Play Hard

Trick or treat: What’s the alternative?

As the global pandemic continues and Halloween looms, it’s heart-breaking to think that the children among us will miss out on what is one of the most fun and highly anticipated events of the year.

Written by High Life North
Published 27.10.2020

As the global pandemic continues and Halloween looms, it’s heart-breaking to think that the children among us will miss out on what is one of the most fun and highly anticipated events of the year.

With traditional trick or treating ruled out for safety reasons, the HLN team has come up with some fun and creative alternatives to the traditional Halloween outing.

Stage a phantastic photoshoot

Dig out your favourite costumes, decorate your home and have some fun with the camera. Get the kids involved with taking the photographs and snap away to create a gallery of fun, spooky and memory-capturing photographs that you’ll all enjoy for years to come.

Set up a Spooktacular scavenger hunt

Who says you have to traipse around the neighbourhood to fill up your Halloween bucket with sweets? Get online and search for a Halloween themed scavenger hunt. There are loads to be found and they can be tailored to whatever you have in your home and garden.

Make a truly terrifying treasure hunt

Hide loads of treats around your home and garden then set up some clues to help the kids find each stash. Think Easter egg hunt but with skulls, ghosts and witches! You can make up your own or find inspiration online. We love Hey, Let’s Make Stuff’s Halloween themed clues…

Follow a putrid pumpkin trail

Whether there’s an official trail in your area or not, get dressed up and head out into the Halloween night. Load up your treat bucket and let the kids help themselves every time they spot a pumpkin aglow. We can’t knock on doors and take treats from neighbours but we can enjoy the efforts they’ve made on Halloween night.

Stay in for a terrifying film night

Lock the doors, pull the curtains and snuggle up on the sofa for a scary film night. There are loads of child-friendly spooky film to choose from and you can crack open the Halloween treats and enjoy watching together. Check out Good Housekeeping’s list of 40 films that won’t keep your little ones up all night!

Break out the knives and get carving

Save the pumpkin carving for Halloween itself and make it a family activity. There are hundreds of fantastic ideas for carving pumpkins online so download some stencils, stock up on sweet treats and get to work on your scariest creations. And don’t forget to boil up some pumpkin soup with the off cuts and enjoy a delicious Halloweeny tea, too!

Get (witch) crafty

Whip out the crafting box and get creative to decorate the house. Create anything from spooky spectres to petrifying pumpkins – the kids will have fun and you’ll create Halloween decorations you can use year after year. We love some of the ideas from Happiness is Homemade but the possibilities are endless!

Beastly baking fun

Creating your own sweet treats this Halloween has never been more fun. Invest in some Halloween-themed accessories and you could be tucking into creepy cupcakes, cauldron cookies or devilish drip cake before you know it. Check out BBC Good Food’s recipe ideas and the HLN team’s forays into the baking world for some eerie inspiration!

Destroy a putrid pinata

Take out all your ghoulish frustration on a Halloween-themed Pinata. Whether you make your own or pick one up from the shops, stuff that Ghostly Ghoul with treats-a-plenty and crack it with a big stick! The kids will love it!

Let us know how you plan to celebrate Halloween this year…

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