Want to celebrate Halloween at home?
It might look a little different for your family but Halloween candy is hitting the shelves. And Spirit Halloween is opening stores.
But we’re still in the midst of a pandemic, and so it should come as little surprise that Halloween celebrations and trick-or-treating could look different this year.
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Halloween Costumes
We recommend ordering and buying early this year, due to extended shipping times and potentially more limited supply. As of the time of writing, these costumes are all well stocked.
Most of their options are priced between $20 and $30 each.
We also love the Unicorn and the Lion too – all available on Amazon!
Halloween Costumes for Toddlers and Preschoolers
We think the Paw Patrol costume and the air-blow up Penguin (also available in age 7-10, so you can do an older brother/sister combo too) – available on Amazon!
Halloween Costumes for Elementary Kids
Other cute options are the Nintendo Super Mario costume which has a great Moustache which we love and the Poppy from Trolls, which has the best Pink Wig we’ve seen – available on Amazon!
Halloween Costumes for Tweens and Teens
We found two other fun costumes for the oldest Kids – the Assassin’s Creed and the Onesie super soft Stitch costume
Halloween Costumes for Adults
Other options we love are: the Elf Move Buddy costume and the Pickle. More options are ready for purchase at Amazon.
Halloween Costumes for the Whole Family (for those among us that like to match!)
There are some great Family choices, but each costume has to be ordered separately, so you can get the right size for your Kids! Amazon has some great options!
Walmart is also an option if Amazon doesn’t have stock. You can order online for shipping or curbside pickup.
Will there be Trick-or-Treating, Costumes, Parties?
Decorate Your House to the Max
Haunt the neighborhood with these Halloween Inflatables from The Home Depot.
The Home Depot has SO many cool Halloween decorations this year, including a Coco-themed inflatable and Giant Dragon.
Set up a Halloween Candy Graveyard
Oriental Trading always has great ideas – and this one is a great example. decked out for Halloween and gives kids a way to social distance while trick-or-treating in it.
Set up fake tombstones in your yard with prizes and candy piled up next to each tombstone. You could have each kid enter the graveyard one at a time and package up candy and prizes into individual treat bags for extra safety. Here are more Low-contact Trick or Treating ideas
Host Zoom Costume Parties and Pumpkin-Carving Contests
Host a Halloween-themed costume or dance party on Zoom for friends and family. Create a spook-tacular playlist for everyone to shake their boo things to, and have attendees show off their costumes on camera.
You can also gather remotely to decorate and carve pumpkins safely from your own homes. Interact while you craft by sharing spooky stories. At the end, award prizes (virtual prizes or ones you send via snail mail) to the best looks!
Attend a Trunk-or-Treat
Trunk-or-treating is a perfect socially distant activity this year.
It’s usually an organized event held in a school or church parking lot with decorated vehicles, and kids go trick-or-treating from car to car. To find your nearest Trunk or Treat Events, we have a list for you!
You can host this in your neighborhood, too, with neighbors setting up trunk displays in the driveway and passing out candy. Note: Consider having designated adults (who commit to applying hand sanitizer) give out the candy rather than encourage lots of little hands to reach inside the bowl.
Party City has a list of 17 trunk-or-treat ideas for inspiration!
Halloween Parades and Reverse Trick-or-Treating
Another trend we’re hearing about are Halloween parades or a form of drive-by trick-or-treating. For the Parades, you can use your neighborhood streets as a catwalk to show off your costumes and hand out and collect candy. You can also decorate bikes, wagons, golf carts and cars to show off your looks!
With reverse trick-or-treating, you’ll see people drive by houses similar to the COVID-19 birthday parades. Those in the car will throw candy at the kids in costumes in their yards.
“Boo” your Friends and Neighbors
Drop a Halloween goodie bag or pumpkin on the doorsteps of friends and loved ones as a contact-free way to celebrate. Get ready to sneak up after dark, ring the doorbell, leave the treats on their doorstep and run!
has all sorts of fun treat bags, Boo Baskets, buckets, toys and candy to work with.
Have a Halloween Movie Marathon
You can choose to do this one via a projector in the backyard (we found this one at Walmart on sale for $179.99), through Netflix Party or just with your family bubble on the couch.
Pop some popcorn and throw on your favorite spooky movies and TV shows. Check out our list of Halloween-movie recommendations categorized by age.
Our favorite Halloween Movies:
- The Halloween Tree
- The House with the Clock in it’s Walls
- Ghostbusters
- Goosebumps
- Twitches
- Monster House
- The Addams Family
Set up a Trick-or-Treat Driveway Table or Front Yard Station
Ditch the traditional communal Halloween candy bowl and set up decorated tables or booths in your front yard where you hand out individual bags or cups of candy. This keeps contact to a minimum while also getting into the Halloween spirit!
Oriental Trading has ideas for a Fortune Teller Halloween Table, Ghoul Gang Halloween Table, Peanuts Halloween Table with all the tablecloths and accessories you may need.
Whip Up DIY Treats or Order Halloween Specials From Restaurants
Brew up your own Halloween desserts and snacks (popcorn balls, anyone?) to enjoy at home, or order takeout from one of the restaurants serving up Halloween-themed menu items and deals.
IHOP, Papa John’s and Chipotle are expected to resurrect their themed pancakes, Jack-O’-Lantern pizza and boo-rito!
Make a Reservation at a Pumpkin Patch
We are expecting (and some are already announcing this) pumpkin patches to open but some may have extra safety precautions, such as cashless payment, masks, hand sanitizer, limited capacity, and maybe even by reservation only to ensure social distancing and safety.
Related Links
- Halloween Events
- The Top Neighborhoods to go Trick or Treating