The ongoing pandemic has thrown a wrench in everyone’s plans. Spring break and summer vacations were canceled for many people. Who knows what this holiday season is going to look like. If you’re worried about a canceled Halloween in your neighborhood, don’t be! We’ve got a list of no-contact ways you can celebrate Halloween in your neighborhood as well as a list of ways you can celebrate with your family and kids. Don’t let COVID-19 ruin your Halloween! Check out our list and see how you can keep the fun alive in the event of a canceled Halloween!
Community Spirit
A canceled Halloween will affect the entire community. Raise your neighborhood’s spirit from the dead! Keep the fun alive in your community by trying out some of these ideas that are guaranteed to make everyone smile.
You’ve Been Booed
The worst part about a canceled Halloween is no trick o’ treating. Kids love dressing up and going door-to-door for their favorite candies. Parents love snacking on those candies after their little ones have gone to bed. If your community suffers a canceled Halloween, don’t freak out! We know of a way to keeping the trick o’ treating alive and also no-contact! Spread joy through your ‘hood by booing your neighbors.
Crazy Little Projects has all the deets on how this game is played. Pick one or more houses in your neighborhood, and leave a treat-filled basket on the doorstep with a “You’ve Been Booed,” card inside along with instructions on what your neighbors are supposed to do next. Leave the package of treats on the doorstep, ring the bell, and run. Crazy Little Projects provides free downloads for the “You’ve Been Booed,” cards. The ultimate goal is to get every neighbor to play so everyone receives yummy treats on or before the canceled Halloween.
Halloween Car Parades
Birthday parades and graduation parades have been a big hit this year. If you can’t have a party to celebrate a special occasion, watching your favorite people drive by and honk, wave, and shout out how much they love you, is the next best thing. A canceled Halloween doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun. This year, get on Facebook and get your community involved in a Halloween car parade. Decorate your cars with ghouls and goblins! Dress up in your costume and drive around with your neighbors. Parents with small kids can dress them up in their costumes and let them watch the parade in their yards.
Synchronized Halloween Light Shows
Our favorite Christmas tradition is driving around and seeing the fancy light shows that homeowners set up. The shows where the lights are synchronized to music you can tune in your car. We love those. It’s just too bad you have to wait for Christmas to have fun like that. Or do you?
Calling all homeowners!!! Did you know that there are synchronized Halloween light shows available as well? This year, let’s start a new Halloween tradition, something perfect for a no-contact celebration in case a cancelled Halloween happens. Decorate your house with digital Halloween decorations and invite your community to drive by and watch the spooky fun! Companies, such as Animated Lighting will sell complete kits to help you get started.
While kits such as the ones sold by Animated Lighting can be costly, there’s another fun, cost-effective way to decorate your house with digital Halloween decorations. It doesn’t involve synchronized lights, but it does require a projector and a couple of your windows.
If you already have a projector that you use with your Christmas decorations, hop on over to Amazon and grab a digital decorations DVD like this one by AtmosFX and give your neighbors chills as they drive by and see creatures of the night staring at them through your front windows.
If you need all of the equipment, check out this kit which is also by Atmos Fx. A kit like this is an awesome investment because it can be used for just about any holiday or special occasion.
Neighborhood House Decorating Contest
This next idea might require consent and participation from your HOA. Once again, why does Christmas get all the fun? House-decorating contests are seen most often during the month of December but we think it should also include Halloween, especially if your community falls victim to a canceled Halloween.
Once again, get on Facebook and conspire with your neighbors to host a neighbor house-decorating contest. The awarded prize could be anything. A digital gift card. A payment applied to your monthly or annual HOA fee. Anything. Remember to include your HOA in this process. After all, they’re your neighbors too.
Halloween-Themed Kindness Rocks
We are a big fan of kindness rocks and scavenger hunts. For this next project, we recommend you hide the rocks throughout your neighborhood early in the month of October. The goal is to give kids, parents, and dog-owners who are out walking, something fun to find or look for while they’re soaking up a little Vitamin D.
Growing A Jeweled Rose is responsible for the collection of spooky rocks photographed above. She also provides a list of items needed to decorate your rocks. Kindness rock kits can also be purchased from Amazon. Use this idea to spread a little joy in the event there’s a canceled Halloween in your area.
Read More: 31 Must-Have Halloween Decorations
Fun Family Games
Parents of small children will love this next list of ideas. CountryLiving has a list of 40 fun Halloween games the entire family can play. We pulled our five favorite games from their list. These are the types of activities COVID-19 can’t cancel. Most will work indoors, a few will work better in the backyard. No matter where you play, these games will make you forget about your canceled Halloween.
Eyeball Pong (Non-Alcoholic Version)
Relive your college party days with this non-alcoholic version of pong. It’s a fun way to celebrate your canceled Halloween. Productive Pete promises this is a fun game for kids of all ages. And, all of the supplies listed can be found at your local Dollar Store or Amazon. Productive Pete originally designed this game for a classroom of children, but there’s no reason why your kiddos can’t play at home. The goal is simple. The child who fills the most bowls with eyeballs wins.
Halloween Bingo
One Creative Mommy designed this fun Halloween bingo set. Sit down with your kids at the dinner table and enjoy this family game during your canceled Halloween. One Creative Mommy offers a free download of 6 printable bingo cards on her website. A set of 30 printable bingo cards are available for purchase from her Etsy store, One Creative Mommy Shop.
Pumpkin Patch Stomp
This game by Delia Creates is sort of like having a piñata. Purchase small candies or coins and place them inside of the balloon before inflating. Set them outside and have your kids stomp the balloons to get their rewards.
Pumpkin Golf
A Girl And A Glue Gun gives a new purpose for carving pumpkins. And the best part is, these pumpkins are synthetic so you can save them and use them again.
