In a world that’s been radically changed by COVID-19, Halloween offers a chance to create a basic sense of normalcy. While some things won’t be the same this year to help protect against spreading the virus, that doesn’t mean you can’t make the holiday fun. In fact, there are plenty of great ways to celebrate Halloween at home and even include your neighborhood in on the fun.
Make “Spooky” Foods
When celebrating Halloween from home, food can be a great way to get started. By making different Halloween-themed snacks, you can celebrate the spirit of the holiday and enjoy some delicious treats. Whether you choose eyeball-covered cupcakes, black and orange cookies, or a skeleton-shaped cake, there are lots of great ideas available online to help give you some inspiration.
Enjoy Some Halloween Tunes
Although most of the songs that are Halloween mainstays were written long ago, that doesn’t mean they can’t be used for the 2020 Halloween, as well. You can spend an evening with the lights off in your house, enjoying some of your favorite Halloween music cranked-up nice and loud. You can add some strobe lights and some red-colored lights to add to the theme, and you’ll be good to go.
Whip-up Some Halloween Crafts
Even if you don’t consider yourself to be exceptionally artistic, that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy creating some fun and creative Halloween crafts. You can opt for a Frankenstein puppet made out of a paper bag or a drawing of a spooky and intimidating haunted house. If you opt for a drawing of a haunted house, you can add to the fun by having each artist write a story about their picture to add to the spooky factor.
Carve A Pumpkin
The time-honored tradition of pumpkin carving will take on new significance this year since it is a great way to have fun while at home. To add to the fun, you can make an entire weekend out of it and head to a nearby pumpkin patch to pick your very own pumpkins. After you get the pumpkins home, you have fun scooping out the insides and making a squishy mess. Once the pumpkins are carved, you can have a contest to decide whose jack-o-lantern is the best and then roast the pumpkin seeds for a delicious snack.
Tell Ghost Stories
If you’re in an area where you can have a bonfire, one way you can use it is to sit around it and tell ghost stories. Even if you don’t have an outside space, though, you can still turn the lights off inside, grab some flashlights, and sit around with your family telling age-appropriate spooky stories. You can either choose to have each person tell an entire story, or you can tell a progressive story where each person tells the next part of the story.
Enjoy Some Halloween Movies
Halloween-related movies of both past and present are always a good distraction when celebrating Halloween from home. Of course, if you have a taste for the macabre, horror movies will probably be your go-to option. If you have children, though, you can substitute family-friendly Halloween films that everyone can enjoy together. No matter which type of movie you watch, though, be sure to make it extra fun by having plenty of yummy Halloween snacks on-hand to enjoy while you’re watching the movie.
Have Themed Family Costumes
Although you may not be able to go to Halloween parties or even go trick-or-treating, you can still use Halloween as an excuse to dress up in a ridiculous costume. To occupy more of your time, you can put in the extra work to make your costume instead of buying one from the store. For added fun, you and your family can decide on a theme to design your costumes around. That way, everyone can add to the theme with their unique costumes.
Go On a Hayride
If you’re not as into the gore and spookiness of Halloween, you can still enjoy the beautiful fall weather to enjoy some fun activities. One great fall activity is going on a hayride. If you can find a local farm that is able to offer socially distanced activities, see if hayrides are one of the activities on their list. Then, on the day you head out to the farm, grab a few blankets so that you and your family can snuggle up as you bounce along on your tour of the farm.
Do Some Reverse Trick-or-Treating
Although trick-or-treating may be canceled in your neighborhood this year, that doesn’t mean that you can’t still spread some Halloween cheer. If there are lots of kids in your neighborhood and you know where they live, you can go around to different houses and drop off simple care packages for the children to enjoy. Assuming that you already know your neighbors, this can be a great way to build neighborhood pride and ensure that everyone still has an enjoyable Halloween.
