While I’ve never been a huge fan of Halloween, I’ll admit that I’m going to miss the regular festivities this year. Trick-or-treating is still up in the air, but it seems unlikely that many neighborhoods will be continuing the tradition during COVID-19. Costume parties seem more probable, but it isn’t safe to be gathered around so many people, either. With all this uncertainty, are there ways to celebrate the holiday while also staying safe? Here are some ideas:
- Movies with roomies
Horror movies are a Halloween classic. You can get some snacks with your roommates and spend the night eating way too much candy and watching movies. You can make a movie bingo card, or find plenty online. Doing any activity with roommates is always a safe bet because you’re already around each other so much.
- Trick-or-treating in your dorm
You would have to get a good number of people living in your dorm in order for it to work, but I think this could be a lot of fun. Participants leave an empty bag or box outside their room and purchase a cheap bag of candy at Walmart. You can wander the dorm and put candy in people’s bags. At the end of the night, you’ll have a full bag of candy from the people living around you! Be sure to thoroughly sanitize the wrappers, just in case.
- Halloween gift exchange
You can set a budget limit and do a gift exchange with your friends. You can exchange gifts in the lobby of your dorm building while sitting socially distanced from one another. Gifts could include Squishmallows, candy, horror movies or anything you’d like! This could work, provided everyone is appropriately distanced and wearing their masks.
- Watch party with friends
Provided everyone has Netflix, you could get a group of friends to download the Netflix Party browser extension, and you can watch the same movie at the same time virtually. It’s not the same as being in-person, but you’ll still be able to watch the same movie together. I did this over quarantine. It was a little wonky, but it still worked.
Unfortunately, there aren’t many ways to celebrate Halloween safely this year. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t have a good time.
