By Caitlin Klutz
Reporter
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, making it a Hallo-weekend. For most people, this just means that there is more freedom than a weekday. If you think that you can’t celebrate and have fun while still being safe, I’m here to tell you: you can still have loads of fun. Even though some traditions have been changed drastically, there are still plenty of ways to celebrate this holiday. Here are some creative ways to celebrate this spooky holiday for all ages.
Indoor Activities
- Zoom costume party
If you want to see friends and family that live outside of your house, consider having a Zoom costume party. Show off your wicked costume with festive backgrounds on your screen, or even make a decorated background behind you as you’re on the call. You could even have a Zoom costume challenge – dress up in a category of everyone’s choosing with only the items you already have in your wardrobe or with other items that you can dress or accessorize yourself in. - Spooky movie night
For those who have younger children (or really, for anyone), you can always turn on a family-friendly film like Coraline, Frankenweenie, or Halloween Town, while dressed up. Pumpkin painting and carving has always been a safe indoor tradition (with supervision for the youngsters). Consider putting in an electric candle instead of a burning flame for added safety. For those with older children and anyone who would like to watch something a little scarier, go for platforms like Netflix Party. Participants can chat during the movie or show and pause everybody’s screen at any time. - Halloween-themed cooking
If you carve pumpkins, put those seeds to work by transforming them into tasty snacks, roasting them with salt, spices, or sugar! Dust off your culinary skills with Halloween-themed dishes, snacks, and desserts! Online cooking platforms like have plenty of recipes for Halloween themed dishes. Like a Halloween “CharBOOterie” Board, from Buzzfeed Tasty, transform a gingerbread house into a haunted house from Tastemade, or make “Mac-o’-Lantern” and Cheese Bowls, from FoodNetwork.
Outdoor Activities
- Haunted corn maze
If you are considering doing outdoor community activities, make sure the community events you choose to participate in are focused on safe ways to have fun. Though haunted houses are enjoyable normally, indoor close-contact activities aren’t recommended during this time. Corn mazes are fun for any age group, with proper distancing and wearing masks when there is anyone in a closer range of six feet. For older age groups, haunted corn mazes are a spooky way to spend Halloween, with pumpkin patches like Maris opening during the night for an older audience. The 35-45 minute walk through the maze is sure to give you a scare, but it should make customers feel reassured, with distanced scares. If they can scare you at a distance, imagine how scary it must have been in the years before. - Explore from a safe distance
On a lighter side, think about taking a lovely autumn walk in festively decorated neighborhoods before any trick-or-treaters or costume paraders walk the sidewalks and streets. You can even take a drive to explore different neighborhoods, looking from an even greater distance. - Sanitized trick-or-treating
For those who still want to hand out candy, think about making a creative candy shute. Some houses with raised porches have been using plastic pipes decorated with festive colored/themed Halloween tape to send individually wrapped bags of candy to trick-or-treaters at a safe distance and without any physical contact. Treaters drop the baggies into the entrance of the pipe, and it slides down right into the trick-or-treaters bag. Make sure that you either sanitize the baggies before opening them or leave them untouched in a spot for three days before opening.
