closes that gap, and it stops the third plastic pumpkin from arriving.

One good decoration beats a bag of small ones

The decorations that come out again are the ones that look fine in a normal room in October. A cast-iron candelabra with LED taper candles, a black table runner, a large ceramic pumpkin from a homeware shop like Søstrene Grene or H&M Home. Put one or two of those mid-priced pieces on the list and they get used every year.

The animated things are the ones to think twice about. A pricey motion-sensor skeleton gets one evening of attention from the neighbours' children and eleven months in the garage. Put it on the list only if you have somewhere to store a skeleton that is a metre and a half tall. Projection lights that throw moving shadows across the front of the house are the exception; they pack into a shoebox and do the work of twenty decorations.

Themed tea towels and salt shakers are filler. Leave them off; people buy them anyway.

Ask for costume parts

A complete costume in a plastic bag fits nobody and falls apart by eleven. List the parts instead. A good wig (Arda or a theatre supplier, mid-range in price and worth it next to the cheap supermarket one), a proper makeup palette such as Mehron or Kryolan, a cloak or a long black coat that survives a walk in the rain, and shoes you can stand in for four hours.

Put sizes and colours on every line. A wig in the wrong shade is a wig nobody wears.

For the person who makes their own, a sewing kit that goes beyond the hotel freebie, fabric paint, a hot glue gun and a roll of foam sheet cover most builds. That is a better gift than a finished costume for someone who enjoys the making.

Treats that outlast the night

Sweets go stale by mid-November, so lean towards things that get opened over the whole month. A box of dark chocolate skulls from a real chocolatier, a tin of seasonal tea, a bottle of something spiced. The five-kilo bag of mixed sweets for the door is not a gift; buy that yourself.

Books and games hold up better. A Shirley Jackson or a Stephen King hardback, Mysterium or Betrayal at House on the Hill for a games night, a boxed set of the old Universal monster films. A subscription box of "spooky goodies" is the one to avoid: three months of novelty for the price of one good board game.

Things for families who go door to door

For a family with small children, the useful items are dull and get used well past October. A sturdy bucket or tote for the loot, a head torch each (the Petzl Tikkina is inexpensive) so nobody has to hold a phone, and a lightweight rain poncho that fits over a costume. A Halloween lunch box and a themed water bottle last until spring, which is more than the glow sticks manage.

Garment bags and a lidded storage box for the decorations are not exciting, and they are the reason next year's costume still has both sleeves.

Keep the list short and priced

Ten to fifteen items are enough. Spread them from cheap to fairly pricey so a colleague and a grandparent both find something, and paste the product link for each one. Happy Giftlist pulls in the name, photo and price, and a friend who reserves the candelabra stops the next friend from buying the same one. Mix a few things you will use all autumn with the strictly seasonal ones, so the list still makes sense to someone who opens it on the second of November.

You can create a wishlist in a few minutes and send it to the people who keep asking what you want. Do it in early October; the good wigs sell out.