There are three types of Halloween people. Those who LOVE it, those who hate it, and those who just want to have fun. I’m the latter.
No matter which category you fall in, you can make this holiday memorable by implementing some simple techniques and remembering it’s about love. The more you have fun together, the more your kids will want to play with you when they get older. And that’s crucial in the teen years.
In this blog we’ll cover four tips (and if you know me, you know there will be way more than that) for making Halloween fun even if you’re not really into it.
what will make halloween fun?
The main question you’re asking yourself is: What will make Halloween fun this year? Remember that FUN is the most important word here.
That answer is going to be different for everyone — probably every single year. It depends on your kids’ ages, budget, your stress levels, how much time you have, etc.
You might answer that question with one or more of these ways.
- going to a party
- dressing up
- having a movie night
- going trick-or-treating
- decorating your yard
- carving pumpkins
- playing games at home
- or turning off all the lights and telling ghost stories
However you do Halloween Fun is up to you — and your family. Get their input. Give them your ideas and see what they think. If you have teens and toddlers, you’ll get different answers.
My husband definitely hates Halloween. He knows making memories is important, so he participates in his way. Don’t force your spouse or child to do something they hate but DO encourage them to participate in some form. Let them choose: handing out the treats or wearing a shirt that says, “Error 404 Costume Not Found”.
Pretty creative, huh? He designed that with a bunch of encouragement. Encouragement sounded like this, “I don’t care what you wear as a costume, just wear something. No, really. Figure it out. Put a gumdrop in your navel and go as the gingerbread man.” (It was a block party at the end of the street.) He had fun. And that’s the point, right?
HAVE FUN!
This is probably the most important part. Once you’ve decided what will be fun, you have to remember to have fun.
A Child’s Eyes
Do you remember what it was like to be a child or a teenager at Halloween? Be a child again. Get excited. Borrow your children’s enthusiasm. What part are they looking forward to? At this point you’ve already discussed what you want to do together, so build on that.
Be Present
Even if you have nothing grand planned, be present for your family. Tell them how great their costumes look. My oldest daughter remembers her dad driving the car for trick-or-treating. He’d ask them what they got. Occasionally he’d dress up too, and that was huge. And of course, he negotiated for the best candy.
My kids probably thought I LOVED Halloween. I didn’t. What I loved was making memories and playing together. My Momma made costumes, chili, and homemade root beer. Since I was the youngest, it was usually the older siblings who took us around. But she was present in our joy.
Be Positive
That was my Momma’s greatest trait. She was positive and found a way to make things fun even without money. I don’t ever remember her complaining about what we wanted to dress up as, throwing a party, or that she didn’t want to go anywhere. She made magic out of nothing.
That’s the trick. Validating our kids. When we’re negative or criticize their ideas, it ruins the Halloween fun and creates bad memories. Don’t get me wrong. That doesn’t mean we do everything they want. Acknowledge and redirect if needed. “That sounds like a lot of fun! I bet we could do a haunted house next year. Will you help me plan it? Awesome. This year let’s make something scary for when we answer the door.”
Maybe it’s your spouse that loves Halloween and wants to do all the planning. Support them in a positive way. Find something you can do that will help and show love, even if you’re not really into it.
DON’T STRESS
If you’re stressed out, it’s not a fun Halloween. Everyone can feel the tension and that ruins it. I tend to plan more than I can pull off. What you choose to do depends on many factors: money, energy, time, people’s interest level. Don’t let expectations exceed ability. It’s important to be realistic about how big or small you want to go. Small can still be fun!
Plan Ahead
Having a chronic illness makes it necessary to slow down and plan. It’s a great skill for every mom to have. Delegate, make lists, use your planner to spread the preparation out over time, and remember to be flexible if you have to simplify. Even the small things can be stressful if you’re not prepared.
Do It Different
Whether it’s your own expectations or everyone else’s, stress can climb when pressure is put on you to “perform”. You don’t have to do it like everyone else. Do it different. Be creative and flexible. If you can’t do something, put on your thinking cap and figure out what you can do — or ditch it all together. And BREATHE.
Be Thrifty
Money (or the lack of it) can be a huge stressor. There are many ways to be frugal at this time of year. What do you have laying around the house or in closets that can be used or transformed? Look for decorations and costumes at thrift stores, garage sales, on social media, and on clearance. Most of my costumes are second hand or homemade. My daughter ran to the thrift store and bought a costume for her son on Halloween day. As you can see, he was thrilled.
BE CREATIVE
For me, this is the best part. I love figuring out how to make things fun — especially on a dime. When the kids were little, I made costumes and created jack-o-lantern designs. As teenagers, they still loved to dress up, but wanted more friend interaction. With foster kids, it was a whole new adventure sharing our traditions and showing them how fun it could be — or trying to convince them it really would be fun, not dumb.
