Trick-or-Treating is the obvious favorite Halloween tradition among kids but with social distancing procedures in place, 2020 may not be the best time to go knocking door to door for treats. Here are some alternative Halloween night activities that will make your kids forget all about trick-or-treating:
- Candy Hunt
Who said that hunting for candy had to be an Easter thing? Hide candy around your house and yard and let the kids find them all. Might want to pick up a few plastic mini pumpkins to put the candy in if you’re planning on doing it outside. - Virtual Costume Party
One of the most exciting parts of trick-or-treating is seeing what all of your friend’s costumes. Host a virtual costume party with their friends so they can show off their costumes. Combine it with a Halloween movie watch party or a virtual pumpkin carving night to make it feel like they are all together. - Virtual Trick-or-Treat
Your adult friends/family without kids are definitely going to be missing out on seeing costumes so get them involved as well. Have your child(ren) go door-to-door virtually via video call and ask each responder “trick-or-treat.” Warn the person you’re calling ahead of time and have them have a “trick” set-up. Whether it’s their dog rolling over, a riddle, or a weird handstand they can still do, the sillier the trick the better. This will take some pre-planning and cooperation from your friends and family. - Candy Bomb Some Friends and Neighbors
Love handing out candy? Make some treat bags and go around and drop them off on their doorstep. Collaborate with a few others in your neighborhood and have them do the same. This will make sure your kiddos have some treats to open as well. [Make sure if you cross paths with others to maintain six feet of distance!] - UNICEF Virtual Trick-or-Treat
UNICEF is still sending out virtual boxes for donations this year. With such an important cause that benefits children, we don’t want them to miss out on their number one day for donations. They’ve set-up online-activities and games for kids to play to earn Trick-or-Treat coins that translates to real earnings. Children are then able to choose where they’d like to donate their earnings, empowering them to make a positive impact. Learn more here. - Pumpkin Carving and Movie Night
Make it a day of activities with pumpkin carving and decorating in the afternoon with a movie night in the evening.
Here are some great G-rated Halloween-themed suggestions:
– Monster’s Inc.
– ParaNorman
– Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie
– It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
– Boxtrolls
– Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit
– Double, Double, Toil and Trouble
And some PG-rated Halloween movies that aren’t too scary:
– Halloweentown
– Casper
– Scared Shrekless
– Hocus Pocus
– Hotel Transylvania
– The Little Vampire
– Frankenweenie
– Coraline
– Scoob!
– Monster vs. Aliens
– The Nightmare Before Christmas
– Goosebumps
– Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone - Bonfire and Ghost Stories
Your kids want a little bit more spooky in their life? Set-up a bonfire in the backyard, roast some marshmallows and make some special S’mores by letting the kids choose what candy bar to put in the middle. Then tell ghost stories you remember from when you were a kid. Here’s a collection of stories you can draw from if your creative juices aren’t flowing: https://koa.com/blog/kid-friendly-spooky-campfire-stories/
The most important part is for everyone to dress up, get in the spooky spirit, and have fun! Not every Halloween will be like this so make the most of having family close together.