22 Halloween Activities: Alternatives to Trick or Treating in 2020

Instead of spending Halloween night going door to door asking for candy, you have the opportunity to celebrate creatively. With alternative Halloween activities like having a scavenger hunt, organizing a trunk or treat or hiring a virtual magician, you can make this year special with these great Halloween entertainment ideas.

Here are 22 Halloween activities for you and your family if you’re not trick-or-treating this year. 

Halloween Scavenger Hunt

If you decide to stay home, a scavenger hunt is one of our favorite fun alternatives to trick or treating this Halloween. Create Halloween crafts ahead of time and hide them around the house, with a map or list to guide the scavenger hunt players. Think cut-out black cats, witches, broomsticks, toy spiders and fake eyeballs. You could also treat it more like trick-or-treating and give each player a trick-or-treating bag or bucket to find hidden Halloween candies or toys.

Halloween Candy Apples

You can make them as easy or as intricate as you’d like, from simply dipping the apples into melted chocolate to turning them into monsters with marshmallow eyes and sugary fangs.

Monster Mash Freeze Dance

Using the iconic Halloween hit, Monster Mash, set up a small dance floor and play Monster Mash Freeze Dance! The idea is to freeze every time the music pauses, and whoever moves during the freeze is out! The last one dancing wins a spooky Halloween prize. 

Trunk or Treat Party

Instead of having trick or treaters go door to door, this new concept invented as a safe alternative is actually the perfect outdoor Halloween party idea for social distancing this fall 2020. Here’s how this fun trick or treat idea works. Invite a bunch of families to gather in a parking lot with their car trunks decorated—you could even match the decor theme to your child’s costume. The trick or treaters walk from car to car to collect candy and see all the displays.

Magic Themed Halloween Party 

If your kids love magic and illusions, make this Halloween at home magic-themed!

Psychic Themed Halloween Party 

Take a peek into the future and have a night of fortune-telling and palm reading this Halloween.

Tell Ghost Stories

Depending on your child’s interest in the dark and mysterious, set up the living room or den with candles and flashlights and huddle together to tell haunting stories.

Halloween Arts and Crafts

It’s amazing what you can create with popsicle sticks, cotton balls, pipe cleaners, and construction paper.

Homemade Halloween Treats

Along with spooky candy apples, there are a variety of other Halloween treats and baked goods you can make with your kids this Halloween.

Have a Murder Mystery Party

Another great trick or treat alternative is to make this Halloween’s event a murder mystery! Hunt for clues together once each player has received their character scripts. You can assign these ahead of time to coordinate with Halloween costumes, or give them out night-of and improvise!

Host a Spooky Seance

If your kids are a little older, why not up the spook-factor a little with some help from the occult?

Haunted House Party

If you and your kids enjoy a theme park haunted house every now and then, why not create your very own? Spider webs, spooky masks, “heads” on plates and fake blood may provide those hilarious jump scares you’re looking for this Halloween. But it’s up to you how scary you make it! The best part about making your own haunted house is that you can curate it to your child’s spook-tolerance. 

Jack O’Lanterns

Whether you carve a classic jack o’lantern face or even paint a black cat onto your pumpkin instead, this autumnal activity is a great source of entertainment for everyone on Halloween day. 

Make sure you save the seeds so you can roast them for a snack later too!

Harry Potter Party

If your family loves Harry Potter, turn your home into Hogwarts this Halloween! Set up different stations with a sorting hat, DIY wand making, and potions class with slime and food coloring. Hide a golden snitch (which you can make easily out of a Ferrero Roche chocolate and paper wings) and award a magical prize to whoever finds it first. Weather depending, you could even set up a quidditch game in the back yard! Don’t forget Bertie Bott’s every-flavored beans and chocolate frogs.

Reading Tea Leaves

Make some loose-leaf tea for your family to drink, but be sure to tell everyone to allow their tea leaves to settle at the bottom of their cups. Look for shapes that may have formed, and have your own fortune telling session together!

Halloween Candy Jar 

This simple Halloween game is great for starting the Halloween festivities. Fill a jar with jellybeans or M&Ms, and take note of everyone’s guesses! Whoever guesses closest wins a prize - or even the jar itself!

Halloween Slime

If your kid loves sensory activities, why not make your own spooky slime this Halloween? With black, green, or red coloring and objects like googly eyes or fake teeth, you can create some super spooky slime to play with.

