9 Neighborhood Halloween Ideas
Trick-or-treating is the perfect time for a neighborhood to come together as a community in the spirit of sharing (and scaring)! Here is a guide to nine neighborhood Halloween ideas that everyone in the community can collaborate on this spooky season.
1. Candy Collaboration
We all know kids seek out neighborhoods with the best candy. Make sure your community tops the list by coordinating candy with the neighbors. Full-size candy bars are always favorites, and by coordinating, you can make sure kids get a variety of tasty treats.
2. Pumpkin-Carving Party
Hosting a pumpkin-carving party is an excellent way to get into the Halloween spirit. Have neighbors bring their own pumpkins and supply small, safe carving tools and buckets for pumpkin seeds. Use this as your guide for the perfect pumpkin-carving experience.
3. Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt
If you’re already coordinating candy and decor, making a neighborhood Halloween-themed scavenger hunt will be a piece of cake. Design printouts listing all the scary stuff you can find hiding among your neighborhood’s decorations. It helps to add pictures to the list so little kids can follow along too.
4. Neighborhood Haunted House
Another fun neighborhood Halloween idea is to make a joint DIY haunted house. Everyone, even older kids, will have fun participating in this process. Make sure scares are age-appropriate and provide warnings if the experience will be too scary for smaller children. Find more inspiration for designing a DIY haunted house here.
5. “You’ve Been Boo’d!”
Consider starting a neighborhood “boo-gram” chain. The specifics vary in different neighborhoods, but it usually includes putting a ghost yard sign and bucket of candy in a neighbor’s yard. Then, they pass the “scare” along to another unsuspecting neighbor. Many charities like this one sell ghost yard signs that contribute profits to charities benefiting children.
6. Spooky Movie Night
Gather the neighborhood together for a kid-friendly Halloween movie. An outdoor showing of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” “Monster House,” or “Halloweentown” would be magical on a crisp autumn day. Find more movie-hosting tips here.
7. Costume Contests
Host costume contests for kids to show off their ensembles and encourage their creativity. This is a great event to do on Halloween before trick-or-treating begins.
8. Decoration Coordination
Also consider coordinating Halloween decor for an extra thrill. Each house may have a theme like the witch house, the ghost house, the zombie house, the monster house, the alien house, and whatever other scary theme you can dream up. This might also help trick-or-treaters and their families identify where they are if they get separated.
9. Ghostly Sidewalks
Repurpose old plastic milk jugs by transforming them into DIY ghost lanterns. Use black paint to color bottle caps and paint a jack-o’-lantern face on the front of the bottle. Then, cut a hole in the back and place an LED light inside the jug. You are now ready to illuminate the sidewalks of your neighborhoods with ghostly specters!
Click here to treat the neighborhood to Halloween party games and goodies.
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