Get your pumpkins, witches, and spiderweb decorations out because spooky season is here! Halloween is approaching, and we can already taste the candy corn and chocolate. Although this Halloween may look a little different than previous years, it has the potential to be the best one yet. While door-to-door trick-or-treating may not be an option, there are still several fun alternatives to celebrate this holiday while staying safe and abiding by CDC guidelines . With Halloween falling on a Saturday this year, there are so many ways to spend the entire day celebrating. See seven suggestions from Medium to get you in the Halloween spirit while social distancing.
Dress Up Your Pet
Get your pet involved in the Halloween fun this year by dressing up your furry friend! Invitation Homes is holding a pawlloween giveaway this week, and we want to see your pets rocking their best costumes. Follow along on Instagram to enter the daily giveaways.
Haunted Fort
If you’re searching for a kid-pleasing Halloween activity, you’ve found the one. A haunted fort is the perfect place for all your favorite Halloween festivities like watching scary movies, eating junk food, and telling ghost stories with flashlights. And the best part is, you already have all the materials you need to build a fort right in your home. Pull together pieces of furniture and drape some blankets across them. Make it haunted by adding Halloween décor such as cobwebs and spiders. You could also create a haunted fort outside with a playhouse or tent.
Spooky Dinner Party
Get out all your baking ingredients and whip up some spooky treats. There are countless Halloween inspired recipes online from mummy hotdogs to eyeball cake pops. Try making witch brooms using small pretzel sticks and miniature Reese’s cups or carve a jack-o-lantern face on Mexican stuffed peppers using orange bell pepper, black beans, rice, taco meat, and cheese. Set the table with Halloween-themed plates and napkins, along with a candlelit centerpiece. You can make this dinner as simple or as elaborate as you’d like and encourage everyone to arrive in costume!
Face Painting
Most costumes require makeup or face paint so this Halloween activity is a must! Whether it be painting tiger stripes or dog whiskers, face painting is an inexpensive and fun bonding activity to do with the whole family. If you aren’t as skilled with a paint brush or don’t know where to start, Pinterest has great photos and how-to guides to reference. You can also just hand the paintbrush over to the kids and let their creativity take off. Check out these kid-friendly washable face and body markers for creating a mess-free Halloween makeover.
Pumpkin Carving
Probably the most classic Halloween activity, pumpkin carving is fun for the entire family. Buy everyone a pumpkin and make it a competition! See who can carve the scariest jack-o-lantern or get creative and carve different designs and faces. This carving kit from Amazon is inexpensive and comes with all the tools and stencils you’ll need. Not only will this get you and your family in the Halloween spirit, but the finished pumpkins will also make great front porch décor.
Backyard Ghost Stories
Gather around the fire in your Halloween costumes for backyard ghost stories. Tell your most haunting tales over some s’mores with your family. If you don’t know of any scary stories to share, check out this blog for kid-friendly spooky campfire ghost stories. Also, if you don’t have an outdoor firepit, no worries! Grab some chairs and a lantern or use an indoor fireplace and turn out the lights.
Halloween Movie Marathon
Halloween movies are the perfect source of nostalgia that we could all use right now. There are so many classics to watch, there’s no way to only choose one! Let everyone in the family pick a Halloween movie they’d like to watch and make a marathon of it. Make some popcorn and get out your buckets of candy. If you have the space, you could also do your movie marathon in the backyard with a projector and some sleeping bags. Either way you do it, this Halloween activity is sure to get you spooked.
One-Way Trick-or-Treating
While traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating carries high risk for catching COVID-19, the CDC states that one-way trick-or-treating can be a safer option. If done appropriately, one-way trick-or-treating will allow your kids to still dress up in their costumes and go from house to house to get their Halloween candy fix. According to the CDC, if you participate in one-way trick-or-treating you should line up individually wrapped bags at the end of your driveway or yard for families to grab and go. It is important to note that if you participate, you should still be practicing social distancing. If you are preparing the goodie bags, make sure to wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. For more information on one-way trick-or-treating or how to celebrate Halloween this year, reference the CDC Halloween guidelines .