Halloween looks slightly different this year, but don’t let it frighten you from having fun. Check out these great ways to celebrate Halloween safely during the pandemic.

When I was a kid, Halloween was the best. We lived in a rural area and had to drive around to all the houses. Since these people didn’t get a lot of visitors, they would hand out tons of candy. My brother and I would have to empty our pumpkins halfway through the night because they were filled to the top.

Now, however, Halloween has changed tremendously. We live in a small town now and not many people participate in Halloween anymore. Taking my daughter trick-or-treating looked a lot different than when I was little. She barely got enough candy to fill half a pumpkin, even though we visited way more houses than I did as a child.

This year Halloween looks so much different than any I’ve ever lived through. If we choose to go trick-or-treating this year, it is recommended that we stay in our own neighborhood, social distance, and wear a mask. I understand they are trying to help us celebrate Halloween safely, but they’ve completely taken the fun out of Halloween.

How to Celebrate Halloween Safely During the Pandemic

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Don’t let Covid-19 frighten you away from having fun this Halloween. Keep reading for some out of the box ways to celebrate Halloween safely during the pandemic.

1. Decorate pumpkins – Who says pumpkins have to be carved for Halloween? Pumpkins can be decorated in other ways, such as painted with paint or markers or turned into farm animals. Or, you can stick to tradition and carve a spooky jack-o’-lantern.
2. Roast pumpkin seeds – While removing the pumpkin guts before carving, set the seeds aside. Then wash the seeds, allowed them to dry, and roast them for a healthy snack!
3. Scary movie night – Spend the night indoors curled up with some popcorn, a warm blanket, and a scary movie. While the kids are awake, dress as your favorite characters and choose a kid-friendly spooky movie for everyone to enjoy. My favorites are “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” and “Monster House.”
4. Serve Halloween-themed dinner and treats – Decorate a pizza with toppings to look like a jack-o’-lantern, or wrap crescent rolls around hot dogs to resemble mummies. For dessert, have the kids decorate cookies shaped like ghosts and pumpkins. Include a bowl of green punch with “eyeballs” floating around inside.
5. Go for scavenger hunt drive – Pile everyone in the car and drive around to see all the Halloween lights and decorations. While you’re out, print off this Halloween scavenger hunt game, and mark off everything you see.
6. Backyard scavenger hunt – Hide some items in the backyard and have players search for them. This can be done during the day or make it more challenging and have it at night with a flashlight. I found these free clue printables on Pinterest that look like so much fun.
7. Have a candy hunt – Similar to an Easter egg hunt, a Halloween candy hunt is a fun way to celebrate Halloween safely. Hide some candy around the house and have everyone hunt for it. Or, if you have some plastic eggs leftover from Easter, paint them with glow-in-the-dark paint and fill them with candy and fun surprises.
8. Indoor trick-or-treating – Have adults hide in rooms with the doors shut inside the house. Let kids go to each door dressed in their costumes. Have them knock and say “trick-or-treat” to get a handful of candy and prizes.
9. Host a virtual Halloween costume contest – This is a great way to spend a fun night with friends and still celebrate Halloween safely. Have everyone dress up in their best Halloween costumes and use a platform such as Zoom to show off their costumes. Have a judge vote on the best!
10. Halloween crafts – Gather everyone together for a fun day of making Halloween crafts! You can find some great Halloween craft ideas on Pinterest, or try these fun DIY ideas.
11. Game night – Make it a fun night with some Halloween games. Make it interesting and whoever wins gets a bag of candy. Or you can grab a Halloween Mad Libs book and have fun making up hilarious stories.
12. Go “ghosting” – Make a goodie bag for a friend or neighbor and leave it on their doorstep with a note that says, “You’ve been ghosted!” Ring the doorbell or knock on the door and run!
13. Freeze dance party – Put on some Halloween music and have a freeze dance party!
14. Paint faces – Take turns painting each other’s faces! You don’t have to be an artist to paint someone’s face. And it will be fun to see what you look like afterward!
15. Fortune telling – Another great way to celebrate Halloween safely is to sit around some candles and tell fortunes. Create a paper fortune teller and let the fun begin!
16. Ghost stories around the campfire – Build a fire in a fire pit, grab everything you need to make S’mores, and head outside for ghost stories around the campfire. Tell stories of ghosts in your state or make up your own fun ghost stories.
17. Bob for apples – Don’t want to dunk your head into a bucket of water for an apple? Try this fun way to bob for apples instead. Thread a string through apples and hang them from something such as a clothesline. Tie the players’ hands behind their backs and have them try to bite the apples off of the line!
18. Halloween Pinata – Fill up a Halloween-themed pinata and have fun trying to bust it open!
19. Curl up with a scary book – I can’t think of a better way to relax on Halloween than to curl up with a good scary story. Some of my favorites are The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson and pretty much any of Stephen King’s older books.
20. Go to bed early – The perfect way to celebrate Halloween safely is to just crawl in bed and get a good night’s sleep!

I hope you got some great ideas from this list of ways to celebrate Halloween safely. What will you be doing for Halloween this year?