It seems that all is lost – we can’t safely trick or treat on Halloween! Don’t panic – there are solutions that will allow you to still celebrate this well-loved fall holiday, despite COVID-19 restrictions.
I’ve mentioned in other posts that my boyfriend, Jake, is ALL about Halloween. He was so disappointed when COVID numbers in our state began to spike again – he said “Halloween won’t be the same.” Obviously, with a two year old in our lives, we totally understand WHY it can’t be the same – why trick or treating is unsafe and why bobbing for apples isn’t a healthy choice – but it was still a little heart wrenching for my spooky-season-loving guy.
Y’all better believe that I wasn’t going to let Halloween season go by without SOME level of fun, even in a pandemic. And we went ahead and did our Halloween stuff this past weekend, since I don’t have my toddler on actual Halloween this year.
Here are 5 ways you can celebrate this fall holiday in the midst of our national and global pandemic!
#1: Decorate Your Home
I’ve never been much of a Halloween-decorator. I love my fall stuff so much that I don’t usually take it down until the day after Thanksgiving. But with a toddler who loves imaginative play and a boyfriend who adores all things Halloween, it seemed time to start thinking about at least a few Halloween-inspired décor pieces.
I collected just enough to decorate my living room shelves and make a display.
You can see my step-by-step tutorial for my candy-corn jar lanterns here. I found the “haunted house” truck stand at Big Lots for about $14-15 – I’ll eventually use that as front porch décor, but decided to use it indoors this year. I found the “little sheets” sign at Walmart and the burlap-esque banner at Dollar Tree.
The hanging wooden bat, pumpkin, and ghost décor was a Walmart find. The wood block pumpkin and the three black and white pumpkins were each found at Dollar General.
I really am a fan of this more traditional Halloween look. I like jack-o-lanterns and ghosts instead of skulls and severed fingers, personally, and I think they’re much more kid-friendly, too. Although, I’ll admit – I’ve seen some really pretty and glamorous skulls with glitter and roses, and if you have a house with glam décor, you can probably rock it!
#2: Halloween Snacks
Halloween is the holiday of snacks and candy, and this year should be no exception!
Whether you’re making Pillsbury’s ready-to-bake pumpkin sugar cookies, making homemade treats, or simply eating candy corn out of the bag, there’s something special about Halloween-themed snacks.
You can also try my Halloween Salty and Sweet Snack Mix. It’s just 5 ingredients – and it’s so delicious, you’d never guess how easy it is! Click here for the recipe.
Halloween snacks like this are perfect for watching family movies like Halloweentown, fall football, or – spookiest of all – even fall election news!
#3: Dress Up at Home
Growing up, I really did love costumes and dressing up for this holiday. Even though my son is with his father this year for official Halloween, we weren’t going to totally skip out on the fun of dressing up!
I found felt animal masks at my local Dollar Tree – and this little racoon was PERFECT for my little one! He had a ball trying it on and saying he was “playing pretend.”
Costumes at home are just as much fun as costumes out and about for the little ones, so don’t hesitate to dress up and take a cell-phone photoshoot in your living room!
#4: Treat Buckets
If you can’t trick or treat, that doesn’t mean you can’t have treats! I found these cute mini buckets at Dollar Tree and decided to fill them with some treats for my son and boyfriend. Jake’s has a lot of snacks and candy, but my toddler had much less – just one piece of candy, a board book, a stuffed animal black cat, and a pumpkin light.
The pumpkin light was the real winner. He kept saying “this is Halloween” and waving it around proudly. It even had to serve as a nightlight that evening in his room.
#5: Pumpkin Patch
If you have a local pumpkin patch that you can visit safely, I highly recommend you do so! Oakes Farm is relatively local to us, required ticket purchase in advance with limited spots, and encouraged mask wearing when in large groups. We appreciated their safety measures and decided to visit.
If you’re in East Tennessee, Oakes is a must-visit for you! They have so much to do that is family-friendly. We ran around a kids pumpkin patch (where my son picked the ugliest, bumpiest pumpkin available), picked fall flowers to fill a vase, took a tractor-pulled wagon ride to another pumpkin picking area, had kettle corn and lemonade, and visited the petting zoo.
If this experience didn’t scream fall, I don’t know what would! This was a blast, and we each got to do something we enjoyed.
Happy Halloween! I hope you enjoy this season – even if it looks a little different this year!
Kate with a Twang 