If you find yourself at home instead of trick-or-treating with friends, or showing off your costume at a Halloween party this year, here are some spook-tacular ways to create memories with your own Halloween festivities:
1. Dress up in Costumes as a Family and Take Silly Photos
Even if you didn’t plan to dress up this year, you can look in your closet and put together looks from your wardrobe or kids’ dress-up clothes. Take photos and share them with family and friends!
2. Don’t Forget a Spooky Spread
Food should absolutely be part of the decor. You don’t have to make anything too fancy, it should just be tasty, easy to eat, and of course, look scary! Think hot dogs cut like fingers, witch’s brew green juice, pizza with toppings like a jack-o’-lantern face, peeled grape eyeballs, and so on. As long it’s on theme, it works. For dessert, you could also bake or buy plain cookies or cupcakes for everyone to decorate with Halloween-themed icing and sprinkles.
3. Build a Blanket Fort for a Movie Night or Scary Stories
Movies are a great way to set the mood for the scariest night of the year. Depending on the ages of your children, these movies could range from It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown! to Friday The 13th. Check your streaming providers for what’s available now.
Watch the movie from inside your fort, and tell stories in the dark with a flashlight afterward. Or you can skip the stories if the kids are too sleepy…or too scared!
4. Have a Zoom Party with Friends
If your friends want to be in on the fun, you could organize a Zoom party. Different members of each family could read stories out loud or you could all play games like bingo or Halloween-themed charades.
5. Organize a Family Scavenger Hunt for Hidden Candy
Even if trick or treating isn’t happening in your neighborhood this year, that doesn’t mean you can’t have candy! The adults (or kids if they wish) can leave clues for the other family members to follow in order to find hidden treats all over the house or even the backyard.
6. Each Family Member Can Paint Their Own Pumpkin
This is another activity that can be just with your family or can involve other families. It can be just for fun, or even a friendly competition! Even preschool-age children can have their own mini pumpkin and paint to their heart’s content. Share photos of your pumpkin art with everyone in the group!
Whatever you decide to do, I hope you have a fun and safe Halloween with your family!
