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Background: Lacking your spooky spirit?
It’s the holiday season and Halloween is right around the corner. How many of us know someone who is not in the spooky spirit? How many of us have decided to say indoors this year? With Covid-19 confirmed cases still on the rise, to some the holiday season doesn’t feel like like as joyous of an occasion as it used to.
In my last post, I briefly described my troubles with the Halloween season spirit this year. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, many parents, myself included, have decided to spend Halloween indoors again this year. This creates a vicious circle, as that adds to the holidays blues, so what do we do in our times of troubles? Well, I turned to my daughter and she had some pretty strong opinions that she was sure to let me know. Just because we weren’t going to go trick or treating this year, didn’t mean that we didn’t have to celebrate at all!
My daughter had a point. My lack of Halloween spirit had nothing to do with my family and I didn’t have to shower my poor spooky spirit onto them. So I asked her for some ideas. How would she like to spend her Halloween inside and here are the ideas: straight from a five year olds mouth!
How to find your spooky spirit:
1.) Movie Marathon
This was the first idea my daughter suggested and I can’t blame her, it’s a solid one. A movie marathon is perfect for all ages. If you have children around who would like to participate, feel free to include movies such as The Corpse Bride and Monster House. For an adult-only movie night, feel free to include rated R movies or classics like Halloween or The Nightmare on Elm Street. For the super brave who love extra scary, include The Conjuring series and The Exorcist. With options for everyone, you’ll surely be in the spooky spirit in no time!
2.) Spooky Spirit/Murder Mystery Dinner
My daughter suggested a spooky themed dinner and I must admit there is something eerie about eating eyeballs made from shrimp in a ghost filled room. Sit down with the kids one afternoon and create a handful of “spooky” items. With a range of idea from ghost leaves to body bags, you’re sure to keep the kids engaged!
Don’t forget to make your dinner with a spooky twist too! Post your decorations around the eating area and enjoy your family dinner! For an adult-only get-together, try a murder mystery. You have the option of brainstorming your own idea or using a kit, like Halloween Murder Mystery Game Kit – Vampire Ball. There are even family friendly versions, if you want to include the little ones too!
3.) Pumpkin Carvings
Ahhh, the tried and true pumpkin carvings! Who can resist a well-put-together creepy pumpkin? This is a sure fire way to put you in the holiday spirit. With stencils available, you can keep it simple and easy for the little ones. For those who are more talented (definitely not me) or would like a challenge, carve one from scratch and let your imagination take you away. Gather the household members and hold a contest, let’s see who can carve the scariest pumpkin!
4.) Scary Bowling
When my daughter first suggest this, I had to remind her were trying to stay inside, to which she gave me a ‘duh’ look and said “I know Mommy, I meant outside with a pumpkin”. Wow, mind blown! You can recycle plastic bottles, decorate them as ghost or mummies and roll pumpkins like a bowling ball! What a neat idea, let’s see who can get a strike with a pumpkin!
5.) Dress-up!
One perk of Halloween is you get to step out of yourself for a bit. Go through your closet and see what weird outfit combinations you can come up with. Can you make a witch or a doctor out of your clothes? If you have old costumes or children’s dress-up clothes, throw them in the mix and turn it into a fashion show! Have your other family members vote on the best or scariest outfit! Too hard to decide? Throw a costume party, everyone wins!
6.) Trick or Treating
Who says you have to go outside and socialize to trick or treat? I’m going to let you know now: you don’t have to. If you have a positive people to rooms ratio, you can still trick or treat indoors. Let everyone hide in their “home” (a.k.a rooms) with candy and let the little ones knock on the door just as they would outdoors. If you want to add a twist, hide the candy around the house, especially in spooky areas and let everyone hunt for it. Can you say Easter for Halloween?
7.) Decorations
Tempt your spooky side with Halloween decorations. Of course, there are different ways to go about it. If you have the time and like DIY projects, make your own personalized Halloween decorations. If you have left over decorations from previous years put them up and see if the ghost in the mirror or the skeleton in the closet will reignite your seasonal spirit.
8.) Glow in the Dark
I’m going to let you in on a big secret, my family is a huge fan of black lights and glow in the dark. Our bedrooms are never truly dark (bad, I know), but what better way to add some creativity with some glow in the dark stars and planets. For those who like a scary feel, use special paint to write scary messages or paint blood spatters and you’ll be sure to jumpstart your heart every time you turn off the lights!
9.) Tell scary stories
Here’s another secret: although I’m not a big fan of Halloween, I love me everything horror, pass the chips please! Make sure to create the mood, start a fire; whether in the fireplace, outdoor chimney, or even a candle. Turn the lights down and let everyone tell the scariest story they know! Who will cover their ears first?
10.) EAT THE CANDY
Probably the biggest perk: candy. Whether you went trick or treating (in or outdoors) or bought candy from the store, eat it! It’s not the holidays if we aren’t packing on a few pounds of winter fat (jk, you’re beautiful always <3). Indulge in the candy and maybe the sugar rush will put you in the holiday spirit!
If it were up to my daughter, she would’ve add “like a whole bunch more tips“, but I’m sure you’re eager to been your holiday festivities! Drop a comment below and let us know how you’re celebrating Halloween this year! Stay tuned for our next post this Saturday!
I love these tips and tricks to subjects people are scared to talk about. I love your blogs so far and reading about brain fatigue helped me today. I have a paper out with 4 dots 7 dots then last 8 dots. Remembering to breath today. Thank you for your creativity.
Thank you for reading and your kind words. I’m glad 4-7-8 works for you!
P.S. It helps you fall asleep quicker too! 😉