Right next to Christmas, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, so it’s no secret I’m a little sad that it won’t be the same this year. However, I still intend to make the most of it, and you can too! Here are a few tips to celebrate the spooky season while still being safe!
Watch scary movies!
The Clarion’s Associate Editor wrote a list of the best 31 Halloween movies streaming online, so this is the perfect time to grab that list or a list of your own, and settle in with spooky snacks and a blanket or two to have a good old fashioned movie night! If you’re looking to spice it up a little, you can hang up a sheet in your backyard or in a room of your house and project the movies onto the sheet for that authentic drive-in feel. Dress up in costume and have fun with it!
Make Your Own Trick-or-Treat!
Whether or not your town is doing trick-or-treat, you may not feel safe taking your kids out during the Pandemic. However, for most kids, trick-or-treating is a staple of the year and something they look forward to, so how can you still let them enjoy it while being COVID safe? One of the easiest ways is to set up a mini trick-or-treat at home. Get a couple of bags of candy and let your kiddos come up and get them from a bowl, or even make it a sort of treasure hunt by hiding the candy in the house and outside for them to find. If you yourself want to enjoy trick-or-treat, do it with your family, no matter their ages, or your roommates!
Have a Costume Contest!
Sure, you can’t go out and go to a real one, but that doesn’t mean you can’t encourage friends to dress up and host an online costume contest or do one with your household! Get creative, and if you can’t go to the store or don’t want to, use items you already have to make your costume! Some of the best and most creative ideas can come from the simplest things, so dig deep and get festive! For prizes, you can get candy for your household, or for friends, make them something or send them something!
Decorate Your House!
Even if we can’t have Halloween like normal, nothing is stopping us from decorating, and many people already have lots of decorations lying around from previous years. If you want something new, make your own decorations from things in your house! Paper, sheets, and more can all be repurposed into decorations with a few simple steps. Plus, driving around and looking at decorations can be a safe, yet festive and fun activity for you or you and your family during this season!
Do COVID Safe Activities!
Some Halloween events, like trick-or-treat and haunted houses, have been modified to fit with the current situation. Many places are doing a modified trick-or-treat, where families can drive up and (with masks on) receive candy and small little gifts from various places, like Lowes for instance. Other places have turned their haunted houses or haunted trails into a drive-thru style, where you can enjoy the spooks from your car! In Medina, Ohio, there is a drive-thru haunted car wash, so you can wash your car and get spooked at the same time!
Jeri Hensley
Creative Director/Reporter