Trick-or-treating has always been a huge part of the Halloween experience. Second only to finding the right costume, receiving free candy in exorbitant amounts has kids talking about Halloween for months in advance. This Halloween may be very different from any that have come before it. With social distancing and PPE, children will be under stress to be safer than ever before. And what if trick-or-treating is not an option?

Growing up in NH, the weather was not always cooperative. Some years it rained (or even snowed), and the weather put a damper on trick-or-treating. Undaunted, we created our own fun. A favorite activity was to create a haunted house, complete with bowls of veins, eyeballs, and blood (spaghetti, peeled grapes, and ketchup, respectively). My husband horrified me by sharing that when he and his brother were growing up they also created haunted houses. However, theirs was a bit more realistic, complete with an axe-wielding maniac jumping out and chasing hapless victims. I’m sure my mother-in-law put the kibosh on that one pretty quickly!

Halloween games were another way to enjoy the holiday. Pin the Tail on the Cat (or Nose on the Pumpkin) and the Great Donut Race (seeing who could gobble their hanging donut the fastest) were fan favorites and were always on the docket.  We also played “Blind Man’s Bluff” and “Hide and Seek.” After the games, we were ready for a good creepy story or two that kept us and the neighborhood kids on the edge of our seats. My mother was a master at this. She told the story of “The Viper,” with much gusto. I was a scaredy cat, so she whispered in my ear, “it has a funny ending!” and I relaxed and enjoyed the story. As I was thinking back over these Halloweens from times past, I thought we could use some of those ideas and have a back-up plan that would enable our kids to still enjoy Halloween, even in 2020.

This generation of children (I call them “Baby Zoomers”) are already familiar with the online neighborhood. Why not use it to our advantage and host a virtual costume party? Kids can dress up and receive prizes for funniest, scariest, and most creative costumes. What to give as prizes? How about some of that candy that they would have been getting had they gone trick-or-treating?

I already mentioned a homemade Haunted House; there are tons of ideas out there on the internet to make an age-appropriate version. And for those of us with space constraints, how about a Fairy Haunted House? Just as much fun, but in miniature! Another fun activity is to let your children decorate their own bedrooms. This doesn’t have to be a costly option. Halloween decor and materials are readily available at your local Dollar Store. While you’re there, you can grab some great Halloween crafts, from costume-making to decorations. One super-easy and fun craft: making mini “real” Jack-O-Lanterns. Give them real mini pumpkins, markers, glitter, and googly eyes, and watch them create! (Hint: I saw these little gourds at Trader Joe’s for only 69 cents each!) It might be fun to have a Jack-O-Lantern contest, similar to the costume contest.

Another activity that kids love is baking. The library even has a mini pumpkin cake pan that you can check out! Kids can make their own mini pumpkin cake, complete with sugar googly eyes and purple and orange frosting. I have even seen edible glitter at Joann Fabrics or AC Moore. Perfect!

Your local library also has many different games and Halloween books, and of course Halloween movies: Hocus Pocus, Halloweentown, and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, to name just a few. For the older kids, you could have a Harry Potter binge-a-thon and theme your entire event around it!

Below are a few websites to help with your Halloween plans. Good luck and happy haunting!

Happy Halloween!

Monstrously Good Books for Kids

Pumpkin Carving Templates

Glowing Ghost Jugs | Crafts for Kids

Top 25 Websites to Get You Ready for Halloween

Carla B. Howard is the Senior Circulation and Media & Marketing Assistant at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA. Look for her article in the October 22, 2020 issue of the Transcript and Bulletin.