Halloween Mystery Box

Speaking of sensory activities - the Halloween Mystery Box is great for kids who love tactile games. Turn a box into a mysterious treasure chest and fill it with strange items that are interesting to touch - like slime, gummy eyeballs, and candy. The idea is to feel around the box blindfolded and try to guess what each item is. After each correct guess, award a Halloween treat or prize!

Halloween Bingo

Bingo is a fun and easy game the whole family can play. Use candy corn, M&Ms or skittles as markers, and make sure you have a fun Halloween playlist to enjoy while you play the game.

Pumpkin-Spiced Hot Chocolate

Stock up on cinnamon sticks and spices and prepare a tasty treat everyone can enjoy. Don’t forget the whipped cream!

Halloween Coloring Pages

An easy yet effective Halloween activity for kids is Halloween coloring!

Halloween Themed Movie Night

There’s nothing that gets you into the Halloween spirit like a fun Halloween movie. You can even extend your viewing to other friends or family by watching together on Netflix Party! However you choose to watch, the options for kid’s Halloween movies are vast. The Adam’s Family, Casper, Hocus Pocus, Nightmare Before Christmas, Halloweentown, The Little Vampire, Frankenweenie, Hotel Transylvania, and Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween are some great family Halloween films to consider!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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12 Virtual Thanksgiving Celebration Ideas

Need a little inspiration to get the ball of stuffing on your plate rolling? Despite the circumstances, we've got a few tips and tricks up our sleeves to ensure you enjoy a little quality time together this Thanksgiving.

Here are 12 ideas to help you celebrate a Happy Thanksgiving 2020 virtually.

Send Invites 

Invite your family for a virtual Thanksgiving celebration. You can do so digitally through a simple text or email, or with an invite curated by a specialty website.

Need an element that isn't digital? Craft your own invitations with old fashioned paper, scissors, and glue instead. DIY invitations are also a great way to keep the kids occupied for the weekend. Hand-shape turkeys? Crayon leaf-rubbings? Your kids will love it, plus it's a lovely keepsake for family members you haven't seen in a while.  

Plan an Activity 

Taking turns catching up is nice and all, but why not liven up your virtual Thanksgiving with something to do? Here are a few fun virtual party ideas you could use: 

Play a Game

An easy way to find amusement during a virtual celebration is with a game.

Talent Show

This one's pretty self-explanatory. Get each of your family members to prepare a short showcase of one of their talents! Calling all jugglers, pianists, and moonwalkers. And don't forget to include your pets! Show off the tricks your dogs, cats, lizards, and hedgehogs can do so they can be a part of the celebration too. 

Share a Workshop

Know how to bake the perfect apple pie? How to perfectly cook a turkey over a fire? Share your expertise with your loved ones, or even hire a professional to teach you all something new.

Trivia Night

Here's an amusing way to show your family how many random and hilarious facts you know. Whether you choose a trivia theme like geography, Harry Potter, local history, or a homemade family-themed trivia game - it's sure to be a hit. If nothing else, y'all will likely learn a thing or two you didn't know before! 

Family History 

What better time than Thanksgiving to look into your family's roots? As a way of giving gratitude to your ancestors, learn more about them.

View a slideshow of family photos to feel closer to your loved ones while celebrating virtually. Ask each household to provide a handful of favorite photos to include, that way everyone is sure to be included. 

Feed the nostalgia and pair your slideshow with a few home videos too! It's nice to reminisce together, especially during a time when we can't all be together. Be sure to take a few screenshots of the virtual celebration, to add fond memories of this whacky time to future slideshows.

Host a Virtual Thanksgiving Field Trip

If your kids haven't already experienced it with school, why not host the virtual field trip during your Thanksgiving celebration? Take a peek into what life was like for colonists and First Nations in the 1600s, and learn a little about the history of Thanksgiving.   

Share a Thanksgiving Meal 

Obviously, Thanksgiving dinners are legendary. So you're going to have to eat together, even if you're apart. This is Thanksgiving after all! Exchange recipes ahead of time so no one misses out on anyone's signature dish this year. Don't forget the candied yams!

Make an Autumnal Beverage

Whether you decide on a hot toddy, a pumpkin brew, a spiced latte, or simply some apple cider - let your family know what's in your cup! You could even make a contest out of who can make the most extravagant looking autumnal drink. Think fall colors, whipped cream, cloves, and cinnamon!

