Saving Halloween: Celebrate 2020 Style

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My son has been asking about Halloween for months. Kids just love Halloween. Dressing up, getting candy, play games…it’s a kid’s dream. Unfortunately, this year’s Halloween is going to look a bit different. Many of our traditions are going to be canceled or not recommended because of COVID-19 (here’s a ranking of activity safety and here’s an article about not canceling Halloween…just remember you do you and what you’re comfortable with). However, that’s not going to stop us from celebrating….we’ll just have to be creative and come up with some ideas.

Here’s a list of a few things to celebrate Halloween this year. I like to think of Halloween as celebrated throughout the month with the big celebration on the actual day of Halloween (like dressing up, games, etc).

Pumpkin Patches

I know everyone has different levels of what they are comfortable with right now. I totally get it! My family is cool with things that are outdoors, so if you feel the same you should check out a pumpkin patch. Most farms have more than just pumpkins these days - tractor rides, hayrides, corn mazes, pumpkin slingshots, and more. We’ve already gone to Picha Farms and had a blast. For more farms, check out these sources:  South Sound Patches, Parent Map Pumpkin Patches and Corn Mazes, and Love Tabitha’s South Sound Patches and Fall Fun.

Movies and Shows

Get in the mood and watch some spooky, or not-so-spooky, movies at home as a family. We’ve safely (as in, not too scary) watched:

  • If You Give a Mouse a Pumpkin (Amazon Prime)

  • Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest (Amazon Prime)

  • Pocoyo Halloween Space Halloween (Netflix)

  • Hotel Transylvania (Hulu & Netflix)

  • Vampirina and Super Monsters

For more movies and shows, check out this Netflix list. 

House Decorations Drive Around with Music

At Christmas we drive around and look at lights, so why not drive around and look at Halloween decorations. I think people are doing more decorating this year to make up for the weirdness that is this year. We love to listen to Purple People Eater by Sheb Wooley, Spooky Scary Skeletons by Andrew Gold, This is Halloween from Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack, Monster Mash by Bobby Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers, Thriller by Michael Jackson, and Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr. For more songs, here’s a great list! 

Costumes

I asked my son yesterday what was his favorite part about Halloween. It wasn’t getting candy, it was dressing up in costumes. Score, this is an easy one to make happen. We got our costume at Spirit Halloween, but they are all over. Some places you can look: Costco, Target, Amazon, Walmart, Pottery Barn, Party City, Oriental Trading, Etsy, and even toy stores have some costumes. This year Caleb and Wesley will be Ghostbusters. 

Pumpkin Carving

Growing up we always carved our pumpkins just a few days before Halloween since once you cut the pumpkin it begins to rot rather quickly…yuck! You want a fresh pumpkin on Halloween! There are some methods to help your pumpkin last longer, though, if you want to try to do it earlier. 

Generally, I use a kit to carve our pumpkins — one of those you can pick up at the grocery store or Target. Last year I just printed out the design, batman, and then used a pin to poke dots along with the design into the pumpkin and I used that when cutting it. It worked great. In past years, I’ve also used the patterns you can paste onto your pumpkin as well. Although I’ve not done it myself, there are other ways to decorate that don’t require cutting like paint or props.

Another idea: If you get your neighbors involved, you can have a pumpkin decorating contest! Just walk around and see each other’s pumpkins on their porch and vote via text message or put a box at one of your doors for the votes.

Games

I’ve come across a TON of games to play on Halloween (especially from this Country Living list and from Oprah’s list here). Some you can just make at home and some you can purchase (check out Target). Here are a few I think would be a spooky good time:   

Eyeball Dig

I feel like this is a totally old school idea, but just make a big bowl of spaghetti and add some grapes. Then you blindfold and search for the “eyeballs” (aka grapes).

Tower of Terror Cup Knock-Down

Stack up pyramids of cups (extra credit if they are orange, black or Halloween themed cups) and then have the kids throw a ball to knock them down. Try to get them all! Or try this Pumpkin Chicken' game that is a bit more involved, but totally fun.

Pin the…on the…Pumpkin

You can do this a bunch of ways: pin the eye on the zombie or monster, pin the spiders on the web, pin the skull or bowtie on the skeleton, or the smile on the jack-o-lantern.

Spooky Bowling

You could use toilet paper (seems fitting for this year) or cups to make the pins. Then use a small pumpkin or just a ball (cleaner!) to do the bowling. For a more advance setup, try this Pumpkin and Ghost Bowling.

Eyeball or Pumpkin Hunt

Just like an Easter egg hunt, hide googly eyes or mini-pumpkins around the backyard (or in the house) and have the kids find them.

Pumpkin Drop

I liked this idea from “Get Your Holiday On” where you use an empty toilet paper roll and you balance a pumpkin on top and have to make it a certain distance.

Halloween Bingo

Our preschool teacher told me Caleb was super into the Bingo game they played in class. So, why not Halloween bingo. Here’s a great, free printable. Then use some candy corn as the chips/placeholders on the board.

Halloween Cornhole

If you have cornhole already then you could just decorate it a bit and boom…Halloween game.

Candy Time

If you’re not trick-or-treating, then let’s find another way to collect some candy! Here are a couple of ideas:

Piñata

I found an awesome skeleton piñata at Walmart which we will knock down with our neighbors for a whole lot of candy! I saw piñatas for sale at Party City and Oriental Trading Co, too.

Game Tickets for Candy

Get tickets for participating in the games, and then exchange the tickets for candy!

Poke-A-Pumpkin

Basically, you put some tissue over cups and then glue the cups to a board…try forming a pumpkin. Then you take to poke through the tissue to find your reward…candy! Here’s a tutorial if you’re interested.

Drinks and Treats

Don’t forget to eat! Maybe a spooky spaghetti dinner or these adorable ghost meatballs!! And mix up some witches brew. In the past, I made orange pumpkins and mummy muffins. Head over to Half Baked Harvest for some other fun drinks and treats like Death Eater Negroni or Spooky Halloween Pretzels.

Are you doing anything fun? Share your ideas!