5 Family-Friendly Ideas for Halloween in the Time of COVID-19

Toni Cuenca via Pexels

The Halloween season is generally filled with trips to apple orchards and pumpkin patches, decking out your house, and having a frighteningly good time with friends and family. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, things are going to be pretty different this year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still celebrate. Here are some ideas to get those creative juices going so you can hopefully find something that will work for you and your loved ones.

1. Movie Night at Home

Grab a pumpkin-shaped pizza, get some caramel apples, and make some popcorn. You can even dress up if you want! Younger kids might get a kick out of Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest; It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown; or one of the Super Monsters movies on Netflix. For kids who are a little older, all of the Halloweentown movies as well as Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare before Christmas are available on Disney+. Teens might want to watch scary movies or have a little more fun and have their own personal midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Meatloaf, anyone?

2. Haunted House Scavenger Hunt

What about a “haunted house” hunt, either on its own or as a kickoff to movie night? All you need to do is hide candy or other goodies around your home, turn off all the lights, and give the kids a flashlight or even a LED taper candle to find their goodies. You can also use Easter eggs if you have any hanging around or these fun mini pumpkins. Keep the lights off after the treats have been found and enjoy your dinner with the spooky mood lighting.

Boo bags from Target’s “Hyde & EEK! Boutique.” Target

3. Secret Specter

“Boo bags” have been gaining popularity among neighborhoods in recent years, and with this year’s health considerations, they would be a great way to drop off spooky surprises for your friends and family while avoiding close contact. Have the kiddos help pack up a bunch of small bags with candy and small toys to bring to friends’ houses, or get together with others to do a “Secret Specter” gift exchange—like Secret Santa but for the spooky season!

4. DIY Candy Chute

Putting this creation in your yard is a super easy way to maintain distance while still handing out candy. If you use a scoop to load it and have kids hold their bags under the bottom of the slide, there is little to no physical contact. Plus, how fun will it be to build and decorate one? You could even do a themed yard and deck it out for even more thrills and visual appeal.  Totally the Bomb has some great step-by-step instructions and a video for making one out of PVC pipe, shown below.

Totally the Bomb

5. Halloween Carnival

Some of you may have a tight-knit “quarantine crew.” If that is the case, then a bit of sanitizer and a large open space like a backyard would be the perfect way to host a miniature Halloween carnival. Having a few games and snacks with costumed kiddos could be just the thing to cure your COVID blues, and having a treat bag to bring home makes candy distribution simple. If you do decide to go this route, please make sure that all in attendance are healthy, and anyone with contacts outside of the home (like work and school) is masked to keep everyone else healthy, too.

These are just a few ideas for this Halloween. It won’t be the same holiday that we’ve had in years past, but I’m sure we’ll be talking about it for years to come—just like the Halloween Blizzard of ’91.

Happy hauntings!