Spooky season is finally upon us! The weather has gotten colder, decorations have gone up, and memories of Halloween parties (like Bart Durham’s legendary Open House, costume contests, and trick-or-treating outings are fresh in everyone’s minds.
While this October 31 will be a bit different, everyone has opportunities to celebrate safely. If you and your family choose to enjoy more traditional activities, check out our blog here with tips on how to trick-or-treat, hand out candy, and find distanced events in your area.
However, if you feel safer staying home, read below for fun and creative ideas to make the most of your night!
If not spending Halloween with friends and family sounds like a bust, host a virtual party to continue your favorite tradition! Schedule a time to hop on Zoom or Facebook’s video feature and come prepared with fun categories to judge everyone’s favorite costumes.
With a little prior planning, can also stage a pumpkin carving or mask decorating contest. Carving kits come with tools, stencils, and everything else you need to create perfect jack-o-lanterns (except the pumpkin of course). Lastly, get everyone into the action with video chat games like Pictionary, Scattergories, and Heads Up.
Who doesn’t love something sweet - especially on Halloween?! This year, enjoy the challenge of baking some creative, spooky treats like mummy crescent dogs, gummy worm popcorn balls, and spider truffle cookies.
Wash them down with hot apple cider or party punch with easy and fun ice sculptures made by freezing water in food-safe rubber gloves.
If you’d weather not take a risk trick-or-treating this year, take your family on a scavenger hunt around the neighborhood! Make a list of all the spooky items you might find like spiders, black cats, ghosts, or witches. Then, put on your favorite costumes and walk or drive around to see who can check off their list the fastest.
Are your kids worried about getting their candy fix? Dust off your plastic Easter egg collection and create an eerie egg hunt! Paint or decorate the eggs with stickers before filling them with candy and hiding them around your home and/or backyard (you can also hide glow sticks for a spookier ambiance).
Then, give everyone a flashlight to search for this year’s candy collection!
You don’t need to visit a haunted house when you can experience thrill and chills from your living room! Grab some candy corn, popcorn, and gummy worms and kick-off a movie marathon.
Depending on your family’s taste and level of courage, you can choose less scary favorites It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken to fright fests like Halloween and It. You can even throw in some television episodes from “Stranger Things like S2E2: “Trick or Treat, Freak” or The Office like S7E6: “Costume Contest."