BOO—the spooky season is here, and celebrating Halloween is more than just dressing up on October 31. Of course, kids are into candy collecting and costume parades, but once you look beyond the trick-or-treating zone, you can find all sorts of ways to get into the spirit with your crew. Read on for ideas on making new NJMOM traditions this year, and check out our guide to Halloween fun in NJ before the big day. (feature photo credit: @juleswestonphotography)
Here Are 7 Ways To Celebrate Halloween Other Than Trick-Or-Treating
Throw a Halloween Party
Gathering close neighbors or friends in the backyard to show off those costumes and trade pre-made treat bags is a lively way to celebrate. Have the kids get in on the fun (and work on those organizational skills) by making treat bags for their friends and customizing the candy based on their favorites. As for the adults, keep it simple with fall-themed pre-bottled beverages (think pumpkin beers or ciders) and seasonal snacks you make yourself or pick up from a local caterer. If it’s chilly, or once the sun sets, fire up the firepit and have s’more stations ready to cap off the night.
Plan a Halloween scavenger hunt
Everyone loves a hunt, so make it a Halloween one à la Easter egg style—fill reusable pumpkins with candy to place in and out of the house. For older kids, plan out strategic hiding spots, then print out clues for them to figure out and follow all around outside.
Go all out on making treats
Why should Christmas be the only holiday where you decorate cookies? Set up a Halloween cookie decorating station in your kitchen with candy corn, Halloween-size candies, and seasonal sprinkles, and let the kiddos use pieces to decorate a fresh batch of cookies. Or get in on the board trend and create a themed sweet-treat board (like the gorgeous one above from Nicki at A Tufted Life) and serve it with the cookies on Halloween Eve for a sweet way to celebrate.
Start a neighborhood “BOO”
This anonymous gesture—a friend or family leaves a bag of treats, rings the doorbell, then disappears—can be a thrill for your kids to make and receive one. Put together small games, treats, masks, stickers, and even a bottle of wine for the grownups, as well as a BOO poem explaining how to keep the tradition going with a sign to display that you’ve been “booed.” When it gets dark, set out to deliver the treats to a neighbor or friend, ring the doorbell, and run (you can also hide nearby to see the reaction when they open the door). And if you hear your doorbell one night at your house, well then—BOO!
Have an outdoor Halloween movie night
If there’s anything that will get kids excited, it’s an outdoor movie night in your backyard. And with so many classic Halloween movies (think Hocus Pocus, Ghostbusters, and Goosebumps), you can make it a night at the movies after the big day. Check out FunFlicks to rent an inflatable screen and projector and invite a few families over. Set up chairs, make up individual snack boxes with popcorn and candy, and have kids wear costumes while watching on blankets under the stars.
Haunt your house and take a haunted tour around town
Doesn’t it seem like Halloween decor has gotten bigger and better with each passing year? Which gives you an excuse to go all-out with decorations. Turn your house into one of the spookiest in the hood and enlist the kids to help you decorate. You can also look for others doing the same and map them out for a pre-Halloween Eve surprise. That night, pile the kids in the car in their costumes, drive around stopping by your faves, and vote on the best.
And there’s always a fun escape experience
If older kids feel like their trick-or-treating time has passed, an escape room night on Halloween weekend is always an adventure. Check into ones like Escapology in Garwood, with themed escapes to solve a whodunit, or Escape Room NJ, where you only play with family and friends and never strangers. To make the night feel more festive, have everyone dress in costume and bring treats to enjoy during the game.
What do you plan on doing to celebrate Halloween?
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