Say Thanks 

What is Thanksgiving without going around the virtual table to say one thing you're thankful for? Cringey as it is, it's one part of the modern Thanksgiving tradition that ought to continue. Because we have a lot to be thankful for - especially when it comes to family and friends. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What COVID-19 DJ Gigs Are Actually Like – And How to Play Them

So it all seems to be settling down, globally, into the dreaded “new normal”.

A pattern of lockdowns being enforced, eased, enforced again. Local lockdowns to hit flare-up spots. Country lockdowns changing with medical advice, political willpower, and with the cold statistics of how the virus is spreading. Boris gets it, recovers. Trump gets it. On we go.

And if there’s a sense that we can’t all stay locked down, forever, equally there’s one of acceptance that the “new” normal will be anything but – and things will be this way for the foreseeable future. Nobody talks about “this will be all over by summer” (or Christmas, this year or next) any more.

And in all of this, gigs are coming back.

What it’s like out there, now

So before we look at COVID-19 DJ gigs, and at how to approach them (assuming you even want to), let’s take a trip around the world, with real feedback form DJs playing gigs, now.

(This may help you if you feel the rest of the world is partying, and only your country, state or city is locked down. Accurate as of 1 October 2020…)

• In England, it’s “background music” with no more than 15 people at a wedding, for example. In Scotland, though, you apparently can’t even have background music!
• In the Netherlands, it’s a maximum of 30 people inside, all music must stop at 10pm – with more stringency threatened
• In Jakarta, Indonesia, total lockdown – all clubs shut until further notice
• In Canada, no more than 50 people, midnight closing – with stricter measures in Toronto, including no dancing
• In Montana, USA, where COVID-19 has not hit hard, it’s 50-75% venue capacity, quieter music “recommended”, the face mask rule only enforced for staff
• In Los Angeles all clubs and bars closed
• In Australia, certain cities are in full lockdown, no dancing permitted anywhere
• In Portugal, bars and clubs have to function as cafes – no dancing, tables on dancefloors, enforced social distancing. No alcohol consumption outside unless accompanied by a meal

We could go on, but you get the picture. This is global.

But of course it’s not only about laws being set from above – it is about how people feel on the street, too. Just because people can do something, it doesn’t mean they will.

If you fear the virus could seriously hurt you or your family, you won’t want to put them at unnecessary risk by doing things that may expose you or them to it. This is going to affect how popular DJ gigs are in the near future, and the moods of people at gigs.

All of this means that things are very different for DJs right now, and will continue to be for a long time to come. There is no guarantee of a vaccine. We have no timeline for the way out of this. We’d better get used to it.

Advice for playing COVID-19 DJ gigs

So if you are lucky enough to get a gig this week, this month, this year, and you then move to thinking about how that gig will be, and how you may do the best job of it, let’s look at each of those in turn.

1. You may be asked to play quieter music – So it’s important to play songs that work at a lower volume: Recognisable melodies, full instrumentation, vocals. Think radio, not club. Sub-bassline, stripped back, minimal house bangers do not really work at talking volume. Owners of “silent disco” equipment may see an opportunity here, too
2. There may be reduced capacity – So you can’t expect the electric, heightened atmosphere only a packed club can deliver. You’ll need to start “reading the room” like a bar DJ, not a club DJ, and making people feel “all together” in other ways. Increased use of the microphone may be one of them
3. Venues may close earlier – So it is more important than ever to get the programming right. To have a “beginning, middle and end” mentality for programming the entertainment. For the DJs on the night, if there are more than one, it’ll be important to get together and plan the night as a whole
4. Dancing may not be allowed – Why not spin this into an opportunity, to play music that speaks to our times and to your people, but that maybe you wouldn’t play when there was the impetus to keep a dancefloor full? Again, bar DJs will know what I am talking about here. Also, greater use of visuals and visual components in your sets may help
5. Face masks may be required – How about masquerade-style parties? Making a thing of it? Handing out branded or themed face masks at the door? From a DJing point of view, it’ll be difficult not being able to see people’s smiles. You’ll need to get better at reading different types of body language

The above advice works for all DJs, but event DJs – people who play weddings, birthdays and so on – have another huge issue to contend with: Unpredictability. Who is truly planning anything in these times? That includes the booking of DJs for events. Things are often changing daily.

You should consider adjusting your marketing and approach, to position yourself as a “last minute” operation, ready to react and be available at a day’s notice. Make sure all your potential clients know that.

Switch things up so you can get all the usual planning, agreeing and preparation done for an event in a week, not a month (or half a year or more, in the case of a wedding). It strikes me that being nimble will be a necessary quality for such DJs in these times.