How To Have Fun When You’re Staying Home on Halloween
Going out on Halloween night is always a good time, but if you live in a neighborhood or apartment complex where kids go trick-or-treating on Halloween, sometimes it’s fun to stay home and pass out candy instead. And if you have kids or want to have some fun with your nieces and nephews, taking them around to go trick-or-treating can be a good time too, if you really get into the spirit. If you need some inspiration, here are a few ways to have fun as a host on halloween—just make sure you leave your front light on, or kids will skip your home altogether.
Wear a Costume
This should go without saying, but what’s the point of celebrating Halloween without a costume? You can go store-bought, or get super creative and make your own costume, but either way, it’ll help you get your spirits up, and any trick-or-treaters that come by will appreciate it (so long as you choose a costume that kids will understand). Plus, even if you don’t go out that night because you’re too busy passing out candy, it’ll make a great Instagram post.
Need a getup?
Halloween in Your Dreams: Surreal Costumes, Makeup & Nail Art
Celebrate Halloween with clever DIY accessories that’ll create a total costume package out of a basic black outfit.
Play a Harmless Prank
You don’t want to scare kids away or freak them out too much, but a harmless prank or two for older trick-or-treaters can be fun. Try cutting a hole in the bottom of the candy bowl and sticking your hand in to grab their hands when they try to take candy—or, if you’d rather not DIY it, you can get a bowl that has an animated motion-sensing hand in it already, like this one from Amazon.
Go All out with Decorations
If you don’t decorate for Halloween, did it even happen? Whether you have a big house or a tiny apartment, take advantage of your space and go all out with the Halloween decor. It doesn’t have to be cheesy and you don’t even have to be that crafty—you can find easy, clever ways to decorate without sacrificing your style. Either way, decorating will signal to trick-or-treaters that they should stop by, and sometimes setting up all that spooky decor is half the fun, anyway.
Take the Atmosphere with You
If you’re the one taking kids around to go trick-or-treating, you don’t have to just stand by and wait while they collect their candy. Wearing a costume and getting into the Halloween spirit in creative ways will help make chaperoning the kids a lot more fun. When I was a kid, my dad would carry around a walkie talkie while we went from house to house, and my mom would play scary halloween music and sound effects into the other from home while she waited for trick-or-treaters, so we brought some spooky atmosphere with us everywhere we went. It was always fun, and it definitely scared some of the other kids—and you could probably recreate it much more easily by syncing up a creepy sounds playlist to your phone and playing it as you go.
Throw a Party
You also don’t have to just hang out and wait for trick-or-treaters to arrive—especially if you don’t live in a super active neighborhood, where kids won’t show up as often. Consider throwing a costume party (or, if parties aren’t really your style, invite friends over to watch a scary movie marathon) to pass the time instead. That way, you’ll already be having fun—the adorable trick-or-treaters will just be a great bonus.
Movie night? Say no more:
Whether you prefer scary stories, thrillers, or cute-but-creepy, there’s something for everyone.