COVID-Friendly Halloween Activities to Get into the Spirit This Season
It’s spooky season! I am so excited for the holiday season to begin, but everything is going to be a little different this year due to COVID. I wanted to share some fun and safe activities that you can do this year to celebrate Halloween with family and friends.
Drive-Through Haunted House
Photo: Legend of the Fog
Haunted houses are usually a huge hit during October, but, unfortunately, they are all postponed until Halloween 2021. Instead, there are haunted drives! Most places have a similar set of rules: windows down, speed limit of 3 miles per hour or less, no stopping, no exiting your vehicle, and no touching displays or staff. I think this is a really fun way to get a good scare while staying socially distanced from others!
Pumpkin Patch and Carving
Photo: Pinterest
This is a classic Halloween activity that we can still do this year. I believe it depends on each town and state, but some pumpkin patches are open. If you can’t find an available pumpkin patch, there are many stores you can find a pumpkin to carve like Walmart and Costco. Grab a carving kit at CVS or Walgreens and get to work!
Apple Cider Recipe
I absolutely love apple cider and there are really great stores to buy cider, but I think it’s more fun to make it yourself.
Here’s a great recipe I found on Delish that makes 2 quarts of apple cider:
Photo: Sally’s Baking Addiction
10 large apples (quartered)
½ orange
4 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. whole allspice
1 whole nutmeg
½ packed brown sugar
This recipe takes about 3 hours, so I will also share a quicker alternative. Williams Sonoma sells the best mulling spices. If you purchase this and the five apple cider, cook both in a pot and you will have instant apple cider.
Hot Chocolate Bombs
I know hot chocolate is more of a Christmas drink, but I came across hot chocolate bombs and needed to share it with the CLOTHES & WATER community. I can’t wait to try it out too.
In order to make this delicious treat, you will need:
Photo: Pinterest
1 cup of milk chocolate chips
3 tablespoons of hot chocolate mix
3 tablespoons of mini marshmallows
the chocolate mold
Start by melting your chocolate and smoothing it in a semi-circle silicone mold. Put this tray in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Fill the chocolate mold with marshmallows or another topping of your choice. Place another semi-circle of chocolate on top, and seal the gap by smoothing some extra melted chocolate over it. Put it in the freezer to firm it afterwards. When you’re ready, place the hot chocolate bomb in a cup of hot milk and enjoy!
Halloween Movie Marathon
Here is my list of must-watch movies this season:
Halloweentown
Halloween
Scream
Ghostbusters
Hocus Pocus
Casper
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Enjoy these movies with your family members and some apple cider or hot chocolate bombs!
Spooky Desserts
My all-time favorite Halloween dessert is the Pillsbury ready to bake pumpkin shaped cookies. These are amazing and if you have not tried them before, now’s the time. They’re a classic and really easy to make.
Photo: Sophia’s Kitchen
But, if you’re feeling crafty with your baking, try making ghost cupcakes. Bake some chocolate cupcakes and top them with chocolate frosting. After your cupcakes are made, roll out white fondant and cut a couple large circles. Grab a lollypop of your choice and put the white circle-shaped fondant over it. Put the lollipop in the middle of the cupcake and top it off with two black dots of frosting as the eyes. And voila...you have a spooky ghost cupcake!
Go Booing
Booing was an activity my friends and I looked forward to every year when we were children. During October, we put together little goodie bags of Halloween candy and dropped them off at friends’ houses. Another important part of Booing is the “ding dong ditch” element. The process is to ring the doorbell, drop the goodie bag, and run. We used to have fun guessing who we got booed by and chase after the people. Whenever we heard the doorbell ring late at night in October, we knew we were getting booed. I figured this year is a fun year to bring back Booing because it is COVID-friendly! Try Booing some of your friends this season.