Everyone knows about the typical Halloween experience: dressing up in costumes, getting candy from people around the neighborhood, staying up late into the night. But, not everyone enjoys, or is able to do this well known tradition. There are, however, many fun alternatives for everyone to enjoy.
If you don’t trust your street, or walking around the town sounds too tiring, try trick-or-treating with your own friend group. Have a handful of friends buy candy, or little party favors, and not tell anyone what they’re getting. So when the day comes, everyone takes turns ‘trick or treating’ with each other until everyone gets a bit of candy from each person. And the best part is, you can take as much as you want!
One activity you can do instead of trick-or-treating is having a haunted house in your own home/backyard. Turn off the lights, set up decorations, put on some costumes, and invite some friends over to navigate your very own house of terror. Don’t be afraid to get creative: get a fog machine to add some haze, have motion sensors play sound effects when they walk by, go crazy with the fake blood. Have fun!
Another way to get into the spooky spirit is making your own Halloween decorations. Make a spider out of a cup, or a ghost out of a napkin, make an alien out of clay, and let your imagination take over and make something really spooky. Need help coming up with ideas? There are countless projects out there on the internet!
Another classic alternative to trick-or-treating is a scary/Halloween movie marathon. Pop the popcorn, sit on the couch, and watch all sorts of fun things like Spookley the Square Pumpkin, The Thing, and Five Nights at Freddy’s. Spice up the night by inviting friends and seeing who can watch a movie without screaming the longest, or see who can pick the scariest movie.
If you happen to be a bit of a clothing designer, or you simply just like to sew, and you have a pet that’s willing to sit still, maybe try doing a spooky fashion show. Dress up your friend in as many costumes as you desire, from Frankenstein to a hotdog, the possibilities are endless! (IMPORTANT NOTE!! Always make sure anything around the neck is loose enough that you can get your fingers through it while the animal is wearing it. If your pet has a collar, use that as a reference for size.) Even though you may be having fun, do NOT force your animal to do anything it doesn’t want to do. If your animal is non-compliant, try using a stuffed animal or an action figure/doll instead.
If you have a costume, but you cannot go out for trick-or-treating, try costuming in the park during the day. If you get enough people to join you, you can even turn it into a costume party. This is an especially good time to show off your costume if you made it yourself, you can even do this for several days before/after Halloween.
If none of these alternatives are your style, then don’t be afraid to come up with your own ideas! Feel free to combine, or add onto these ideas, or come up with something completely different. Everyone deserves to have fun on a holiday like this, so whatever floats your boat is fine! As long as everyone is having fun.