Halloween is almost here, and it looks a little different this year! This post is for you if you are playing it cautious, unable to go trick-or-treating, or just want more ways to celebrate! Below you’ll find 5 safe and inexpensive or free ways to celebrate Halloween with your children at home.
Halloween photoshoot
This doesn’t have to be elaborate, but give your kiddos a chance to show off their costumes! Have them help you decide where the perfect location may be, what props they need, facial expressions to make, etc!
You can take it up a notch by spending some time designing the costumes yourself! You could even make this a challenge, such as who can create the spookiest costume using what we have at home? Or you can do what I did and shamelessly buy costumes online because #time. If you need help taking great photos, check my other photography education blog posts here, or download the pretty phone photos guide here if your phone is your tool of choice!
Painting or carving pumpkins
I mean this is obvious, but nothing says halloween like carving pumpkins–or painting them! This probably goes without saying, but if you have a local pumpkin patch, make a day out of it. Pick pumpkins together and talk about what you can create with them. Our pumpkin patch is our local commissary because pumpkin patches are not apart of Japanese culture (at least not where we are).
If you’re painting pumpkins, I have found the best way to paint with children is to provide a glass cup of water (less easily tipped over), a sponge to wipe brushes, and a brush for every color for younger children. For 1-2 year olds, I really recommend giving them just one color and one brush at a time. In this photo my paint palettes are all stuck together, so I just uncapped one color at a time for Emme, who is only one.
Candy scavenger hunt
I actually started to make one of these and then thought to check Pinterest, and wouldn’t you know it, there are tons out there. I don’t believe in reinventing the wheel so, here are some I found! This would be great for the kiddos who are really sad about missing out on trick or treating.
Spooky fort and movie night
Who doesn’t love a good fort building exercise? Added challenge? Make it spooky! Leave it up to your kiddos to design it. Just help with the leg work, and selecting an age-appropriate spooky movie to watch together inside the fort!
Make spooky treats to share
You can’t have a movie night without treats, right? I’m no baker, but Pinterest is riddled with halloween treats you can make at home! Here are some I thought were oh-so-cute.
