While Halloween and trick or treating generally go hand in hand, if you’re worried about your child’s safety in going to strangers’ houses at night, you can still ensure they have fun this Halloween with these awesome 5 fun and safe alternatives to trick or treating.
1. Have a Boo-tiful Bash
A child-friendly Halloween party with the parents invited too can be a great way to celebrate the festival, get the kids all dressed up and have fun with Halloween party games and themed food! This can also be like a neighborhood block party with all the guests bringing a treat each. Parents can chip in and organize activities like, face painting, outdoor party games, and even, a scary costume contest!
2. Scare Up the Family
Spend time at home with the kids and pull out a stash of Halloween-themed movies and books. Here is a list of 19 best Halloween movies for kids and here are some of the best Halloween books for kids aged, 4-8.
You can also, let the kids play “Mom” or “Dad” and be treat dispensers. While you can still answer the door, let them disperse the candy. You can also, cook up some fun Halloween themed food or craft up some critters and ghouls!
3. Try Trunk-or-Treating Instead
Why not switch things up and do something different. Keep the treats alive with trunk-or-treating! Trunk-or-treating is generally organized by church members who decorate the trunks of the cars, park the cars in a circle and then, kids can go from trunk to trunk instead of door-to-door collecting treats. You can check with your church if something similar s organized or organize your own trunk or treating circle this year!
Here’s more about how trunk-or-treating works.
4. Haunt a Nursing Home
The elderly are generally lonely around the holiday season and would love nothing more than a visit from a group of kids dressed up as ghouls! Call ahead to make an appointment so that you don’t disrupt regularly scheduled activities.
5. Have a Scary Night on the Town
Many local attractions and community centers organize Halloween activities. How about heading there instead of going door-to-door? You can check with the zoos, parks, shopping malls in your area and the community center. Also, remember to ask the other parents if they know of something or would like to join in the fun.
Go ahead and scare up some fun and have a boo-tastic time this Halloween even without the trick-or-treating! Do you have more alternatives to trick-or-treating? Share with me in the comments!
Written By: Parenting Contributor, Prerna Malik, themomwrites.com
Our local community college does the trunk or treat event every year and it is so fun!
In Atlanta, the grocery stores like Publix are great about hosting events which is so much safer and easier for us.
I like this! Here in St. Louis, there are trunk or treats but that’s about it. When I lived in Florida, the malls would participate and hand out candy, so I did that with my son. I am thankful that we now live in a small cul de sac community where I feel comfortable taking The Chicklet to get candy. We also go “picking pumpkins” which is something she loves doing every year. In fact, we are going this weekend. 🙂