Whether its for health and safety, personal reasons, or something else, many families are making the choice this year to forgo traditional trick-or-treating. Kids love Halloween and there are plenty of ways to celebrate Halloween without the ritual of going door to door. So tell kids, don’t despair, the Great Pumpkin will still arrive!
Peruse the following ideas and ask your kids which ones they would chose for this year’s Halloween celebrations.
Family Time
It’s safest to spend time just with your family so embrace the opportunity to create some new memories!
Perform Halloween Poetry! I’ve created a list of Halloween poems that kids will love. Pick one or more, read them out loud in your spookiest voice. For longer poems, assign a stanza to each family member.
Read Halloween books. We have some excellent lists!
- Halloween novels for reading aloud, scary and not-scary choices
- Halloween picture books with a self-esteem theme
- Diverse Halloween picture books
- Halloween early chapter books
Watch Halloween Movies. Common Sense Media has an extensive list of movies organized by age.
Organize a family Halloween minute to win it competition!
Go for a Drive. Get in the car and drive around to check out all the neighborhood Halloween decorations. This is an especially good idea if your family doesn’t decorate much!
Sweets and Candy
Make a Haunted Halloween Candy House! Turn gingerbread men into skeletons with a little icing, craft spiders out of licorice whips and tile the roof with candy corn! The Artful Parent shows you how.
Give Out Boo Bags. Boo bags are a simple way to spread cheer Halloween-style. But keep it simple! This post takes you through how to make a deliver boo bags.
Make Halloween cookies, cupcakes or other treats! Get out the mixing bowl and make some yummy treats. The internet is full of recipes like this Frankenstein Rice Krispie treats or this Halloween cookie pizza.
Get Outside!
You don’t have to ring doorbells to have a fun Halloween night.
Scavenger Hunt
Try a Halloween scavenger hunt. Make a check list of items for kids to find around the neighborhood. Ideas include: happy jack o’lantern, white pumpkin, giant spider, blue house, orange flowers, etc. Lots of bloggers have created scavenger hunts so you don’t have to do any work. Here are some great ones:
- Halloween letter hunt from Red Ted Art. I love how this can be a socially distant group activity.
- Halloween scavenger hunt printables:
- From Red Ted Art
- Pumpkin face hunt printable from Kids Activities
- From Edventures
Games
Socially distant games are here! Play these games outside if possible and don’t forget the mask!
Play Halloween charades! Here are some printable Halloween charade cards to get you started.
Arts and Crafts
Make Halloween finger puppets with our free printable!
Print out a costume coloring page!
Forget paper dolls! Make a jack o’lantern paper chain.
Have Fun
However you decide to celebrate Halloween with your kids, remember stay safe and follow the current health guidelines! The CDC has an extensive resource for Halloween, Día de Los Muertos and Thanksgiving in the social-distance age.
And if you still decide to go Trick or Treating, A Day in Our Shoes has a great safety check list.
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