Monday 22 October 2018

7 Halloween Activities for Wusses

One of my favourite things about autumn is Halloween (you can see some of the other things I love about the season here) but I'm a massive wimp. I don't do blood or gore or scary films. I don't read scary stories (the last scary book I read was a Point Horror book, back in the mid 90s. It scared the crap out of me and I never picked up another. Embarrassingly true story).

So without the fear-factor, what do I actually like about Halloween? I thought I'd share 7 fun activities you can do this Halloween if you're a scaredy cat just like me.


 
 
 

Carve a Pumpkin

 
 
Confession: I don't actually carve our pumpkin. It's my husband's job because it's pretty gross and smelly. But I do love a Jack o' Lantern and nothing screams Halloween more than a carved pumpkin with a flickering tealight (if we pop the pumpkin outside to encourage more trick or treaters - in a non child snatcher type of way - I always use a battery-operated tealight. Safety first!)
 
 
 
 
 

Listen to Fun Halloween Music

 
 
Useless fact: Monster Mash is my favourite Halloween song.
 
We pop Andrew Gold's Halloween Howls on when we decorate the living room or do Halloween activities (and yes, Monster Mash is on there). You could also make a playlist on Spotify for free.
 
 
 

Get Crafty or Bake-y

 
  
I love getting crafty at Halloween. If you're crafting with kids, simple things like loo roll mummies are great. They're quick and easy and you can pop treats in there too if you'd like. Paper plate monster masks are also a nice activity - it can be as messy or creative as you'd like!
 
 
I also get crafty with the trick or treat sweets, giving ordinary sweets a spooktacular makeover.
 
 
I try to make something different each year, but I liked the brown paper packets so much a couple of years ago that I'm going to do something similar this year too.
 
 
If, like me, you're not much of a baker, you can keep it simple by making spider cupcakes. All you have to do is cover the tops of your cakes (which you can even buy pre-made if you want to keep it reeeeeally simple) with white icing sugar and add a spider design using chocolate buttons for bodies and piped melted chocolate for the legs.
 
 
 
 

Watch Hocus Pocus

 
 
Like I said earlier, I don't do blood, gore or crapping my pants watching horror films of any kind. But you can't go wrong with family-friendly Hocus Pocus. Other scaredy-cat Halloween films include Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Addams Family, Casper, Monsters, Inc and The Wizard of Oz (but not Return to Oz. I watched it once, when I was little, and those changing heads were terrifying).
 
 
 

Read a Halloween-themed Romantic Comedy

 
 
Or write one, which is something I love to do. There aren't any scares in my Halloween short stories, guaranteed. You can find a selection of short stories by clicking here and if you're a newsletter subscriber, there'll be a brand new Halloween short story dropping into your inbox soon! If you haven't subscribed and you would like to, click here
 
 
 

Decorate the House

 
 
Making your own decorations can be fun, or you can buy loads of cute (or mildly scary) decorations for your house. I like to put gel stickers in the window so trick or treaters know we're celebrating the day and can come and knock on our door (please. I've gone to a lot of effort making treats).
 
Top Tip: You don't have to bother dusting in the run up to Halloween - it all adds to the effect ;)
 
 
 

Go Trick or Treating

 
 
You're probably going to need a kid for this one. If you don't have one of your own, borrow one (with permission, obv), pop a costume on and off you go collecting treats!
 
Our dog, Luna goes trick or treating with my husband and our girls (I stay behind to give out the treats at our house). And she even gets dressed up too. As you can see from the photos, she loves us for this. She doesn't hate the costumes. Not. One. Bit.
 
 
 

So, that's my list of 7 things to do at Halloween if you're a big wuss like me. I hope you have a fun Halloween, however you spend the day :)

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