This year Halloween, by necessity is going to be very different. Due to Covid19, Trick or Treating is off the menu, but that doesn’t mean that Halloween is cancelled. All across the country in towns, villages and cities, people are coming up with innovative alternatives to the traditional Trick or Treat journey. In this article we take the best of these ideas in the hopes it will inspire your community too.
Scarecrow Trail
This one takes real community spirit! These days, almost every community has a dedicated Facebook page so it should not be too hard to get people involved. Participants make a scary scarecrow which, when complete, they display outside their home. Organisers create a map of all the scary straw monsters for children (and adults) to find. Some communities charge an entry fee for the scarecrow makers and have prizes for the scariest scarecrow with all proceeds going to a local charity, meanwhile adults pop sweets in the children’s buckets for each Scarecrow spotted.
Pumpkin Spotting
A Halloween take on the rainbows for the NHS, the concept is very simple. Those wishing to participate pin pumpkin decorations in their windows. These can be drawings, craft projects or shop bought decorations, if you’re feeling particularly adventurous it could be a real carved pumpkin. A great idea is to used battery powered LED fairy lights and pop them in the carved pumpkin – safer than a candle and less likely to keep going out, remember to buy external lights! Then on or near Halloween the neighbourhood children (of all ages) see how many pumpkins they can spot. Optional extra – parents can pop a sweet in the bucket for each one spotted. Caution: to avoid heavy lifting, use small individually wrapped sweets per pumpkin, because if this idea proves as popular as the NHS rainbows, you might find the bucket too heavy to carry!
Family Movie Night
It is a lot cooler in the evening, so if the thought of traipsing around your locality fills you with dread, then arrange a spooky family movie night in. Grab your favourite spooky, magical film selection, add some toffee apples, hot dogs and a baked potato and settle down to a cosy Halloween night in!
Pumpkin Carving Competition
Why not organise an online pumpkin carving competition through your community social media page. Warning: pumpkins are quite difficult to carve having very thick skins. This activity will definitely require an adult. If the traditional scary face is not for you, then check out these pumpkin carving ideas courtesy of Cosmopolitan.
Pumpkin Hunt
Using mini pumpkins, hide them all around the house (just like an Easter Egg hunt), when they are all collected, swap them for treats.
Scary Zoom Stories
Zoom calls are still very popular, especially if you are in a local lockdown area. Why not arrange a Scary Zoom night with family and friends, you can take turns to tell scary stories, run a Halloween based quiz, have a costume competition and even organise a scavenger hunt!
Make The Most Of It
Just because it is not a normal Halloween, it does not mean we cannot have some fun. However, you decide to spend Halloween, stay safe and have fun!
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