28 Oct How to celebrate Halloween in strange times
Muddy Puddles have been looking at how you can still make this year’s Hallowe’en spooktacular! In the current climate, a party with all your child’s friends may be off the cards, but there are plenty of other ways to make sure that this is still a Hallowe’en to remember! From spooky food to themed activities and everything in between, these ideas will keep the whole family entertained without having to leave the house!
Halloween is usually a time where there are parties and events ongoing for all ages. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to affect our everyday lives, parties as we once knew are being placed on hold for this year. Don’t see this role of the organiser as a chore, however — preparation for a COVID-safe children’s Halloween party is easier than you think. There are a few essentials for creating a successful event, especially for children.
Here, we discuss how to throw the ultimate Halloween party for your child, and how to do this safely with new COVID-19 restrictions put in place.
Activities
Of course, children need to have some kind of game or plan to the night. With COVID-19 leaving us no choice but to find ways to adapt our parties this year, here are a few activities they are sure to love:
Pumpkin hunt
Not all hunts happen during Easter, and now that we have no choice but to spend more time outdoors seeing our friends and family from a distance, this is the perfect excuse for a pumpkin hunt. Even if it rains, you can just get all participants to wear children’s raincoats and avoid the weather. You don’t have to use actual pumpkins either. Pictures and sweets can be a good replacement.
DIY Hedbanz: Halloween style
The classic quick-fire question game, HedBanz, is a great alternative to use instead of the typical feel-box challenge. Since taking turns to put your hand in a box and feel for whatever spooky item is in it may not be possible this year, HedBanz provides a close substitute for this. Rather than feeling for the item, guess it instead! Make your own ‘Who am I?’ or ‘What am I?’ Halloween-themed cards and see who can guess the object the fastest. The best thing about this game is that it can be played over FaceTime too – since for many regions of the UK we have no choice but to make the most out of a virtual party this year!
Virtual parties
Speaking of FaceTime, this treasure of technology has worked to our favour over lockdown. To help keep both yourself and your children safe at home this year, host a virtual party with all their friends. To keep them entertained, create a selection of quizzes about all things Halloween and have them compete in challenges. Or, have a competition of who can create the best pumpkin design. Although this might not be the original party you had in mind, creativity is key when it comes to hosting the ultimate Halloween extravaganza this year.
Piñata
Any excuse to get more sweets, right? There are many shapes and characters that they can come in, so finding a Halloween version is not going to be a challenge. This activity will provide a quick burst of fun and food. Whether these are done with friends over a FaceTime party or at home with the family, pinatas aren’t going anywhere this Halloween.
Apple bobbing
The classic game of trying to bite apples out of a big bowl of water, this can be adapted for this year. Rather than having one big bowl of apples for them to apple bob with, create multiple so that each person has their own bowl. Or, over FaceTime parties, ask their parents to create an apple bobbing bowl for them to make the competition a virtual one. Make sure that you watch while the children do this activity as it isn’t without a tiny bit of risk with running and putting their face in water.
Choose just a few of these activities and your party is sure to be a success, enjoyable for both the kids and yourself.
Food
An absolute essential for any children’s party – whether it be a socially distanced one or not – is food. We aren’t just talking about a meal either. Snacks, sweets, and seasonal bites are sure to get any child excited, especially if they add to the spooky theme. Here are a few ideas to suit the needs:
Hotdog fingers
Take a break from the party activities with a party-style meal. The classic hotdogs often make an appearance at parties for children, due to their popularity, simplicity, and variability. Therefore, cooking up a smaller sized buffet at home for the children will help then gain a sense of normality again. We can add a special Halloween twist on this simple meal too, with no added ingredients. All that’s needed is a sharp knife. By making the ‘dogs’ look like fingers, they will add to the Halloween aesthetic, and the ketchup will make this look even more realistic and tastier. To do this, cut off the tip at one end of the hot dog and on the other side slice the skin of the sausage to replicate the shape of a nail. Finally, put two lots of three shallow slits to imitate knuckles. Smother the ‘dog’ with ketchup to give the amputated bloody effect we are aiming for.
Sweets
A no-brainer! Halloween is all about tricks, treats, sweets, and surprises. No Halloween party is complete without a bowl or bucket brimming with some sweet treats. If you can locate a bucket that really sums up Halloween, like a pumpkin or a skull, this will be the perfect housing to put in your favourite sweets. Go all-out Halloween style and fill the pot with gummy worms, chocolate pumpkins, and any other seasonal options.
Pumpkin fruit platter
Halloween is renowned for stuffing children full of sugar and unhealthy foods. This next option can be a part of the decoration while providing a tasty, healthy snack. You’ll be creating a pumpkin out of various fruit! Using orange slices to cover a plate, you can create a pumpkin artwork. By replacing some of the slices with black grapes and blueberries you can create the face necessary for a scary pumpkin snack.
Decorations
It isn’t Halloween if there aren’t hundreds of pumpkins, skeletons, and silhouettes scattered around your street. A pandemic or not, your occasion must have at least a few decorations, and we are going to share some of the most effective, inexpensive, and stylish ways to spruce up the event at home.
Balloons
Plain balloons are relatively inexpensive decorations and can really cement the aesthetic if you keep an ongoing colour scheme throughout. A classic colour scheme is orange and black, but purples and greens fit just as well! By tying these pairs to corners of the room, curtain rails, and bannisters, it can make the decorations seem more consistent throughout the house. Don’t forget just to leave some loose on the floor, as this will not only provide enjoyment to the children but means the decorations are more engaging.
Bats
A simple DIY decoration, this can cover some serious wall space! You can create this bat using just black paper and Blu Tack. Fold some black paper in half and cut out the shape of half a bat along the fold this way when unfolded the bat will be able to be tacked.
Happy Halloween!