It's the spooky season! I am not letting COVID-19 take away the fun of Halloween for my kiddos. I just plain old love Halloween - the movies, the season of fall, the candy, and dressing up! However, we have this pesky COVID-Creature hanging in the shadows. We just have to continue to follow the measures outlined by the CDC to keep ourselves and others safe. The CDC got nothing on my Halloween style though! Even though we're all running away from the COVID-Creature this year, we can still show we're not afraid to be undead!
The spirit of Halloween is even more important than ever as this is the first act of a trio of big social holidays. Close gatherings may be booed this year, but there are still a bunch of ways to make this Halloween even more special than Halloweens in the past.
How do you make Halloween as normal as possible? Sounds funny right? Halloween is anything but normal - Halloween is the only acceptable time to be anything you want, and to share your spooky side! I am going to show you 13 family-friendly ways to make Halloween memorable and a lot of fun -- at a social distance, of course.
I'd love to hear your thoughts, comment below with your ideas, or hit me up on my social media channels to start the COVID/Holiday convo!
Go Big and Stay Home
To make Halloween extra fun, overdo it with the decorating leading up to the big day. Prepare costumes for yourselves and your kiddos, and make sure you wear them all day! You can still have treats by having a Hallow-hunt, where you hide treats in eggs or just simply hide candy around the house, and have the kiddos fill their treat bags like that. You can still share candy with other boos and ghouls by hosting a grab and go style of treating, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, pack treat bags individually to make trick-or-treating easier for the kiddos.
Make it a Game Night!
Staying home on Halloween doesn't have to be a borefest. Goliath Games has a bunch of fun, family-friendly games that will give you a fright and keep you laughing.
Turn off the lights, and play the new game Johnny the Skull where you have to locate the pirate ghosts, and blast them back to kingdom come with your special Pirate Blaster! The winner who blasts the ghosts wins the treasure. You get extra bonus points for dressing up as a pirate. To make this game even more fun, create a real pirate treasure for the winner by filling a treat bag with chocolate gold coins, lollipops, and other goodies!
Make a Halloween themed pizza, and play the game, Burping Bobby! Feed yourselves while feeding Bobby the Hippo, but watch out - he burps! Play this game in a dimly lit room to add a spooky effect. You will be pleasantly surprised when he burps as his "gaseous fumes" have a blue-ish hue and you can see the burpy vapors leaving his mouth! It's a lot of fun, and the kids truly love this game!
The popularity of dinosaurs never goes away, which is why Dino Crunch is a great game to play on Halloween night! Watch the movie, Jurassic Park, and it will pump you up to rescue the dinosaur eggs that the T-Rex has stolen! You get bonus points for dressing up like the original Jurassic Park characters, especially Dr. Ian Malcom!
Another game that will add some excitement to your Quarantinoween is Rattlesnake Jake! It's up to you to take back the gold from this rattler! The rattle sound will give you goosebumps and the anticipation of Rattlesnake Jake snapping back at you will make you jump! You get extra bonus points for dressing up like the Crocodile Hunter! Triple bonus points to you for dressing up like Jake the Snake Roberts!
If you have older kids, check out the game BoomTrix, which is an action-packed game! You have to set up an obstacle course of mini-trampolines and ramps to get your ball to the finish line. You can also play a fun game of Totally Trivia. The winner gets extra candy, and the loser has to do the dishes.
Roast Pumpkin Seeds Together!
For a great Halloween game night snack, take those pumpkin seeds from your pumpkin carving session, and make roast some seeds - a healthy and quick snack!
Pumpkin seeds are super easy to make, especially for kids! Have your kiddos wash the seeds, they will love the slimy feeling and texture of the seeds allowing for a fulfilling sensory experience! Adults should take care of the tough stuff like oven preheating and drying. Kids don't dry the seeds that well, I
Preheat your oven to 350°F (177ºC). Remove the pumpkin seeds, clean them by rinsing them off in a colander. Pat them dry, you can leave some pumpkin strings on them. Toss the seeds in a bowl with olive oil and salt. If you want to add some more flavor and color, mix in some more dry spices like garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper. Layout the seeds evenly on a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup. Roast for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown all while turning them periodically for even cooking. I like mine extra crispy, so I keep them roasting for up to 45 minutes!
Decorate Like Your Life Depends On It!
Halloween is one night, but the days leading up to Halloween should be spooktacular. The kids will get excited about the big day and will boost their spirits. You don't have to break the bank to decorate though. The Dollar Tree has a great Halloween section with everything you need to show off your Halloween spirit. Plus, get the kids involved and craft up some decorations.
Conjure Up a Craft Session
In the craft section, I picked up this great cloche display with a faux wood base. I had so many ideas for this, but I wanted to keep it simple as I only found one of these gems in the entire store! To keep the integrity of the display, I just filled it with their battery operated lights. They look great on a table with other Halloween themed decor. By keeping it simple, I can turn this into something else for Thanksgiving and then Christmas.
