We all know that Halloween is going to look a little different this year, but we can still have fun and celebrate in fun, new, creative ways!
Have a Halloween movie marathon
Enjoy all of your favorite Halloween classics as a family on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon prime, and Disney+! Kids will love watching movies like Coraline, Nightmare Before Christmas, Frankenweenie, Hotel Transylvania, Paranorman, Descendants, Zombies, Hocus Pocus, and more! Make the night special with a bowl of Halloween candy, matching Halloween pajamas, halloween costumes, or making a variety of halloween-themed treats.
Also consider: Drive-in theatres or movies-in-the-park that are showing halloween movies
Attend a Virtual Halloween Party
The Pure Imagination Party Company is holding a Virtual Halloween Party on 10/31 at 1pm PST/4pm EST that includes 13+ surprise character appearances, a Halloween craft activity for kids, a Halloween sing-a-long, Halloween Dance party, costume parade, costume contest, raffle prizes, and much more! You can also throw your own virtual party on zoom using spotify or youtube playlists for a dance party, pinterest for halloween craft ideas, and inviting all of your friends to dress up in costume for a costume contest.
4 ideas for "Trick or Treat" substitute activities
1. Candy Hide and Seek - Hide Candy around the house for children to find. Make it extra hard by making it a "flashlight hunt" in the dark.
2. Glow in the Dark Egg Hunt - Hide candy inside glow in the dark plastic eggs and hide them outside in the yard or inside in the dark for kids to find. They'll love opening the eggs after the hunt to find out what candy they collected!
3. Trunk or Treat with families you know - Get a group of friends together, park your cars, and have kids "trunk or treat" to the different cars to collect candy. Wear gloves and masks for extra protection.
4. Candy Scavenger Hunt - Create clues that lead kids to different locations, and collect candy at each stop along the way. It requires some preparation, but the kids will sure to be talking about it for years to come. Start the hunt by handing the kids the first clue, which leads them to a first location. At that location, hand them candy for their bags, or have candy hidden for them to find. At the second location you can hand them their next clue and so on and so forth. They'll love finding a larger treat or treasure chest full of candy at the final location. Download Scavenger hunt clues
Play Halloween Games
Fun Halloween games can be played at home as a family, or with friends at a social distancing event or virtually on zoom! Ideas include:
-Halloween-themed Charades
-Halloween Pictionary
-Halloween Trivia
-Halloween Memory
-Halloween Bingo
-A Costume Contest
-Jackbox Games (including trivia murder party) -appropriate for older children and adults
-Virtual Escape Rooms
Attend a Drive-Through Event
Many organizations such as malls, community centers, and churches are hosting drive-through events where families are able to stay in their cars and still experience the fun! Kids may receive candy or goody bags, see characters, or see mini-performances. Check your local listings for events in your area.
Have a Craft or Carving Night
Get your kid's creative juices flowing with a Halloween-themed craft night. Ideas include:
-Carving real pumpkins, or carving craft pumpkins (that last forever)
-Painting pumpkins (like carving pumpkins, but without the gooey mess, and last 15x as long!)
-Make halloween-themed face masks (I mean, what other year will you ever do this? Seize the moment!)
-Check out pinterest for our board of Halloween-themed craft ideas
Surprise someone with a Halloween video message!
Send a Halloween video message to a child (or adult) who would get a kick out of hearing a personalized message from their favorite character. The Pure Imagination Party Company offers the following halloween-themed characters who can record customized 2-3 minute videos for your friends and family members: Maleficent, Cruella, Evil Queen, a Witch, Ursula, a Fortune Teller (comedic or real), Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas, Zed from Zombies, Mal or Evie from Descendants, Vampirina, Coraline, Miguel from Coco, or Hook!
Cook up some spooktacular treats
Let's be honest, this holiday is centered around eating some sweet treats and getting in the halloween spirit. Instead of just eating a bowl of candy on halloween night, make it an event by involving kids in making a spooky, halloween-themed Smörgåsbord of snacks. Check out our pinterest board for ideas of Halloween Cooking projects for kids. There are even some healthy snack ideas on there for a health-conscious halloween!
