Celebrate Halloween as we explore the fun photos of classic Halloween parties (for adults) from the past.

This blog post will look at a collection of fun vintage Halloween costumes, the parties themselves, and the cool photographs that truly capture the spirit of the holiday. You will be amazed at the level of creativity people had back then, with costumes ranging from simple to elaborate, and sometimes just plain silly.

So come join me on a trip down memory lane to explore the wonderful world of vintage Halloween parties!

1950s vintage photo of a 1950s halloween party for Adult featuring Halloween decorations and Halloween party poster and lots of people in halloween costumes.

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay, are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Vintage Photos from Adult Halloween Parties 1940s-1960s

A 1967 Halloween party featuring a woman dressed up as Mae West and I’m going to assume the man is a fan (share your ideas in the comments section)?

Our Mae West costume in this photo is fantastic!

1960s vintage halloween photo from an adult halloween party in 1967. The couple is dressed up as Mae West and her fan.

Source: Archive.org

The next few images are from the same 1967 Halloween party as the one Mae West attended above.

2 Parisians walk into a halloween party and they are the life of the party! “Happy HOLLOWEEN!”

1960s vintage halloween party photo featuring a couple dressed a two french people. Photo is from a basement party in 1967.

Source: Archive.org

A man dressed as a bartender and a woman as a 1920s flapper pose for a picture at the same 1967 party (gosh this looked like a good time!

1960s vintage photo of a a man dressed as a bartender and a woman as a 1920s flapper pose for a picture at a 1967 party.

Source: Archive.org

The invisible man and a top hot wearing happy go lucky fancy dressed man also attended the 1967 Halloween party.

1960s vintage photo of The invisible man and a top hot wearing happy go lucky fancy dressed man at 1967 Halloween party.

Source: Archive.org

Last photo from the 1967 party and this fun couple all “decked out” in playing cards. What a fun costume if they are going as “decked out” (I thought card shark at first, but that did not make sense).

1960s vintage photo from 1967 of a Adult Halloween party featuring couples in vintage halloween costumes, like this couple covered in playing cards.

Source: Archive.org

1940s vintage photo of a adult Halloween party from October 1941 featuring a man dressed as cowboy, women as maids, spanish man, a boxer (maybe a wrestler) and other costumes. So fun!

1940s vintage photo of a adult Halloween party from October 1941 featuring a man dressed as cowboy, women as maids, spanish man, a bee and ladies with fantastic 1940s hairstyles.

Source: Etsy – JakeRoeBucks

1950s Halloween party featuring three fantastically dressed ladies. One is “Miss Burlap”, another is a Lucky Strike Box (this brand featured many times had a beautiful model on the ad), and another lady is a “don’t mess with me” cowgirl. How fun!

Further Reading: Fun & Wacky Vintage Beauty Pageants & Pageant Queen Titles

1950s vintage photo of a halloween party featuring a woman dressed as lucky strike cigarettes a woman as a cowgirl and another woman as a beauty pageant contestant..Miss Burlap.

Source: Pinterest

1940s photo. Another cigarette box costume (Old Gold Cigarettes), but this time with a matchbox and…?? I have no clue what the middle costume is but what creativity!

1940s vintage Halloween party photo featuring a cigarette box costume and a matchbox.

Source: eBay

Halloween party for the troops, October 25, 1943 courtesy of the Florida State Archives.

Personal note: I LOVE the 1940s hair in this photo.

Source: nationalww2museum.org

At this 1950s Halloween party, everyone is having fun and letting loose.

1950s vintage photo of a 1950s adult Halloween party featuring 3 women and a man. The man is in Lederhosen, while his partner is dressed in a dirndl skirt and peasant blouse. A woman is dressed up as a man in front of a woman in an eastern european outfit.

Source: Archive.org

At this 1960s party there is a hillbilly, and two lovely ladies in cute costumes. Everyone is so happy even our party pooper with no costume, guy.

1960s Halloween party vintage photo featuring a hillbilly, and two lovely ladies in cute costumes. Everyone is so happy and having a good time it looks like.

Source: eBay

1957-Our costume wearing ladies are in need of some diner food and shoes off at the end of a fun night.

1950s vintage photo of people dressed up in Halloween costumes at a diner.

Source: Etsy – Therescuedphoto

I feel like this party was pretty wild from the state of our “chef” and the look of the room. Good times at this 1950s party!

1950s vintage photo of a Halloween Party featuring guests in Halloween Costumes like a chef and a man in lederhosen.

Source: eBay

No costumes for the 1950 ‘Carrier’ Company Halloween party, just some Halloween decor and well dressed staff & their partners.

Further Reading: The Vintage Work Christmas Party

1950s vintage photo of a company halloween party featuring a halloween tablecloth and people gathered around it for a photo in early 1950s fashion circa 1950

Source: biblio.com

Thanks for dropping by friends!

Will you be dressing up for Halloween? Or going to any costume parties? Share any thoughts on this topic in the comment section below. I love hearing from my readers.

See other costume inspiration here:

The below images from the 1940s-1960s will supply you with some fun ideas on what to wear to your halloween parties if your looking for a ‘vintage halloween costume’ idea.

Further Reading:

Liz

Halloween is almost here and that means that bucket loads of candy and chocolate bars will be handed out to eager tricker or treaters. Cue the sugar high!

On a personal level, I love a good chocolate bar, especially anything with nuts. Yum!