The pumpkins A Girl And A Glue Gun used are similar to this one sold at Target. The trick to carving these pumpkins for miniature golf is to make sure the mouth is wide open.
And if you and your kids fall victim to a canceled Halloween, set these pumpkins up in your yard after dinner and place a flameless tea light candle inside. Get your kids dressed up in their costumes and spend your canceled Halloween playing glow golf. A toy golf set can be purchased from Amazon.
Read More: The Best Free Pumpkin Carving Stencils For Halloween
Skeleton Scavenger Hunt
We love scavenger hunts and the best part about this game by Happy Go Lucky, is that when all the pieces are found, your kiddos can work together to put the skeletons back together. This game was played using three plastic skeletons, all of which Happy Go Lucky purchased at The Dollar Tree. The kids were divided into three teams and sent around the house looking for their colored pieces. You can easily adapt this came to suit your family’s needs. It’s not trick o’ treating, but it’s still a fun way to celebrate a canceled Halloween.
Backyard Camping
Spend your canceled Halloween camping out in the backyard with your little ones. Decorate your backyard with spooky skeletons and scarecrows. Roast marshmallows and hot dogs over your fire pit and tell spooky stories. When it’s time to climb in the tent, shine your flashlight on cut out bat shapes, spider shapes, and ghost shapes to create spooky effects on the tent walls.
Movie Night
For older kids who could care less about a canceled Halloween because they’re so over trick o’ treating, let them indulge in a movie night. The best part about movie nights is that they can be celebrated inside or outside. You can get fancy by using an outdoor movie screen like the kind featured here or you can purchase a projector and use an old white sheet hung against a fence. However you do it, your kids will have a great time. The movies listed below should be appropriate for elementary school kids and up. But parents should make the final decision. All of these movies can be streamed on either Amazon, Vudu, or Disney+.
Scoob!
Join the members of Mystery Inc, as they work together to stop a “dogpocalypse”. During their race against time, Scooby and the rest of the gang make a shocking discovery. Starring Mark Walhberg and Will Forte, this family-friendly movie is rated PG and the perfect movie to watch on a canceled Halloween night.
Bedknobs & Broomsticks
An oldie but a goodie! Celebrate your canceled Halloween with this 1971 classic, starring Angela Lansbury and that guy who played the cranky Mr. Banks in the original Mary Poppins. Set during World War 2, Angela Lansbury portrays an apprentice witch who sets off, with three children in her care, to find the last piece she needs to complete a spell. Along the way, they experience one exciting, and sometimes musical, adventure after another. Bedknobs and Broomsticks is available to watch for free with a subscription to Disney+.
Casper
Casper the friendly ghost! The friendliest ghost you know! If nothing else, watching this movie on your canceled Halloween will teach your children that not all ghosts are frightening. Some ghosts are so cute you’ll want to cuddle with them. This 1995 movie is rated PG and stars Christina Ricci and Bill Pullman. Follow along as a misguided psychiatrist and his daughter discover a few secrets hiding inside a haunted house.
Little Monsters
This is another Halloween movie we’re excited to share with you. Starring Fred Savage and Howie Mandel (the host of Deal or No Deal) as Maurice – a monster, this 1989 favorite will take your kids to a whole new world, opening the possibility that a fun realm exists in the shadows under their bed.
The Monster Squad
Wolfman’s got nards! The Monster Squad is one of the scarier movies we have on our list. Rated PG-13, this movie might be more appropriate for junior high kids and up. Watch as a group of misfit kids race against the clock, trying to stop Dracula, a mummy, and wolfman from taking over the world. This movie is available for FREE on Amazon Prime.
Addams Family Movie (2019)
Last on our list of movies to watch on a canceled Halloween night, is the newest Addams Family Movie. Starring Oscar Isaac and Charlize Theron, the newest Addams Family adventure starts on the eve of Gomez and Morticia’s wedding. Forced from their home, the newlywed couple moves to a creepy house in a New Jersey suburb. 13 years later, life takes an interesting series of turns as their teenage children ponder life outside of their home.
Read More: 31 Days Of Halloween Family-Friendly Movies
A canceled Halloween isn’t the end of the world. We sincerely hope everyone is able to get out there and trick o’ treat with their kids. If that’s not a possibility this year, then we hope something on our list of celebration ideas will help you keep the festivities alive. If one or more of these ideas inspired you, please let us know! Tag us on Facebook or Instagram so we can see how you spent your Halloween.
WANT TO READ MORE?
Check out this article on 5 SURPRISING BUT TRUE HALLOWEEN FACTS.
💖 NEWSLETTER: DAILY READS IN YOUR INBOX 💖
Sign up to receive our picks for the best things to do, see and buy so you can relax and focus on more important tasks! Let us help you be the best version of yourself you can be!
GET MORE FROM DAILY MOM, PARENTS PORTAL
Newsletter: Daily Mom delivered to you
Facebook: @DailyMomOfficial
Instagram: @DailyMomOfficial | @DailyMomTravel | @BestProductsClub
YouTube: @DailyMomVideos
Pinterest: @DailyMomOfficial
📌 LOVE IT? PIN IT!📌
Photo Credits: Unsplash | Crazy Little Projects | Growing A Jeweled Rose | Pixabay | Productive Pete | One Creative Mommy Shop | Delia Creates | A Girl And A Glue Gun | Happy Go Lucky | Scoob! | Bedknobs and Broomsticks | Casper | Little Monsters | The Monster Squad | Addams Family Movie
Sources: Crazy Little Projects | Growing A Jeweled Rose | CountryLiving | Productive Pete | One Creative Mommy | Delia Creates | A Girl And A Glue Gun | IMDB |
