It’s time to start prepping for Halloween, but this year will be significantly different from previous years. Many of us will be at home this Halloween due to the worldwide pandemic, and you may be wondering what or looking for things to do at home on Halloween, not just for you but for the kids as well, but we’ve got you covered with a list of things you can do at home this Halloween.
We know most of you are used to dressing up in your favorite costumes and going trick-or-treating every holiday season. But if you’re thinking about forgoing that traditional activity this year, then here are some great ideas on how to celebrate from the safety of your own home.
1. TURN YOUR HOUSE INTO A PRETEND-HAUNTED HOUSE
Transform your home into a terrifying haunted mansion and make Halloween a memorable night. You don’t need to decorate your entire house unless you’re up for the challenge. You can simply decorate your garage or designate a room where you’ll work on your project.
Grab some chicken wire and cover them with sheets to create a ghost. It’ll look extra creepy when you turn off the lights.
Plan a couple of secret jump scares around the house, dress up as scary ghosts, witches, or vampires, and pop out when your kids walk by.
You can also add a couple of trash bags, stuff them with old newspapers or clothes, and shape them to look like human bodies. Use duct tape to hold the body parts in place. Then place the faux bodies in different areas of the house.
To add an extra touch of creepiness, hang raggedy old dolls from the ceiling. Show your hallways some love too by adding spider webs, creepy signs, and sounds.
Find a spooky Halloween sound playlist on YouTube and let the ghoulish haunted tour begin! And if you’re going all out this year, then set the ambiance with a fog machine.
2. CREATE YOUR OWN ZOMBIE SLIME
Nothing says Halloween like zombie slime. Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 Cup White school glue
- 1/3 Cup Liquid starch
- Food coloring
Mix the glue, the liquid starch, and the food coloring of your choice. We’d go with green since that’s more zombie-like, but red works great, too. Then start kneading it until it stops being sticky. Remember, the more starch you add, the thicker and less flowy your slime will get. You can also add some eyeballs, ears, and fingers to make it extra creepy. Just get a bag of Halloween party favors and let your creativity flow.
3. PUMPKIN DECORATING
Pumpkin carving isn’t for everyone. If you’re the type of parent who simply doesn’t have the patience to carve an intricate design, then trust me, you’re definitely not alone! You can create some Halloween pumpkins that are eye-popping and scary with just a few tricks. You can try a minimalistic approach and paint your pumpkins instead of carving them. You can paint them black and write words like “boo” in white paint. You can also mummify your pumpkin by buying beady eyes and then wrapping your pumpkin in gauze bandages. If you’re feeling bold, draw some eyes, add some fake lashes, and stick a pointy hat on top to create a witchy pumpkin design.
4. DIY YOUR OWN HALLOWEEN MAZE
Create your own Halloween maze that will challenge your kids and keep them guessing and giggling as they try to find their way out. Here are the materials you’ll need:
- Large Cardboard Boxes (You can get them on Amazon)
- Tape
- Large Binder Clips
- Scissors
Instructions:
- Map out how you want to set up the maze. Include the doors you want to cut in the maze.
- Draw the door on each box and cut out using scissors or a knife
- Set up the boxes using the layout you planned and connect them on top with binder clips
- Print out a few ghoulish (not too scary) characters you can add on the inside of the cardboard to surprise the kids when they turn a corner.
5. HOST YOUR OWN CREEPY MOCKTAIL TASTING
Mocktails are deliciously frightening non-alcoholic drinks that are as fun to make as they are tasty. You can make poison apple punch, zombie brains, mad scientist potions, and tons of frightful Halloween drinks that are sweet and spooky. Make sure to put them on display and have the kids guess what they’re made of.
6. PLAY HALLOWEEN TIC-TAC-TOE
Here’s what you’ll need to play Halloween Tic-Tac-Toe:
- A Wooden Tray, (size depends on how big you want your base to be)
- Rocks or smooth stones
- Multi-Surface Paint, various colors
- Paint Brushes
- Decorative tape
Instructions:
- Paint the rocks in different colors. Use a Sharpie marker to paint faces on the rocks. Make the orange ones look like Jack-O-Lanterns, the white ones look like ghosts, and the green ones look like Frankensteins. But you can also turn them into spiders or witches—the sky’s the limit!
- Cut some decorative tape and place it on the wooden tray until you create a pound sign.
How to play:
- The game is played on a grid that’s 3 squares by 3 squares.
- Players take turns putting their rocks on an empty square.
- The first player to get three of his ghosts, Frankensteins, or Jack-O-Lanterns in a row diagonally, across, up, or down, wins!
7. MAKE A HALLOWEEN SCAVENGER HUNT
Hide a bunch of items in your home, like a figure or a painting of a scarecrow, ghost, witch’s cauldron, spooky spider, candy corn, or a mummy. Then grab some index cards, write a couple of clues, and send the kids out to find the items. The winner could win their favorite candy or dessert, choose their favorite movie to watch at night, or get a whole week of not doing chores.
8. MAKE A HALLOWEEN PLAYLIST
Halloween songs will put everyone in the mood to celebrate! So here are a couple of songs you should definitely include to add a spooky ambiance to your home:
- The Monster Mash
- Ghostbusters Theme Song
- This is Halloween from “The Nightmare Before Christmas”
- I Put a Spell on You from “Hocus Pocus”
- Magic Dance from “Labyrinth”
- Thriller: Kids Halloween Party Remix
9. HAVE A SCARY STORY CONTEST
Have the kids pick out a scary (family-friendly) story online. The point of winning the contest isn’t about how scary the story is, but how scary the storyteller makes it. The more theatrical they are, the more extra points they’ll get. You can also get everyone to write their very own scary story if the kids are up for the task.
10. THROW A MURDER MYSTERY PARTY
Throw an unforgettable murder mystery party by having everyone sit down for dinner. Somewhere along the way, someone will turn off the lights. When the lights turn on again, someone in your group will pretend to have been murdered. The other family members will have to determine who among them is the pretend killer. Make sure to designate one person as the detective who interrogates all the suspects to figure out who the murderer is. You can DIY and create your very own Mystery Party, or you can hire a team of pros (actors) in your area and go on a wild goose chase to solve the crime.
11. MAKE S’MORES
Toast some marshmallows, place them on a layer of chocolate and Graham crackers, sandwich them with another cracker, and enjoy.
12. HAVE A GAME NIGHT
Try communing with the spirit world using an Ouija board. It’s fun and spooky, and you can even get the kids’ version on Amazon.
You can play the “Pin the Spider” game. Just draw a spider web on a piece of cardboard and tape it to the wall. Then cut out a spider on another piece of cardboard, add some tape to one side, and try pinning the spider to the web.
And if all else fails, try Halloween charades where everyone gets to mime a monster’s personality, and the rest of the family has to guess who they are.