So for oday’s blog post we are going to look back at vintage chocolate advertising from the 1920s-1950s, to get you in the Halloween spirit or maybe trigger that sweet tooth. Enjoy!

Further Reading: Vintage Halloween Candy Ads-1940s and 1950s

Vintage Milky Way Chocolate bar hallween advertisement. The vintage ad features a pumpkin "Smart pumpkin" eating a chocolate bar.

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay, are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Note: If the item you clicked on is no longer available, just do a search for like items. There are loads of vintage items being added to Etsy and eBay daily!

1950s vintage ad for Hollywood chocolate bars featuring an illustration of a 1950s woman.

Vintage Chocolate Advertising 1920s-1950s

Before we begin I wanted to share some cool Toronto, Canada chocolate industry history I recently stumbled upon. This is courtesy of the ‘City of Toronto‘ (because this is the city where I live).

Did you know that in the early decades of the 20th century, Toronto’s chocolate industry was characterized by the rise of three big players on the national stage: Neilson’s, Laura Secord, and Willards? Cool right?!

Let’s take a quick deep dive into their history.

Neilson:

William Neilson (1844-1915), who rose to prominence as an ice cream manufacturer, began producing bulk and boxed chocolate at his Gladstone Avenue plant in 1906 as a way of keeping his skilled ice cream makers employed during the slow winter months. By 1914, Neilson’s was manufacturing over 500,000 lbs of chocolate per year. When Neilson died in 1915, his son Morden took over the family business.

Under Morden’s tenure, Neilson’s would become Canada’s largest chocolate maker, famous for its Crispy Crunch (1923) and Jersey Milk (1924) chocolate bars, products that are still enjoyed today.

TTC transit advertising car card for Neilson’s 6 Centres chocolate bar. 1955 ad.

1950s Vintage Advertisement: TTC transit advertising car card for Neilson’s 6 Centres chocolate bar
ca. 1955
City of Toronto Archives
Series 244, Item 131

Source: City of Toronto

Laura Secord:

In 1913, Frank O’Connor (1885-1939) and his wife Mary (1878-1931) opened their first Laura Secord store at 354 Yonge Street, just north of Elm Street. Selling products manufactured in the kitchen of their upstairs apartment, O’Connor emphasized the quality, purity, and dignity of his chocolates – values that were embodied by the well-known historical figure chosen to be the name and face of the company.

By 1926, Laura Secord had grown into an international chain with 57 stores in Canada and another 19 in the U.S. under the Fanny Farmer brand.

1940s ad (candies was used for chocolate).

1940s vintage ad for Thanksgiving Laura Secord Chocolates (Candies) featuring a woman in a 1940s hairstyles and 1940s dress.

Source: City of Toronto

Willards:

Willards was founded ca. 1914 by E.G. Robinson, a former Neilson’s employee who has been described by one historian as having “a reputation in the candy industry for price cutting and the use of sharp practices to avoid paying his bills.” Willards, which became famous for its Sweet Marie chocolate bar, was also notorious for its role in a 1920s labour dispute known as the Chocolate Case. The company was accused of multiple violations of Ontario’s Minimum Wage Act for falsifying payroll records and underpaying its female employees.

1954 Willards Sweet Marie chocolate bar advertisement.

1950s Vintage Advertisement: 1954 Sweet Marie Chocolate Bar from Willards a Toronto, Canada Company.

More Vintage Chocolate Advertising…..

“Serve the Sampler after Sports”. 1920s Whitman’s Chocolates ad.

Further Reading: Vintage Tennis Outfits from the 1920s-1950s

1920s vintage ad for Whitman's Chocolates featuring an illustration of a woman in a tennis outfit

Source: Pinterest

1923 Rowntree’s Chocolates.

Rowntree: is a British confectionery brand and a former business based in York, England. Rowntree developed the Kit Kat (introduced in 1935), Aero (introduced in 1935), Fruit Pastilles (introduced in 1881), Smarties (introduced in 1937) brands, and the Rolo and Quality Street brands when it merged with Mackintosh’s in 1969 to form Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery. Rowntree’s also launched After Eight thin mint chocolates in 1962 (Source).

1920s vintage advertisement: Rowntree's Chocolates advert, 1923 featuring an illustration of a couple holding a box of chocolates.

Source: Pinterest

A very stylish 1920s advertisement for Milky Way Chocolate bars featuring two students in 1920s fashions enjoying a treat after class.

1920s vintage advertisement for Milky Way Chocolate bar featuring two stylish 1920s man and woman in 1920s fashions for this back to school ad.

Source: Dying for Chocolate

“Just out! LOWNEY’S “LONGFELLO” is Canada’s Latest and Finest $0.05 Chocolate Bar.”

Lowney’s was an American company who in the 1890s opened a branch of the company and by 1905, they had a factory operating out of Montreal (Source).

1930s vintage ad for Lowney's Longfello Chocolate Bar a Montreal Canada Company (Branch).

Source: eBay

1930s vintage ad for Nestle’s Puffed Milk Chocolate bar.

Source: eBay

“Have you tried FRY’s Chocolate Sandwich? A 1930s vintage ad.

1930s vintage ad for Fry's Chocolate Sandwich Bar featuring an illustration of three men looking at the chocolate.

Source: Alamy

I had to share another Whitman’s Chocolates ad because the Easter Bonnet featured in this 1940s advertisement is just incredible (hat by John Frederics–blog post to come on this talented man).