In a typical year, more than $40 million are estimated to go Trick or Trick. Trick or Treating isn’t for everyone. Although some people do not want to participate in trick or treating, they still want to have some Halloween Holiday fun. In these cases, there are 10 alternatives to Trick or Treating that will allow kids to still have fun. There are still a lot of things kids can still do.
Kids may participate in typical Halloween traditions such as decorating pumpkins and/or their home. They also may celebrate virtually with their friends. Let’s take a look at some of the options available.
1. Boo Boxes
You may not have heard of these before, but they’re a great way to enjoy Halloween. Boo Boxes are boxes of Halloween treats – a mix-up of candy and chocolates, printables, and other gifts. The package may also include the word, “Boo,” on the front. Think of them as a Halloween version of Easter baskets.
There are two options for distributing Boo Boxes.
Boo Box Distribution – Option 1
This option is most similar to Easter baskets. The Halloween Boo Boxes are distributed to friends and families for gifts.
Boo Box Distribution Option 2 –
For option #2, Boo Boxes are distributed to neighbors as part of a mystery game. It is called being “Boo’ed.” It basically goes like this:
You knock on your neighbor’s door, and you leave the box of treats on the doorstep.
You include two notes. One note to tell them that they have been Boo’ed. The second not to say to them that they need to find two other neighbors to play the same game.
Pop an image on your front door to say to the neighborhood that you have been “Boo’ed” already (when you have) and that they need to find someone else in the neighborhood to Boo!
It’s a great alternative to trick or treating. It is also a great way to have fun with the neighbors, even when you can’t knock on the door and accept treats from a bowl!
For more information about Boo Boxes, please go the page, “You’ve Been Booed – Boo Boxes Explained.” You will learn information such as the history, potential ways to use, where to purchase and how to make your own Boo Boxes.
2. Pumpkin Carving or Decorating
Here is one of 10 alternatives to trick or treating. Pumpkin carving and decorating is always a fun activity for kids. This activity can be completed with your social bubble . It may also be completed with your family members or it can be completed virtually.
For tips on pumpkin carving and decorating, go The Kid On The Go’s “The Ultimate Pumpkin Guide – How to Pick, Design, Carve, Decorate, Light and Preserve A Pumpkin.”
3. At-Home Or Virtual Scavenger Hunt
Everyone loves a good puzzle, and the kids in your home shouldn’t miss out just because you cannot trick or treat traditionally. Why not set up a scavenger hunt? They are an excellent way to get everyone having fun. During the scavenger hunt, kids may hunt for Halloween candies and treats in the house, with exciting clues! This also works outside. It would work similar to an Easter Egg hunt.
This year, you can host a virtual scavenger hunt with friends and family (they’ll need to hide treats, too, with the same clues!
4. Virtual Costume Competition
One of the most exciting parts of Halloween is dressing up! Getting made up to look scary is half the fun, but when you are stuck inside due to restrictions, you need to have some fun with costumes regardless! A virtual costume part with friends and family can be a fun idea, and you can use the same decorations and food in all homes! You could include apple bobbing and pin the hat on the witch for fun games for all to enjoy for the costume party.
If you are looking for a costume for your kid, Amazon sells a variety of kid’s costumes. To view some of the costumes, please visit the website here.
5. Virtual Movie Night
Spooky movies are a must at Halloween to really get into the spirit of the holiday. The kids in your home and their friends can all watch the same Halloween movies, and there are a few ways to do this!
- Netflix Party. It’s one of the most popular tools that you can use to watch virtual movies together at Halloween. All you need to do is download it as an extension of Google Chrome and click NP in the corner of the Netflix movie you have ready. Then, share the link with the others, and the party is started!
- Gaze. Another way to watch virtual movies together is through Gaze. This service is a particular one for YouTube, and it’s an easy one to use. You have to permit it to access video and audio for it to work, and you can see your other movie-watchers at the same time!
- Two-Seven. Lastly, we have Two-Seven, which allows users who are watching various subscriptions to come together to watch a movie. You can stream anything from HBO Now to Vimeo and Amazon Prime Video, too
- Webcam. If you don’t want to use a program and you want to use the bigger TV in the house, get a webcam stream set up on your laptop nearby, and have those on the other side watching the same movie – you can still see each other!
6. Drive-Thru Movies
Is there anything more fun than drive-thru movies? Bring the snacks and blankets, and head to any of these drive-thru movies to watch something spooky as a family. By sitting in the car, you’re optimizing social distancing, and you can still get the chance to enjoy a Halloween movie with friends.
7. Drive-Thru or Walk-Thru Haunted Experience
How exciting does this sound? Maintain a socially-distanced and spooky Halloween by driving your car into the middle of a horror movie. This is another one of the exciting 10 alternatives to trick or treating. You can see it come to life around you with props, lighting, sets, fog, and even live performers. You’re safe inside the car, but the experience is just as immersive as a haunted house walk-through. This is usually around 25 minutes long, and you will go slowly in your car to experience everything!
If you are interested in Drive-Thru or Walk-Through Experiences for Halloween, please go to Halloween Events – South Florida – 2020.
8. Halloween Party At Home
You can skip the official Halloween parties this year and party with your social bubble instead. Elaborate decorations, delicious snacks, and food and spooky games are fun parts of a Halloween party. If you would host a Halloween party for your friends and family, then host it just for you guys! You can still enjoy mud cake with worms, a meal of worms, and eyeballs (spaghetti and meatballs!), and you can still have green jello stuffed with candy! Halloween parties can spill out into the backyard, too, and you can add decor to the outside of the house as much as the inside! Your party can be so much fun, even with a smaller group of people. You can tie in Halloween movies to your party, too, for something extra scary!
9. Hire An Entertainer
While you can’t bring in a magician to the house to entertain the kids, you can always hire a virtual entertainer to keep the kids happy! Add it to your party so that you have a moment to swap the dinner items on the buffet table for sweet things and clean up the party detritus. You can even hire a virtual entertainer who knows how to show children how to make Halloween cookies or even caramel apples. An entertainer can do things that you wouldn’t think of and keep the kids entertained for at least an hour!
There are also virtual events that your kids may enjoy watching together. Go here to find a list of Virtual Halloween Events.
10. Bob For Doughnuts
One of the best games at Halloween is bobbing for apples. So much so, we’ve even suggested it earlier in the article! Apples are amazing to bob for and so much fun, but not everyone likes to put their face in a water bowl. Children, especially, don’t often like to hold their breath, and they often don’t understand its concept, either! So, why not bob for doughnuts? You don’t need to push your face into a water body, and you get a delicious result. Hanging doughnuts from kitchen twine and string will give the kids something to aim for. Tie their hands with a soft scarf and make sure that the doughnuts are at the right height for the children, too. You can even string some doughnuts for the grown-ups, also! Make sure that you get the camera out, too, as this is going to be hilarious!
Wrap-Up
You may not be able to go house to house in the way that you remember, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy Halloween for everything else! The Kid On The Go hopes these 10 Alternatives for Trick or Treating will be helpful. You can still maintain some of the traditions you’re used to and enjoy the holiday – and you can do it with your social bubble!
