Pandemic Halloween
How to enjoy spooky season in 2020
Here we are in October, my favorite month, and yet it looks very different for all of us this year. Traditional parties with bobbing for apples and games or trick-or treating door to door are all out the window. There will be no zombie bar crawl or in person costume contests. How can we still enjoy a spooky season with COVID running rampant and many things off the table?
Don’t worry, this season doesn’t require any of that and there are many things you can do, even in this era, to enjoy the best of all seasons.
- Drive through haunts
I’ve already seen advertisements for drive through haunts instead of the usual haunted house. The idea being that you stay in your car and dive through a haunted area with actors who will come out and towards your vehicle. Honestly, I can see safety issues with this one but am still considering attending one. Haunted houses are my normal go-to activity during this season and this is as close to that as we will get this year. It won’t be the same but at least you get some of the same atmosphere and fun.
2. Streaming night
Of course you know all the streaming sites have horror movies from family friendly to straight gory and nearly unwatchable but what about streaming them as a group? There are several apps/sites such as Scener and Netflix Party that let you stream together even though you are far apart. It won’t be quite like having your friends over for popcorn and scares but at least you won’t have to be all alone while you watch gruesome death on screen.
3. Cards and mail surprises
Send the spirit of Halloween with others by mail. There are tons of amazing cards from pop ups, to handmade ones that you can send to scare up a special someone’s day. There are even special flower bouquets and Halloween themed pinatas you can order. You can also bake treats or make a “care package” full of creepy items and send it. I’d love to get anything Halloween in the mail and there is nothing better than a surprise like that.
4. Traditional celebrations
Not all Halloween traditions are killed off this year. You can still do things like pumpkin carving and decorating the outside of your home. In fact, please decorate the outside of your home so we can all drive by and look at it, we need this right now. Cook up some cider and get to carving while you play spooky music. You can still make fun crafts and dress up at home which is pretty much how I live my life year round.
5. Spooky photo shoot
Grab your housemates or kids and go to a creepy looking location to take some pictures. Old cemeteries, pumpkin patches, abandoned areas that you have access to, so many choices! If you have access to an actual photographer all the better, but if you don’t, just do it on your own. Your kids will love having pictures of them in costume to celebrate and share and just a simple internet search will show you examples of themed horror/Halloween shoots. Get creative and get out of the house for a bit and have memories and pictures forever.
6. Trick-or-treating pandemic style
There are a group of businesses that have gotten together for a drive through type of getting candy for kids. They released a map or business participating and during that time, you can drive up and your kids get treats without ever having to step out of the car. Many people are coming up with alternate ways of trying to give our kids the traditional experience this year, so check around your area for what may be offered. While we tend to associate this tradition as being essential to the holiday, I didn’t really grow up doing it that much due to living in an isolated area of Alaska. We had very few neighbors and there weren’t many kids, so maybe a few houses that weren’t too far from us, our parents would drive us to but mostly we didn’t go out much for it. Kids will survive missing it this year, I promise.
7. Drive in theaters
Just when they almost disappeared from American life completely, the drive-in theater is back during the pandemic! I’ve seen multiple places near me advertise for drive-in viewings and you know they will be playing Halloween flicks this time of year. Check out and see where you can revisit the past with our present times and enjoy this nostalgic way of movie watching.
Ultimately, nothing can ruin this season if you don’t let it. I carry the creepy life with me all year round, so I’m unbothered by this change and will continue on my spooky way and celebrate the creepy every single day until I die.
