10 Things You Should Do This Halloween Weekend
Halloween is almost upon us, but it falls on a Monday (as my daughter pointed out- 3 months ago!), so most the Halloween events are actually taking place earlier. I remember one year when the kids were toddlers and I was absolutely clueless about this whole Halloween thing, the kids weren’t in school, so I was totally out of the whole loop and, we actually missed Halloween! Yup, totally missed Halloween. Maybe it was on a Monday or Tuesday, but I found out that all of our town’s scheduled events took place on the Saturday before. Luckily the kids were as clueless as I, and I took them to do a round of Trick or Treating at a couple of Publix grocery stores in a nearby bigger town on the actual Halloween date. With that said, prep for this upcoming Halloween- knowledge is power. Don’t get caught holding an empty candy bucket (like we did!).
Here are ten things you should do on this Halloween weekend:
- Check your town’s paper/Facebook page/website and see when the actual town trick-or-treat event is being held. And then go! The best Trick or Treating walks are those with friends- the bigger the group, the better! Check out some Trick or Treating advice for parents on the Ultimate Family Halloween Blog Post.
- If you are going to an alternative treat-or-treat site, double check on the dates and times for them, just in case they do them Saturday instead of Monday. You can read about alternative trick or treating venues on this blog post.
- Have your costumes ready? Any last minute adjustments or additions? Now’s the time to finish it up. No costume at all? You may find places discounting costumes, though I noticed a few places, like our Walgreens, which only provided bare minimum on Halloween costumes and decorations. Of course, you can always get creative and have the kids come up with costume ideas from things around your house! We saw an octopus made out of pool noodles and a jellyfish with yarn tentacles last year. Get creative.
- Stock up on treats. Is your house on a trick or treat route? Don’t be caught without candy! Time to do the last minute dash for some treats for the local kids.
- Plan a final visit to the pumpkin patch. They tend to close after October. Saturday morning is the perfect time to visit your local pumpkin patch to select a Halloween pumpkin, or a pumpkin for pie- or even a few rotten pumpkins for your chickens. Explore a corn maze, ride a hay ride and pick out the perfect pumpkin. If you’ve never set foot in a pumpkin patch before, read the 5 reasons why you should visit your local pumpkin patch. Make it a family tradition.
- Pumpkin Carving. Whether you picked your pumpkin from a patch or a grocery store, now is the time to carve it for Halloween. You can find some pumpkin carving tips on The Ultimate Family Halloween blog post.
- Watch Halloween movies. Curl up with your family and put on a Halloween favorite, like Hocus Pocus with Bette Midler or Ghostbusters- new or old- we like the one with Bill Murray! My daughter always has to watch The Addams Family, but my son prefers the original Munsters series.
- Bake pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins or even pumpkin chipotle stew- check out my husband’s recipe for this tasty, healthy stew- yum!! Go pumpkin crazy. Pumpkins are in season and very healthy for you, so enjoy while you can.
- Go to a Halloween Party. Or host an impromptu one. After trick or treating is a good time to let everyone’s wired and sugared-up kids unwind in the safety of your home (or a good friend’s). It doesn’t have to even be Halloween themed! Make a bonfire, roast marshmallows and chill. Let the kids play tag or manhunt with flashlights.
- Take a ghost walk. So many towns now offer ghost tours (even the small ones), that finding a ghost walk is no longer so rare. Get to know your town and its history (or a nearby one). Go for the less glossy ones with more historical value, and the kids will get a local history lesson in the deal as well! For a more frugal option, tell ghost stories- we don’t have a ghost tour in our town, but we do have some haunted sites!- Sometimes the local paper will print out some local ghost stories or check a book out from your library for true ghost tales!
Happy Halloween!
Stay Safe!
Related Posts:
- Adventures of Mom Ultimate Family Halloween Edition
- True Ghostly Tales for Halloween
- Alternative Trick or Treating Venues
- 5 Reasons to Visit Your Local Pumpkin Patch
- Pumpkin Picking at Your Local Family Farm
- 7 Terrifying Places in the World You Never Knew Existed
- Walking with Spirits: A Ghost Tour in St. Augustine
- Hunting for Ghosts in Historic St. Augustine (I found one!)