Make Some Insects!
Spiders are easy crafts for kids, and you would be surprised how many they can turn out! To make some homemade spider, head to the Dollar Tree for a bag of colorful pom-pom balls, glue, piper cleaners, googly eyes, and cotton balls. Pre-cut the pipe cleaners by cutting them in half for the legs. I would recommend hot glue for this project, but if you have younger kiddos, regular school glue will do. Bend the pipe cleaners in half to create a spider leg, and glue to the pom-pom (add eight legs, or 10 if you want to be like really accurate). Add two googly eyes to each spider, and you've got some fun Halloween decor! Create your own spider webs by pulling cotton balls apart gently. You will be surprised how much you can stretch out of one cotton ball. Use some black yarn or twine, and hang them from the windows, and on doorknobs. Make up a story for the spiders, and how they turned all different colors. I think it will be a little hard to find just orange and black pom-poms at the Dollar Tree, but they definitely have an assortment in different colors and sizes.
Create a Spooky House
Turn your house or your front door into a monster by adding these giant monster googly eyes from the Dollar Tree! There are two per pack and two different sets of eyes to choose from, so go crazy - add them to the house, the trees, even your bushes! When adding the eyes to the bushes, make sure you give your bush a glow up with the battery operated lights. Apartment dwellers, add them to your windows, or your front door to show off your Halloween spirit.
You can also spruce up your lawn with Halloween-themed solar lights. They do sell out fast, so when you see them, grab them! There are three different varieties that I have found - ghost, jack-o-lantern, and an eyeball.
TP Your House!
Yes, I said that! Toilet paper YOUR HOUSE! What better way to celebrate during the Coronavirus then with some highly sought after TP. Get the cheapest toilet paper 2-pack you can find, and string the toilet paper on a tree on your own property. You can even wrap your front door like a mummy, and add in those monster eyes for a fun effect. Not only are you paying homage to a treasured prank, but you're also giving the old dead middle finger to the 'Rona.
Be Social at a Distance
If you got ants in your pants and must celebrate with other humans this Halloween, then please do it at a distance!
Host a 6-6-6 Halloween Parade
This may seem devilish to some, but it's all in good fun! Get some other families together to show off the kiddo's costumes with a Halloween parade. Do this right after work, around six o'clock, remember to stay six feet apart, and have already set up treat stations (six in total). The treat stations should have pre-packed Halloween treat bags for the trick-or-treaters to take easily. You can fill the backs with mini hand sanitizer, candy, and stickers. Extra points to people who dress up and scare the kiddos!
Outdoor Halloween Party
Host a small outdoor party for your family and close friends with Halloween treats that you can all create together, but apart. Each family comes with their own treats and activities for their kids, try to keep it simple and the same. Mom or dad can bake up some cupcakes, and their kiddos can decorate with orange frosting (vanilla frosting mixed with orange food coloring) and other treats. You can also mashup oreo cookies to create a dirt cupcake. Pour the oreo crumbles on top of the frosted cupcake, and then top with gummy worms. Parents should bring crafts for just their kids or even pumpkins to paint and decorate.
Pumpkin Patch Hack and Pumpkin Carving
Visit a pumpkin patch for some Halloween fun! If you can go on a weekday to avoid crowds, then that would be your best bet. With social distancing in place, there's no need to visit on a Saturday or Sunday - go early in the morning, or before closing for fewer people. You don't have to buy your pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. Instead, take some festive photos with the pumpkins. Bring an old white sheet for ghost pictures for Tik Tok in front of the corn maze. Drink some yummy cider and buy some roasted corn to nosh on! Then after all said and done, go to the supermarket and buy your pumpkin. I swear, it's the same thing, and it's a lot cheaper!
You can carve or decorate your pumpkin that night or wait it out. I feel like doing it the next day makes it more special, we can discuss how much fun we had at the pumpkin patch or have something to look forward to the next day. Drag out the carving and decorating the pumpkin to keep the excitement going, plus to give you things to do! The next night, set up a pumpkin carving and decorating station with kid-safe tools and paints. Don't forget to save the pumpkin seeds to roast them up for a yummy treat. I could eat pumpkin seeds all day. See my recipe above!
Make a Gingerdead House
Create a gingerbread house with treats and candies! You can buy pre-made sets from Target or create your own by baking gingerbread - check out that recipe here. If you have a Christmas-theme gingerbread house set, just switch out the Christmas theme to Halloween. This is a great idea for a socially distanced group session with the kids. Everyone should bring their premade ingredients and baking crafts so each child can make their own house. Host a contest to see who made the best Gingerdead House! I can't take credit for Gingerdead, check out this awesome Etsy seller that creates and sells ghoulish cards and cartoons! Keep watching this space as I brainstorm more ideas! Leave your Halloween party plan ideas in the comments below, and I'll share them!
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