Halloween won’t quite be the same this year. Although trick-or-treating is on hold, it doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate safely or prevent us from eating too much chocolate and candy. There are lots of ways to creatively celebrate the spookiest day of the year whether at home with your household or safely socially distanced in your neighbourhood. We’ve rounded up some fun ways to still make your Halloween “spook”-tacular.
For Not-So-Little Halloween Lovers
Virtual Haunted Experience
Get spooked from the comfort of your couch with Virtual Haunted Campfires by The Haunted Walk. For $10.00 + tax per family, you’ll experience terrifying tales and ghost stories from top storytellers in front of a digital campfire. They have two upcoming campfire events (October 27th and October 29th) leading up to Halloween. Not afraid of ghost stories? They also have “The Haunting at Home” if you’re fascinated by eerie paranormal activity.
Virtual Halloween Happy Hour
Your annual Halloween party can still be fun even though it’s not in person this year. Host a virtual Halloween happy hour with friends! To keep things in the Halloween spirit, circulate a featured cocktail recipe or snack idea beforehand for everyone to prepare. An easy but festive cocktail is “Witches Brew'' (1 cup soda, 1/2 cup vodka, 1/4 cup raspberry liqueur served over crushed ice). A Halloween party wouldn’t be complete without a costume contest. Use a polling tool like Survey Monkey or the built in polling option in Zoom so that friends can cast their vote for best costume.
For All Ages
Trick or Treat Surprise
It’s tough not being able to get together with friends and family during these times. Brighten their day by leaving a little surprise package of Halloween treats on their front step. It’s a fun gesture and by purchasing your goodies from a neighbourhood bakery or local shop you're supporting a small business too!
Westboro Village Scavenger Hunt
If you live in or around the Westboro area and are looking for a fun outdoor activity you should check out the Wickedly Westboro Spooky Scavenger Hunt. From October 16th to November 1st, safely hunt around Westboro Village from Island Park Drive to Golden Avenue in search of five spooky friends among the shop windows. Enter your five photos for a chance to win 1 of 10 Wickedly Westboro gift baskets valued at $100.
House Decorating Contest
Lots of neighbourhoods and community associations throughout the Ottawa area are holding house decorating contests. Why not join in the fun and enjoy some friendly neighbourhood competition? Even if your decorations aren’t quite award-winning, it’s still fun to check out the homes in your area and vote for a winner.
For Little Halloween Lovers
Pumpkin Painting
Rather than trying to carve a pumpkin with your little one, let them be in charge of the decorating by letting them paint the pumpkin instead. They can experiment with different techniques such as sponge painting or blow painting with straws. Add sparkles and googly eyes to turn little pumpkins into silly monsters or other Halloween creatures.
Neighbourhood Bingo
With so many houses and stores decorated for Halloween, there are lots of fun characters and items to spot when you’re out for a walk in your neighbourhood. Make a super simple bingo card and fill it in with Halloween things to spot. Pumpkins, spiders, ghosts and more! Children can check them off or put a sticker on the squares they spot.
Magic Potions
A fun activity for younger ones is making magic potions. It’s super easy and you likely have most of these items already at home. All you need are some mason jars (or other tall clear containers), food colouring, sparkles, baking soda and vinegar. Start by adding a good sprinkling of sparkles and 3-4 drops of food colouring to each jar. Then, fill each jar with a cup of vinegar and give it a mix. Then it’s time for the magic. Have your little helper add one tablespoon of baking soda to the jar and watch your magic potion bubble away.
Candy Hunt
Trick-or-treating isn’t an option this year but that doesn’t mean kids should have to miss out on candy. Turn out the lights and give kids a flashlight to search around the house or yard for some Halloween goodies. To make it a little more challenging for older kids, create a series of riddles and clues to eventually lead them to a candy prize.
It may be a different sort of Halloween this year, but we hope that some of these ideas will help make this year a fun one, too.
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