Spooky Fun Tips For A Safe Halloween

Finding Halloween activities the whole family will enjoy can be a challenge, especially if you’ve got a handful of young children to consider. As we transition back to realms of relative normalcy, post peak-COVID, many parents will be faced with the hard question of celebrating traditionally or finding some equitable alternatives. In both cases, we’ve got you covered.

Whether you’re staying in for the night or venturing into the spooky streets with your ghouls, goblins, superheroes, and princesses; we’ve gathered some fun tips and activities to help you and your family stay safe while enjoying the Hallows Eve holiday. Enjoy!

Staying In

1. Trick or Treat Treasure Hunt

Gather the little ones for an evening of fun, scouring the home for their favorite treats. In lieu of going door-to-door for their sugar rush, pick up some of their favorite candies and hide them in the places they’d least expect.

For added fun, have your little ones set about their mission in full Halloween attire (...you can even have them seek out the hidden ‘treasures’ while in character!). If you really want to go the extra mile, draw up some treasure maps and Halloween-themed clues for them to follow. Just remember where you hid it all or you may discover some unwanted chocolate on your clothes.

2. Spooktacular Snacks

If you have younger children, a sprawling Halloween treasure hunt may be a little too much to ask or practically unfeasible. Never fear, we’ve got more in our goodie-bag. Collect the young ones into the kitchen for some spooky Halloween treats that are as delicious as they are fun to make.

From ghost cookies and spider bagels, to s’more apples and chocolate-dipped pretzel sticks, there’s no limit to how creative your festive dishes can be. Once again, don’t forget the costumes (nothing says #instagram like a tiny baking zombie or a chef-Dracula).

3. Trick or Trivia

This one is great for the whole family (particularly if there are some years between your little ghouls and goblins). Grab yourselves a trivia game or create some fun questions of varying difficulty. Start each member of the family off with a set amount of candy, along with a large cache of candy to be claimed and won.

For each question answered correctly, a portion of candy will be given. For each question answered incorrectly, a portion of candy will be taken away. The winner is whomever has the most candy when the large cache is gone. But don’t feel restricted, this same approach can be taken with any board game, video game, or whatever else you can imagine.

4. Dashing Pumpkins

If your kids love arts and crafts, there isn’t much that’ll beat sculpting and decorating their very own jack-o-lantern. Eschew the store bought plastic molds and pick-up some ripe pumpkins (as well as plenty of glue, glitter, markers, yarn, etc.).

Whether you choose any number of pumpkin-sculpting kits or to use whatever you’ve got lying around, this gives your little-Picasso the chance to explore their creativity and imagination in a seasonally-unique way that they’re sure to brag about. When the final sculpture is done, help them add some finishing touches and present the dashing pumpkin outside for the world to see.

5. Scary Movie Marathon

When it’s all said and done, there’s nothing like a good old-fashioned scary movie marathon. No matter what streaming service you have, there’s always a bunch to choose from and plenty of thrills and chills to go around (though, we recommend Disney+). If your kids haven’t seen classics like Hocus Pocus, Halloweentown, or Casper--then you know they’re in for a memorable night. Get the popcorn going, some soda poured, and dim the lights for your spooky night of cinema.

No scary movie marathon is complete without a proper cover (for trembling under). The cozy velvet plush sheets from our Velvet Luxe and Printed Luxe collections or super soft polyester fleece sheets from our Christina and Dara collections are perfect for the occasion (...and the accompanying pillowcases make for excellent candy sacks).

However, if you plan on going out, the chances are you’ve already decided your ‘do’s’ and ‘don'ts’ for the night. If you haven’t, check out these tips and activities for your ghoulish evening adventure...

Going Out

1. Hand Sanitizer

Though the pandemic will soon be in our rearview, it’s important to remain mindful of harmful germs and bacteria (particularly if you plan on trick-or-treating this year). As a caution for yourself and your pack of kiddies, as well as a courtesy for your neighbors, keep some hand sanitizer and bacterial wipes on-hand for use between trips from door to door. Vaccinated or not, it’s still flu season and the last thing anyone wants is to start November with an avoidable illness (minor or otherwise).

2. Masking Up

Along the same lines as the previous tip, it’s important to mask up if we’ll be hitting the streets and traveling from one house to the next--collecting candy and anticipating the sugar-fueled stomach aches. However, this doesn’t have to be yet another exhaustive precautionary measure. In fact, if your child still hasn’t decided on a costume, it’s an opportunity to incorporate reality into the spooktacular night. Whether a doctor, nurse, ninja, or Deadpool--there’s hardly a limit to the number of characters whose identity is tied to masking up. This Halloween can be fun and safe at the very same time.

3. Creepy Crawlers (a.k.a. "The Parent Map")

If you’re still weary of bouncing around the neighborhood--where the only real looming spectre is uncertainty--then this one's for you. Instead of rolling the dice on random houses, get together with your close friends and parents of your child’s classmates.

Arrange a window of time for when you’ll be trick or treating and make your stops according to this pre-planned route. Not only does this help to alleviate questions of safety but it also gives each parent a solid idea of what to expect and how much candy to buy. Remember, community is king.

4. Goblin Get Down (a.k.a. "The Monster's Ball)

If trick-or-treating simply isn’t an option, you can also get together with other parents to arrange a fun Halloween function. Whether held at the school (with permission, of course), a park, a rented hall, or even your own home, this fun night of costumed games, contests, and movies is something you all can enjoy. This isn’t just a fun and festive way to celebrate the holiday, but it also allows the kids some time to hang out with their friends beyond the classroom, and gives each parent the opportunity to join in a collective sigh of relief.

5. Haunted House Bounce

If all else fails, there’s nothing as reliable on Halloween than the proliferation of haunted houses. Look them up beforehand and plan some visits to occupy your little one throughout the night. From wandering zombies and vampires, to witches, wizards, and potions, the immersive experience is sure to add some excitement to the evening (as well as some fun stories to share with them when they’re older). If haunted houses are a bit too intense, there are likely to be some lighter options including hayrides, pumpkin-patches, and town-sponsored events. In lieu of those, a scary movie in the theatre may work just as well.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this list of fun, safe Halloween activities and found some options that work best for you and your family. Remember, you can always mix, mingle, and string together any of these activities to craft yourself and your child a fantastic Halloween filled with sugary smiles. Enjoy the holiday!

As always…