Spooky season is upon us! Kids are getting their costumes ready, scoping out the perfect basket or pillow case for their candy and pumpkins are all about.
For parents, however, this time can be a little stressful, knowing the hazards and dangers trick-or-treating could create. When your children trick-or-treat, they are out at night and receiving candy from perfect strangers. This can lead any parents to be a little concerned and worried.
The good news is you can still enjoy a fun monster mash or spooktacular get-together in your own home with these fun trick-or-treat alternatives.
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Every kid loves Halloween because…well, free candy. While there’s no need to remove candy from the scenario, making your at-home Halloween celebration about more than just trick-or-treating is a great way to keep the kids and adults engaged and having fun. You can still offer a trick-or-treat of sorts, but make it creative and fun. Some options to keep it about more than just the candy include the following:
Sweet Treats in New Ways – Let your kids bob for apples, and then get caramel apples when they’re finished.
Competitions – Create silly games like Halloween monster trivia (or one of these fun Halloween games) or costume contests where the winners get candy.
Indoor Haunted House – Create a spooky and scary haunted house in the comfort of your own home. Let your children and friends go through it, getting haunted and receiving goodies along the way.
Dance Competitions – Have a monster-off during classic Halloween songs where the winners receive a lot of sweet treats.
Spooky Stories
Gather around your fire pit if you have one, your indoor fireplace, or even just in a circle with a flashlight. Let everyone take turns telling ghost stories and trying to scare one another in a fun way. Your children won’t even miss running around the neighborhood once they discover the spine-tingling fun of a spooky story told at home. You can spice up the spooky story time with treats and prizes for the best story.
Pumpkin Carving and Crafts
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Keep everyone engaged with the option to carve pumpkins on Halloween instead of beforehand. Plus, you can offerfun crafts for everyone, from children to adults. You can paint some fun decorations, make spooky candles, and even do some spooky treat baking to keep the fun flowing. The pumpkin carving can be themed and have prizes for different pumpkins that come closest to the desired theme.
Keep the Teens Engaged
Trying to keep teenagers home on Halloween is difficult since trick-or-treating or teenage parties are aplenty during that time. But, create a fun space for them to hang out in, and they may find themselves wanting to stay home.
You can decorate the basement in a spooky way and let them have a scary movie marathon or let them have a fun slumber party with their closest friends. Encourage them to do Halloween makeovers or spooky nails or to have competitions to see who they can jump scare the most.
Go Nuts with Decorations
Go ahead and allow yourself to create the spookiest house on the block with indoor and outdoor decorations. Go beyond the inflatable Frankenstein and Dracula decor by adding skeletons, spider webs, and even flashing lights. Plus, you can find unique garden decorations just for Halloween that spice up your outdoor scene with spooky fun. Go ahead and go crazy; Halloween is just once a year anyway!
Music
Don’t forget to create a Halloween playlist or score one of the premade ones from your favorite music streaming service. Make sure everyone is enjoying the pumped-up and scary jams, plus the Halloween classic everyone expects at your party. If you want your spooky dance floor to stand out even more, swap out your light bulbs for fun black and orange bulbs to create the ultimate atmosphere for scary dancing.
Scary Movies
Go ahead and have a scary movie montage going on in the background of your party. Or, better yet, project a scary movie onto your garage door for some fun outdoor viewing. The neighbors will love joining in the fun and taking in some scary scenes as well.
Dress the Part
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Whether you’re a costume-wearer or simply want to dress up for the holiday, there are fun ways to dress up for Halloween and look great while doing it. You can wear some black jeans and pair them with a pumpkin sweater and these cool “Glam Pumpkin” earrings, or do your makeup in a spooky style and show off your hauntingly good looks with cat-eye eyeliner and a smoky eye shadow combo. Another option is to rock some pumpkin slippers and comfy Halloween sweats to stay relaxed but fashionable.
Franken-Food
There’s no shortage of creative ways to feature food and drinks at your stay-at-home Halloween get-together. You can make Halloween-inspired cocktails or fun pumpkin cupcakes with scary faces painted on them. Garnish your desserts and drinks with gummy worms or plastic spiders for a fun added flourish. There are plenty of ways to feature scary and tasty food and drinks during your at-home Halloween to keep everyone munching the night away.
Most Importantly, Enjoy a Stress-Free Night
While your children may have some qualms with the at-home Halloween, after they see the incredible decor, food, drinks, and contests to enjoy, they won’t be wanting anything anymore. Create lasting memories by capturing the joy on your children’s faces as they explore the spooky wonderland you’ve created at home.
Engage in Halloween traditions that can become cherished family rituals, like pumpkin carving or telling ghost stories by the cozy fireplace. Embrace the togetherness of this unique celebration, reinforcing the bonds that make your family’s Halloween truly special.
Enjoy a fun and stress-free night knowing your family is safe and at home where you don’t have to follow their every move and worry about every door that opens for them. You can relax in your comfortable Halloween costume at home and smile as your family enjoy their night as well. Go ahead and live it up in the spookiest way possible, savoring these unforgettable moments with your loved ones!
