7 Ways to Celebrate Halloween 2020 Safely

If you are like us, you are stuck between being in shock that there is just 3 months left of the year, ready for the craziness that has been 2020 to be over and hope that somehow the new year will bring a fresh start. What none of us can deny is that Halloween is coming up FAST, and we want to be able to have the fun traditions of dressing up and getting sick off of candy, but also need to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. In an effort to help, we have come up with 7 suggestions to celebrate our favorite spooky, creative holiday so you can keep your family entertained, still bring joy and chocolate to your neighborhood, and costume ideas that won’t have you spend a ton of money on something that will be out-grown next year.

1. Spooky Scavenger Hunt

Nothing is more fun than a little adventure and competition among friends and family, and what better way than to team up on a scavenger hunt. There are a couple different ways you can play depending on the ages and size of people in your group. If you have kids that are on the younger side, setting up a scavenger hunt in your home and backyard can be a fun way to keep them entertained and finding candy along the way that they might even forget about the old way of trick or treating. Party Delights has some fun cards and ideas you can use to set up around your home.

If your kids and family are on the older side (maybe middle school or older), try a photo scavenger hunt around your city. Teams will need someone old enough, and responsible enough, to drive their team around looking for the places to match the clues. Have each team take a picture of the group at each location, and the first team to make it back with all the photos wins! Plus this can even turn into a cute holiday photo album you can all look back at and laugh for years to come. You may have to adjust the locations depending on where you live, but here is a sample photo hunt you can base your rules and locations off of.

2. Drive-by Trick or Treating

Since the pandemic has started, drive-by graduations, baby showers, and birthday parties, have been the new way people are choosing to celebrate one another in a safe way. Halloween can be the same. Get with your neighbors and coordinate drive-by trick or treating. You can have the families with kids standing outside their house so they can still show off their fun costumes, while others drive by and (gently) toss candy out to them from their cars. Gloves and masks are definitely recommended, but this gives a fun way to reverse old trick or treating traditions to fit the time we are in.

3. Socially Distanced Candy Pick Up

Another option for those who look forward to passing out candy and seeing cute costumes every year is creating your own socially distanced pick up station outside your home. Put together little goodie bags or candy piles at the end of your driveway, then take a seat on the other side and wave as you get to see all the fun kids pass through. Replenish the piles as people come by, and do your best to keep them distanced from each other to make for a safe and fun pick up.

4. Corona-Safe Halloween Mask Costumes

Masks are a part of our everyday lives now. If we are heading out anywhere outside our homes, masks are now a part of our checklist with keys and wallets. Thankfully now there are even cuter styles coming out, and they can be considered another accessory to your fun halloween costume. Good Housekeeping put together some companies that are making masks to fit a variety of costumes, or you can always get your own materials and glue gun and put together your own one-of-a-kind mask. If you are gearing towards bats, dinosaurs, parrots, or fairies and butterflies, we definitely recommend checking out our wings collection. Comfortable and durable, they will last long after halloween for any dress up or costume adventures.

5. DIY Reusable Costumes, Animal Edition

There is no better excuse to get fun and creative with face painting than Halloween. Even if you aren’t the most artistic, painting on some tiger stripes, wolf whiskers, panda eyes, or giraffe spots can be a simple way to take your or your child’s costume to the next level. Plus they won’t break it or grow out of it and face paint always comes in handy with dressing up and pretend play. Country Living has some fun and easy ideas and tutorials you can check out. Next all you have to do is add ears and a tail, have your clothes me the color of the animal, and your set! Don’t spend a ton of money on an animal onesie or extravagant costume that will probably end up in the donation box next season. When all you have to purchase is paint, and ears and tail accessories, you can save money and have something that can be played with and passed down that will last through the years, and is guaranteed to fit no matter who wants to wear them. We have everything from snow leopards, to cheetahs, to skunks and red pandas. All your animal accessory needs can be found here, and we even have sets with plushies so your child can take a friend along with them.

6. Inner Covid-19 Safe Party

By now you probably already have your distinguished “Covid-19 group.” It might be just your immediate family, or maybe a couple close friends and family members you have teamed up with for social and emotional support during this time to get some interaction while also pledging to stay safe. Whoever you are comfortable with getting a little bit closer to these days, plan your own halloween celebration together. Put together some fun spooky themed games and decorations, and of course keep the hand sanitizer and masks close, and avoid touching your face as much as possible.

7. Pumpkin Carving Movie Night

Nothing feels more like halloween than carving pumpkins and watching scary or fun halloween movies. This year if you want to stay extra safe, set up a fun night inside with the family. Turn off the lights and enjoy the night with candles throughout the house. Set up your own candy bar station so you won’t even miss trick or treating, maybe even a s’mores making station, fun flavored popcorn, and put on your top halloween movies for a marathon. Our favorites include: Hocus Pocus, Casper, ParaNorman, and of course all the Halloweens if you are looking for something scary to get your adrenaline pumping. If you are excited about your costumes, do a fun photoshoot with the family coming up with exciting poses and places to show off your costumes.



However you and your loved ones decide to celebrate this year, we hope you are able to feel a small sense of your halloween tradition normalcy. We can all agree that no one planned or expected the events that are taking place, but as we all learn to adapt and take safe precautions, we know we can all get through it together. If you are looking for some interesting facts and information about bats, the classic halloween animal icon, be sure to check out our BAT-iful Time of Year blog, and check out our YouTube channel for some fun (and a couple spooky) wildlife and conservation videos.

We love hearing from you! Leave a comment below and let us know what you are dressing up as and are planning to do to celebrate halloween this year.