Keep Halloween from turning into a nightmare with these fun-filled ideas for celebrating Halloween in a pandemic.
Halloween is something most children look forward to throughout October. Who wouldn’t get excited to dress up and get free candy?! But this year, we are celebrating Halloween in a pandemic, and many parents have already decided to forgo trick-or-treating. In fact, in some states, it has officially been canceled by local government officials.
While the kids may be disappointed, you can assure them that Halloween is still able to be a blast without going door to door. These Halloween crafts and activities will help you celebrate the spookiest season of the year despite the pandemic. Who knows? You may even develop a few new family traditions along the way.
DIY Costume Crafting Party
One fun way to prepare for Halloween in a pandemic is a DIY costume crafting party. Get the family together and decide on a theme for your costumes, then get to work crafting them with things you have around the house. If you’re short on money due to hours being cut or job loss altogether, this can also be a great way to save.
Teaching the kids how to make their own costumes will not only save money, but it will give them the opportunity to create a unique look entirely their own. There’s no shortage of tutorials on Pinterest that will help you recreate some of the most popular kids’ costumes and iconic characters.
Find Ways to Free Up Money
Speaking of being short on money, there are other options you can explore to help you save money. For example, cutting the cable bill, reducing the number of times you pick up carryout by opting to cook at home instead, or even refinancing student loans.
Refinancing can help lower monthly payments by spreading out the payments of your high-cost student loans over a set amount of manageable terms. Freeing up even a hundred dollars per month can add up to thousands over the life of the loan and can build up your emergency fund and pay down debt. And give you a few extra dollars for celebrating Halloween in a pandemic.
Have a Pizza Party
Since trick-or-treating may not be the safest activity for Halloween in a pandemic, rather than wandering the neighborhood in search of treats, you and the kids can hunker down with pizza and watch all your favorite family Halloween movies. You can buy everyone’s favorite frozen pizza or go homemade, which can be even more fun if you shape the dough in the form of a pumpkin or ghost.
Make Halloween Slime
The slime craze is still going strong, and kids will love this mini-science lesson that is also perfect Halloween in a pandemic. With a simple online search, you can find many tutorials that will walk you through easy three-ingredient recipes that not only make colorful slime but also include other ideas such as decorating jars. For an added spooky touch, you can even toss in some plastic spiders or googly eyes. This is best left for older kids, though, as these items pose a choking hazard to small children.
Have a Halloween Countdown
If the kids are upset about not getting to trick-or-treat on Halloween night, consider making the holiday a month-long affair. Starting October 1st, have the children cross off a day on a hand-drawn pumpkin calendar and get a sweet treat.
Just one or two Halloween treat bags of fun-size candy bars will be enough, and they’ll get to look forward to it each morning instead of just one night. Feel free to substitute the candy bars with healthy alternatives, too. You could hand give them a new book, Halloween pencils, or other cute, inexpensive party favors instead.
Collect Leaves
During your next walk, have the kids bring a bag along to collect as many autumn leaves as they can. Or you could do a neighborhood scavenger hunt! This will be a great time to talk about the change of seasons and explain why leaves change colors.
Interactive experiences like this always leave a lasting impression on young minds; you can also order some pumpkin leaf bags and stuff them when you get home to make your very own yard decorations.
Final Thoughts on Celebrating Halloween in a Pandemic
Celebrating Halloween in a pandemic doesn’t have to be a disappointment. With a little creativity and these fun-filled ideas, you can make this Halloween one to remember!