12 Ideas to Celebrate Halloween 2020

This year, Halloween is going to look a little different due to COVID. For the most part, there won’t be large crowds of families gathered in the streets trick or treating with friends, and many parades have been canceled or scaled back. But that doesn’t mean Halloween 2020 is canceled. Below are some creative ideas to make Halloween 2020 fun and safe for all! Whether you're staying at home, trick or treating around the neighborhood, or giving out candy, we've got some great ideas for you! 

We all need a bit of spooky fun this year, so we’ve compiled a list of safe ways to celebrate Halloween 2020! Don't forget your masks!

Ideas for Halloween 2020 - Trick or Treat Home Edition 

1. Scavenger Hunt

Turn your home into a Halloween scavenger hunt. Hide treats or small gifts in every room or around the yard for your children to find. If your kids are old enough to read, you can make clues to help them find their next treat! For added spooky fun, turn off the lights and hand out flashlights or glow sticks to the kids! You can even get them in on the pre-fun! Give them bags of candy to hide in random places, for their siblings to find later! Download your free Printable Scavenger Hunt now (we've also included blank sheet if you want to come up with your own clues)!

2. Party Time!

Once they're all candied out, there are tons more activities you can conjure up! Decorate a pumpkin or a face mask. Whip out the Skoolzy's Pumpkin Matching Game for some family fun, or place some googly eyeballs around the yard and time them to see how long it’ll take to find them all/who finds the most in ten minutes, etc 

3. Virtual Party

Decorate your house (or even just a room) and create a virtual fancy dress party with friends and family! Get the pets to join in too!

Each family can print out some spooky coloring sheets for the kids to color in, and have treats at the ready so you can all award prizes for scariest costume, funniest pet costume, most colorful picture, best jack-o-lantern, etc

4. “Scary” Movie Night

Have a spooky movie night inside with family or outside with friends! There are plenty of fun age-appropriate Halloween movies you can watch with your children. Check out these great classics:

• Super Monsters Save Halloween (4+)
• Scoob! (8+)
• Happy Family (The Adams Family) (7+)
• It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (4+)
• Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest (3+)
• Frankenweenie (9+)
• Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Party (3+)
• Mickey’s Treat (3+)
• Spooky Buddies (6+)
• Halloween is a Grinch Night (5+)
• The Dog Who Saved Halloween (6+)
• Toy Story of TERROR (6+)
• Double Double Toil & Trouble (5+)
• Super Monsters Save Halloween (4+)
• Casper (8+)

5. Spooky Treats

There are a ton of Halloween-themed treats which are a blast to make. Gather your family around the kitchen and have fun decorating together! Not everyone has the time or the skill to make super elaborate treats, so we’ve compiled a list of quick and easy spooky treats. Have a go making Edible Monster Pizza Bites, Bat Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich, Celery Snails & Caterpillars, Orange Jack-O'-Lanterns, Skeleton Crudité or the Monster Meatball Sliders.

Ideas for Halloween 2020 - COVID-friendly Trick Or Treating 

Families everywhere are coming up with a host of original ideas to keep Halloween fun and safe this year. Below are some fun ideas for those wanting to  give out candy this year:

6. Socially Distanced Candy Sticks!

Tack candy onto some sticks and put them into the ground in your front yard - a fun way to hand out candy from a distance!

7. Pre-Bagged Goodies

Set up a table in your front yard with individual bags of candy so that kids can just swing by and pick up (no contact). You can sit 6ft away, on your porch, and enjoy the scene from afar! 

8. A Candy Shoot

Make a candy slide out of a PVC pipe to run from one end of your yard (or from a window) down to the other (and decorate it with lights or paint it with day glow or glow in the dark paint for extra effect!). When a trick or treater comes along, shoot a piece of candy down the slide, directly into their bucket - a fun way to keep your distance while giving out candy! 

9. String 'em Up

Place string lights across your yard or from your garage. Attach candy to the string with little pegs so kids can do a grab and go!

10. Trunk or Treat

Host a trunk or treat event - where a bunch of people from the neighborhood decorate their cars (instead of their houses). Each car can be parked at a distance from one another and kids can go from trunk to trunk picking out candy, while the adults can take a seat (6ft away) and enjoy the night! 

11. Candy-Filled Balloon

Place small pieces of candy into balloons, blow them up and attach them to some string. Each trick or treater can then take away a candy filled balloon! A great way to keep the candy free from germs and the balloon makes an extra gift for the kids!

12. Outdoor Parade

Set up a social distanced parade around the neighborhood - find fun ways to incorporate face masks into your costumes! 

Whether you're a homeowner handing out treats, or a family out and about in your neighborhood, check out this handy infographic for homeowners and the infographic for trick or treaters to keep your Halloween 2020 safe! 

No matter what your plans are for Halloween this year, have fun, get creative, and most of all, stay safe!