Now that my kids are grown, they request a family party each year. Everyone dresses up and has an assignment to make the night fun. I love getting creative in all these settings.
Dress Up
I highly encourage you to dress up with your kids. Dress in whatever you have or plan a theme. Child #1 gets into this more than any other child. Every year she and her husband attend a party and wear something different. Her husband is a great sport with her creativity. Can you guess who they dressed up as each time?
As I mentioned earlier, costumes can be anything. Don’t cause a fight over no costume if they sincerely don’t want to wear one, but with some creativity, you can come up with something they’ll like. If they won’t wear anything, tell people they’re “attitude personified”. One year my son could not decide what to wear so he grabbed a BUNCH of stuff out of the costume box and wore them all. He was the Ghost of Halloween Past. Do you have scrubs? A football uniform? Your high school letterman or cheerleading uniform?
Jack-O-Lanterns
Pumpkin carving is a great tradition. There are a lot of creative designs to choose from. One of our favorite traditions is having a pumpkin carving contest. A few years back, one of our kids announced they were expecting by putting a tiny carved pumpkin inside a large pumpkin. They won they Happy Grandparent Award. This is fun for all ages.
If you can’t stand gutting the pumpkin, there are other ways to create a jack-o-lantern, using real pumpkins or reusable fake pumpkins that won’t rot by the time Halloween Night comes.
- Paint a face with acrylic paints.
- Glue buttons, construction paper cutouts, wooden shapes, spiders, or any other items make a Halloween face. This is a fun craft for little kids who can’t use knives.
- Likewise, you can use foam or plastic stickers to create cool faces.
- Stick items into the pumpkin – springs, tacks, gears, dowels, bamboo skewers, toothpicks, etc. Buy various push in parts to make scary, funny, or entertaining jack-o-lanterns, like this werewolf.
Focus on Fall
If you don’t want to celebrate the spooky, scary side of Halloween, then focus on fall. Use pumpkins, leaves, cornstalks. Have a party celebrating the season and serve apple cider and corn on the cob. Bob for apples, have a chili cookoff, pin the hat on the scarecrow, make caramelized apples, run a gunnysack race, or watch football.
Read picture books about fall.
Decorate without the festivities if that makes you glad. Kids can make fall leaves, create a scarecrow and talk about what they’re for. Find harvest-theme activities to do as a family. Locate nearby farms that have pumpkins and a hayride. Go through a corn maze. Willis Farms is near us, and they have activities all through the month of October.
Celebrate Your Way
You do NOT have to do Halloween the traditional way. Break out of the box and do it different!
Movie
One year, when I had teenagers and young foster kids, I set up our 12 ft outdoor movie screen and travel projector in the front yard with bean bags and lawn chairs. I did not want to get up a million times to answer the door, and I thought it would be fun for neighbors to watch if they wanted. We played “Hocus Pocus”, our favorite Halloween movie, appropriate for all ages. Those who wanted to dress up and trick-or-treat did. Everyone else settled in for popcorn and a movie. My husband and I sat where we could easily hand out goodies to kids.
NOTE: There are a variety of screens and projectors available. I recommend an easy to assemble screen and projector with a good built-in speaker. It’s noisy outside.
You can ditch the outside movie and trick-or-treating all together. Turn off all the lights and watch a film together as a family. If you have teenagers, they can invite friends and watch a horror film. Everyone is safe under one roof.
Haunted House
Last year at our family party Child #5 helped me create a haunted maze in our house. I geared it towards teenagers, but had adaptations to fit any of the little grandkids who wanted to join in. I will be writing instructions for creating your own haunted house, so stay tuned for that. If you’re an outgoing person, invite your neighbors to participate.
Neewollah Party
If you don’t like Halloween, throw a non-halloween party. Get creative and do the exact opposite of Halloween. Spring? Everyone has to dress exactly the same — no costumes, just jeans and a blue t-shirt. Have a BBQ. Play table games or a Role Playing Game (RPG).
Trick-or-Treating Service
Instead of going to people’s homes for treats, what if you took treats to people’s homes? You can “ghost” someone’s door (put a sign that says “You’ve been Ghosted” on the door) and leave them a plate of goodies — knock and run. I’ve included a free pdf for you to use.
If there’s a nursing home nearby, you can bring treats and do a “trick”, like sing a song or tell a joke. If there are elderly people in your neighborhood or someone who is sick and can’t get out much, you can do the same for them.
MAKE MEMORIES
The trick to implementing any of these tips for Halloween Fun is to remember that you’re making memories. Or as my youngest would say, “remembories”. Even when things would go crazy wrong, Child #5 would say, “Hey! We made a remembory.” So . . .
- What will make Halloween fun?
- Don’t Stress
- Have Fun
- Be Creative
You’ve got this!!
YOUR TURN
Which category of Halloween fan are you? What are some of your favorite Halloween memories? If you’re not a fan of Halloween, how do you celebrate with your family?
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